The New Comer
The Miller from a Market Town hard by,Brought home a sturdy Youth his strength to try,To raise the sluice-gates early every morn,To heave his powder'd sacks and grind his corn:And meeting Phoebe, whom he lov'd so dear,'I've brought you home a Husband, Girl?--D'ye hear?He begg'd for work; his money seem'd but scant:Those that will work 'tis pity they should want.So use him well, and we shall shortly seeWhether he merits what I've done, like thee.'
Now throbb'd her heart,--a new sensationWhene'er the comely Stranger was in right:For he at once assiduously strove.To please so sweet a Maid, and win her love.At every corner stopp'd her in her way;And saw fresh beauties opening ev'ry day;He took delight in tracing in her faceThe mantling blush, and every nameless grace,
Words in this poem
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- phoebe n.
- The pewee, or pewit.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- shortly adv.
- In a short or brief time or manner; soon; quickly. [AS. sceortlice.]
- mantling n.
- The representation of a mantle, or the drapery behind and around a coat of arms: -- called also lambrequin.
- nameless a.
- Without a name; not having been given a name; as, a nameless star.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The New Comer 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 New Comer, in Rural Tales, Ballads and Songs (1802), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9093, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bloomfield-tales/the-new-comer.html, id L09688.
Form and metre
The New Comer is 18 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 67% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 17% 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 AABBCC--DD byA · tryA · mornB · cornB · dearC · hearC · scant · want · seeD · theeD
- 2 ----AABB sensation · right · strove · love · wayA · dayA · faceB · graceB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The Miller from a Market Town hard by, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Brought home a sturdy Youth his strength to try, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| To raise the sluice-gates early every morn, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| To heave his powder'd sacks and grind his corn: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And meeting Phoebe, whom he lov'd so dear, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| 'I've brought you home a Husband, Girl?--D'ye hear? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| He begg'd for work; his money seem'd but scant: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Those that will work 'tis pity they should want. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| So use him well, and we shall shortly see | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Whether he merits what I've done, like thee.' | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Now throbb'd her heart,--a new sensation | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Whene'er the comely Stranger was in right: | 11 | ····/˘/˘··· |
| For he at once assiduously strove. | 9 | ····˘/˘˘· |
| To please so sweet a Maid, and win her love. | 10 | ·········· |
| At every corner stopp'd her in her way; | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| And saw fresh beauties opening ev'ry day; | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| He took delight in tracing in her face | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| The mantling blush, and every nameless grace, | 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.