Lyric Poem · Life
Up-Hill
by Christina Rossetti · 1862
Does the road wind up-hill all the way?
Yes, to the very end.
Will the day's journey take the whole long day?
From morn to night, my friend.
But is there for the night a resting-place?
A roof for when the slow dark hours begin.
May not the darkness hide it from my face?
You cannot miss that inn.
Shall I meet other wayfarers at night?
Those who have gone before.
Then must I knock, or call when just in sight?
They will not keep you standing at that door.
Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak?
Of labour you shall find the sum.
Will there be beds for me and all who seek?
Yea, beds for all who come.
Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.
“Up-Hill” by Christina Rossetti — quilloak.com/poems/up-hill
Quick facts
- Poem
- Up-Hill
- Poet
- Christina Rossetti
- Published
- 1862
- Length
- 16 lines
- Form
- Lyric Poem
- Themes
- Life, Death & Loss, Hope
Craft notes
How this poem works
Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.
- Shape
- 16 lines · 4 quatrains
- End rhyme
- ABAB in 75% of the stanzas — alternate rhyme. The remaining stanzas vary, often through slant rhyme.
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Text, source & rights
A traceable edition
Full-text display is based on the cited edition and a United States term-expiry review.
- Author record
- Christina Rossetti1830–1894
- Source record
- WikisourceUp-Hill by christina-rossetti, Wikisource transcription
- Display decision
- Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
- Publication record
- 1862
- Text fingerprint
- SHA-256 d365c18ecf40ba15…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
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