Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrote seven novels, Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), Romola (1862–63), Felix Holt, the Radical (1866), Middlemarch (1871–72) and Daniel Deronda (1876). Like Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy, she emerged from provincial England and most of her works are set there. They are known for their realism, psychological insight, sense of place and detailed depiction of the countryside.

Although female authors were published under their own names during her lifetime, she wanted to escape the stereotype of women’s writing being limited to lighthearted romances. She also wanted to have her fiction judged separately from her already extensive and widely known work as a translator, editor and critic. Another factor in her use of a pen name may have been a desire to shield her private life from public scrutiny, thus avoiding the scandal that would have arisen because of her relationship with the married George Henry Lewes.

Count That Day Lost by George Eliot

The Poem

If you sit down at set of sun – If you sit down at the end of the day

And count the acts that you have done, – And go over all the deeds that you have done during the day

And, counting, find – And while counting you can remember you did

One self-denying deed, one word – An act of self sacrifice, or said a word

That eased the heart of him who heard, – That made the person who heard it feel better

One glance most kind – A nice friendly look

That fell like sunshine where it went – That gave another person a warm feeling

Then you may count that day well spent. – Then you can consider your day good

But if, through all the livelong day, – But if during the whole day

You’ve cheered no heart, by yea or nay – You haven’t made someone happy, by saying yes or no

If, through it all – If, when you go over all the deeds you have done during the day

You’ve nothing done that you can trace – You can’t think of anything that you have done

That brought the sunshine to one face – That made someone smile

No act most small – Not even the smallest thing

That helped some soul and nothing cost – That helped someone for free and didn’t cost him anything

Then count that day as worse than lost. – Then consider your day wasted

Analysis and Interpretation

The opening line of the poem uses direct address that is designed to teach a lesson. By openly addressing the reader, the speaker catches our attention and makes the poem personally relevant.

The two stanzas are similar when we look at the structure. First, each stanza begins with a conditional (“if you sit down…”, “if through all the livelong day…”). Then, there is a list of deeds from the second line to the seventh line. Finally, the last line concludes the day (“count that day well spent” or “…worse than lost”) according to your deeds. It means that the two stanzas are equally important.

The stanzas have more things in common than not. It teaches us that they both carry an important message. The second stanza is as meaningful as the first, and the first stanza doesn’t stand on its own. However, in terms of content the stanzas are completely different. The reason why George Eliot made such similar stanzas in terms of structure, but so different in content, comes to show us that although every day may look the same, it depends on you if it’s a well-spent day or a day worse than lost. The days are designed by the deeds of the person, which means that a person can affect and set his or her own day.

The poet divides the poem into two stanzas to emphasize the difference between them. These days may appear similar on the surface, but there is a big difference between the two. The poem describes 2 possible results of a day. If at the end of the day you see that you did something good for someone, your day is well spent because of the happiness you brought to another person. However, if at the end of the day you see that you didn’t do anything

helpful that made someone happy, then you can see this day as worse than lost, because

you had the opportunity to do something good for another person and you did not take it.

The division of the poem into 2 stanzas helps convey the message of the poem. There are 2 distinct kinds of days: worthwhile and worthless. The function of the second stanza is to strengthen and add to the message the reader gets.

The Message

The poem has an educational message about how we should treat each other.
The message of the poem is that life without helping others around you is
worthless. There is a price to acting (first stanza) and to in acting (second stanza).
Only if you do good deeds for the community you “gain” the day. On the
contrary, if you don’t do anything good or say some encouraging words to the
people around you, you waste your day. Our time is well spent only if it is
devoted to helping and encouraging other people, through a good deed or even a
good word. A day spent helping people can be considered a really good day even
if you do one small thing to help someone in a tiny way, the day has not been lost
because of the joy you brought to another person. However, if at the end of your
day, you can remember nothing that you did that was helpful or comforting or
compassionate towards another person, consider the
day lost because you had a golden opportunity to be a
better person and you missed it.

Relevant HOTS:

Comparing and Contrasting.

• Comparing and contrasting acts: “One self-denying deed” and “One glance most kind”. (Comparison: Both are acts we do for other people to make them feel good. Contrast: “One self-denying deed” – an act that makes us give up something for someone “One glance most kind” – an act you don’t have to give up anything for.)

• Comparing and contrasting the message of stanza one and the message of stanza two. (Stanza 1 talks about what makes a day well spent. A day when you do at least one good thing for others. For example, give a glance most kind / do a self-denying deed / say a kind word. Stanza 2 talks about what makes a day seem wasted. A day when you don’t do anything helpful for another person. For example, cheered no heart / helped no one / nothing done to help someone. In the first stanza the message is that if you do something good, like to smile, you will have a good day and the message in the second stanza is that if you don’t do something nice for someone, like you helped no one, your day is worse than )
• Comparing and contrasting the two stanzas of the

Similarities:

• Both stanzas are about a certain type of
• In both stanzas we count our deeds at the end of the day, at set of sun.
• There is repetition of words and phrases in both stanzas. For instance, the words “sunshine”, “you” and others are repeated in both stanzas.
• Both stanzas have the same structure:
  • Each stanza consists of 8
  • The number of words in the lines is almost the

*Each stanza opens with a conditional. Then, there is a list of deeds from the second line to the seventh line. Finally, the last line concludes the day (“count that day well spent” or “…worse than lost) according to your deeds.

• Both stanzas have the same rhyming scheme (aabccbdd / eefggfhh).

Differences:

• The subject of the first stanza is doing at least one good deed every day. The outcome is that this will make your day worthwhile.
• The second stanza talks about a day in which you don’t do anything helpful for another person. The outcome is that your day will be wasted and even worse than
• The rhymes themselves are

practice- copy the link and paste it into your prowser

https://www.liveworksheets.com/worksheets/en/Literature/Literary_genres/Count_that_day_lost_ux1138761nh