The River Cherwell
Cherwell! how pleased along thy willowed edgeErewhile I strayed, or when the morn beganTo tinge the distant turret's golden fan,Or evening glimmered o'er the sighing sedge!And now reposing on thy banks once more,I bid the lute farewell, and that sad layWhose music on my melancholy wayI wooed: beneath thy willows waving hoar,Seeking a while to rest--till the bright sunOf joy return; as when Heaven's radiant BowBeams on the night-storm's passing wings below:Whate'er betide, yet something have I wonOf solace, that may bear me on serene,Till eve's last hush shall close the silent scene.
Words in this poem
- willowed a.
- Abounding with willows; containing willows; covered or overgrown with willows.
- erewhile adv.
- Some time ago; a little while before; heretofore.
- 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.]
- hoar v. t.
- To become moldy or musty. [AS. harian to grow gray.]
- betide v. t.
- To happen to; to befall; to come to ; as, woe betide the wanderer. [OE. bitiden; pref. bi-, be- + tiden, fr. AS. tidan, to happen, fr. tid time. See Tide.]
- solace n.
- Comfort in grief; alleviation of grief or anxiety; also, that which relieves in distress; that which cheers or consoles; relief. [OF. solas, ssoulaz, L. solacium, solatium, fr. solari to comfort, console. Cf. Console, v. t.]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The River Cherwell is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of William Lisle Bowles, Vol. 1 With Memoir, Critical Dissertation, and Explanatory Notes by George Gilfillan, Project Gutenberg ebook #18915; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Lisle Bowles, The River Cherwell, in The Poetical Works, Volume I (1789–1837), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18915, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bowles-sonnets/the-river-cherwell.html, id L09888.
Form and metre
The River Cherwell is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABABCDCDEFEFGG, the pattern of the English sonnet. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.3 syllables. 50% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other English sonnets, 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 ABABCDCDEFEFGG edgeA · beganB · fanA · sedgeB · moreC · layD · wayC · hoarD · sunE · bowF · belowE · wonF · sereneG · sceneG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cherwell! how pleased along thy willowed edge | 10 | ····˘/·/·· |
| Erewhile I strayed, or when the morn began | 12 | ··········˘/ |
| To tinge the distant turret's golden fan, | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Or evening glimmered o'er the sighing sedge! | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| And now reposing on thy banks once more, | 10 | ··/·˘····· |
| I bid the lute farewell, and that sad lay | 10 | ·····/···· |
| Whose music on my melancholy way | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘· |
| I wooed: beneath thy willows waving hoar, | 10 | ·····/·/˘· |
| Seeking a while to rest--till the bright sun | 10 | /˘········ |
| Of joy return; as when Heaven's radiant Bow | 11 | ··˘/··/˘/˘· |
| Beams on the night-storm's passing wings below: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Whate'er betide, yet something have I won | 11 | ˘˘/˘/·/˘··· |
| Of solace, that may bear me on serene, | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Till eve's last hush shall close the silent scene. | 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.