The Expostulation
'What ails thee, Jane?' the wary Matron cried;With heaving breast the modest Maid reply'd,Now gently moving back her wooden ChairTo shun the current of the cooling air;'Not much, good Dame; I'm weary by the way;'Perhaps, anon, I've something else to say.'Now, while the Seed-cake crumbled on her knee,And Snowy Jasmine peeped in to see;And the transparent Lilac at the door,Full to the Sun its purple honors bore,The clam'rous Hen her fearless brood display'd,And march'd around; while thus the Matron said:'Jane has been weeping, Walter;--prithee why?'I've seen her laugh, and dance, but never cry.'But I can guess; with her you should have been,'When late I saw you loit'ring on the green;'I'm an old Woman, and the truth may tell:I say then, Boy, you have not us'd her well.'
JANE felt for WALTER; felt his cruel pain,While Pity's voice brought forth her tears again.'Don't scold him, Neighbour, he has much to say,'Indeed he came and met me by the way.'The Dame resum'd--'Why then, my Children, why'Do such young bosoms heave the piteous sigh?'The ills of Life to you are yet unknown;'Death's sev'ring shaft, and Poverty's cold frown:'I've felt them both, by turns:--but as they pass'd,'Strong was my trust, and here I am at last.'When I dwelt young and cheerful down the Lane.'(And, though I say it, I was much like JANE,)'O'er flow'ry fields with Hind, I lov'd to stray,'And talk, and laugh, and fool the time away:'And Care defied; who not one pain could give,'Till the thought came of how we were to live;'And then Love plied his arrows thicker still:'And prov'd victorious;--as he always will.
Words in this poem
- jane n.
- A coin of Genoa; any small coin. [LL. Janua Genoa; L. Genua, also OE. Jean.]
- cooling a.
- Adapted to cool and refresh; allaying heat.
- dame n.
- A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a womam in authority; especially, a lady. [F. dame, LL. domna, fr. L. domina mistress, lady, fem. of dominus master, ruler, lord; akin to domare to tame, subdue. See Tame, and cf. Dam mother, Dan, Danger]
- anon adv.
- Straightway; at once. [OE. anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), fr. AS. on in + an one. See On and One.]
- snowy a.
- White like snow.
- walter v. i.
- To roll or wallow; to welter. [Obs. or Prov. Eng. & Scot.] [See Welter.]
- prithee interj.
- A corruption of pray thee; as, I prithee; generally used without I.
- neighbour v. i.
- To dwell in the vicinity; to be a neighbor, or in the neighborhood; to be near.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Expostulation is in the public domain. This text is taken from Rural Tales, Ballads, and Songs, Project Gutenberg ebook #9093; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Bloomfield, The Expostulation, in Rural Tales, Ballads and Songs (1802), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9093, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bloomfield-tales/the-expostulation.html, id L09680.
Form and metre
The Expostulation is 36 lines in 2 stanzas of 18 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 78% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 6% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 --AABBCCDD--EE--FF cried · reply'd · chairA · airA · wayB · sayB · kneeC · seeC · doorD · boreD · display'd · said · whyE · cryE · been · green · tellF · wellF
- 2 AABBCC--DDAABBEEFF painA · againA · sayB · wayB · whyC · sighC · unknown · frown · pass'dD · lastD · laneA · janeA · strayB · awayB · giveE · liveE · stillF · willF
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. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| 'What ails thee, Jane?' the wary Matron cried; | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| With heaving breast the modest Maid reply'd, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Now gently moving back her wooden Chair | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| To shun the current of the cooling air; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| 'Not much, good Dame; I'm weary by the way; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| 'Perhaps, anon, I've something else to say.' | 10 | ˘/˘/·/˘··· |
| Now, while the Seed-cake crumbled on her knee, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And Snowy Jasmine peeped in to see; | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘··· |
| And the transparent Lilac at the door, | 10 | ··˘/˘/···· |
| Full to the Sun its purple honors bore, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| The clam'rous Hen her fearless brood display'd, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| And march'd around; while thus the Matron said: | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| 'Jane has been weeping, Walter;--prithee why? | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| 'I've seen her laugh, and dance, but never cry. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| 'But I can guess; with her you should have been, | 10 | ·········· |
| 'When late I saw you loit'ring on the green; | 10 | ·········· |
| 'I'm an old Woman, and the truth may tell: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| I say then, Boy, you have not us'd her well.' | 10 | ·········· |
| JANE felt for WALTER; felt his cruel pain, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| While Pity's voice brought forth her tears again. | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| 'Don't scold him, Neighbour, he has much to say, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| 'Indeed he came and met me by the way.' | 10 | ˘/········ |
| The Dame resum'd--'Why then, my Children, why | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| 'Do such young bosoms heave the piteous sigh? | 11 | ···/˘··/˘˘· |
| 'The ills of Life to you are yet unknown; | 10 | ········˘/ |
| 'Death's sev'ring shaft, and Poverty's cold frown: | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| 'I've felt them both, by turns:--but as they pass'd, | 10 | ·········· |
| 'Strong was my trust, and here I am at last. | 10 | ·········· |
| 'When I dwelt young and cheerful down the Lane. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| '(And, though I say it, I was much like JANE,) | 10 | ·········· |
| 'O'er flow'ry fields with Hind, I lov'd to stray, | 10 | ·········· |
| 'And talk, and laugh, and fool the time away: | 10 | ········˘/ |
| 'And Care defied; who not one pain could give, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| 'Till the thought came of how we were to live; | 10 | ·········· |
| 'And then Love plied his arrows thicker still: | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| 'And prov'd victorious;--as he always will. | 10 | ··˘/˘··/·· |
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.