Bacchanalia; Or, the New Age I
The evening comes, the fields are still.The tinkle of the thirsty rill,Unheard all day, ascends again;Deserted is the half-mown plain,Silent the swaths; the ringing wain,The mower’s cry, the dog’s alarms,All housed within the sleeping farms.The business of the day is done,The last-left haymaker is gone.And from the thyme upon the height,And from the elder-blossom whiteAnd pale dog-roses in the hedge,And from the mint-plant in the sedge,In puffs of balm the night-air blowsThe perfume which the day foregoes.And on the pure horizon far,See, pulsing with the first-born star,The liquid sky above the hill!The evening comes, the fields are still.
Loitering and leaping,With saunter, with bounds,Flickering and circlingIn files and in rounds,Gayly their pine-staff greenTossing in air,Loose o’er their shoulders whiteShowering their hair,See! the wild MænadsBreak from the wood,Youth and IacchusMaddening their blood.See! through the quiet landRioting they pass,Fling the fresh heaps about,Trample the grass,Tear from the rifled hedgeGarlands, their prize;Fill with their sports the field,Fill with their cries.
Shepherd, what ails thee, then?Shepherd, why mute?Forth with thy joyous song!Forth with thy flute!Tempts not the revel blithe?Lure not their cries?Glow not their shoulders smooth?Melt not their eyes?Is not, on cheeks like those,Lovely the flush?--Ah! so the quiet was!So was the hush!
Words in this poem
- rill n.
- A very small brook; a streamlet. [Cf. LG. rille a small channel or brook, a furrow, a chamfer, OE. rigol a small brook, F. rigole a trench or furrow for water, W. rhill a row, rhigol a little di]
- unheard a.
- Not heard; not perceived by the ear; as, words unheard by those present.
- mown p. p.
- Cut down by mowing, as grass; deprived of grass by mowing; as, a mown field.
- wain n.
- A four-wheeled vehicle for the transportation of goods, produce, etc.; a wagon. [OE. wain, AS. wægn; akin to D. & G. wagen, OHG. wagan, Icel. & Sw. vagn, Dan. vogn, and E. way. Way, Weigh, and cf. Wagon.]
- haymaker n.
- One who cuts and cures hay.
- gayly adv.
- With mirth and frolic; merrily; blithely; gleefully.
- blithe a.
- Gay; merry; sprightly; joyous; glad; cheerful; as, a blithe spirit. [AS. bli blithe, kind; akin to Goth. blei kind, Icel. bli mild, gentle, Dan. & Sw. blid gentle, D. blijd blithe, OHG. blidi kind, blithe.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Bacchanalia; Or, the New Age I is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #54985; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Matthew Arnold, Bacchanalia; Or, the New Age I, in Poems (1849–1867), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #54985, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/arnold-poems/bacchanalia-or-the-new-age-i.html, id L07041.
Form and metre
Bacchanalia; Or, the New Age I is 51 lines in 3 stanzas. 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.2 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 18% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AABBBCC--DDEEFFGGAA stillA · rillA · againB · plainB · wainB · alarmsC · farmsC · done · gone · heightD · whiteD · hedgeE · sedgeE · blowsF · foregoesF · farG · starG · hillA · stillA
- 2 -A-A-B-B-C-C-D-D-E-E leaping · boundsA · circling · roundsA · green · airB · white · hairB · mænads · woodC · iacchus · bloodC · land · passD · about · grassD · hedge · prizeE · field · criesE
- 3 -A-A-B-B-C-C then · muteA · song · fluteA · blithe · criesB · smooth · eyesB · those · flushC · was · hushC
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The evening comes, the fields are still. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The tinkle of the thirsty rill, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Unheard all day, ascends again; | 8 | ˘/··˘/˘/ |
| Deserted is the half-mown plain, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| Silent the swaths; the ringing wain, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| The mower’s cry, the dog’s alarms, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| All housed within the sleeping farms. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The business of the day is done, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The last-left haymaker is gone. | 8 | ···/·˘·· |
| And from the thyme upon the height, | 8 | ········ |
| And from the elder-blossom white | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And pale dog-roses in the hedge, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And from the mint-plant in the sedge, | 8 | ········ |
| In puffs of balm the night-air blows | 8 | ········ |
| The perfume which the day foregoes. | 8 | ·˘/···˘/ |
| And on the pure horizon far, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| See, pulsing with the first-born star, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The liquid sky above the hill! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The evening comes, the fields are still. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Loitering and leaping, | 6 | /˘˘·/˘ |
| With saunter, with bounds, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Flickering and circling | 7 | /˘˘·/˘˘ |
| In files and in rounds, | 5 | ····· |
| Gayly their pine-staff green | 6 | /˘···· |
| Tossing in air, | 4 | /˘·· |
| Loose o’er their shoulders white | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Showering their hair, | 5 | /˘˘·· |
| See! the wild Mænads | 5 | ····· |
| Break from the wood, | 4 | ···· |
| Youth and Iacchus | 4 | ···· |
| Maddening their blood. | 5 | /˘˘·· |
| See! through the quiet land | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Rioting they pass, | 5 | /˘˘·· |
| Fling the fresh heaps about, | 6 | ······ |
| Trample the grass, | 4 | /˘·· |
| Tear from the rifled hedge | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Garlands, their prize; | 4 | /˘·· |
| Fill with their sports the field, | 6 | ······ |
| Fill with their cries. | 4 | ···· |
| Shepherd, what ails thee, then? | 6 | /˘···· |
| Shepherd, why mute? | 4 | /˘·· |
| Forth with thy joyous song! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Forth with thy flute! | 4 | ···· |
| Tempts not the revel blithe? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Lure not their cries? | 4 | ···· |
| Glow not their shoulders smooth? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Melt not their eyes? | 4 | ···· |
| Is not, on cheeks like those, | 6 | ······ |
| Lovely the flush? | 4 | /˘·· |
| --Ah! so the quiet was! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| So was the hush! | 4 | ···· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.