To the River Itchin
Itchin! when I behold thy banks again,Thy crumbling margin, and thy silver breast,On which the self-same tints still seem to rest,Why feels my heart a shivering sense of pain!Is it, that many a summer's day has pastSince, in life's morn, I carolled on thy side!Is it, that oft since then my heart has sighed,As Youth, and Hope's delusive gleams, flew fast!Is it, that those who gathered on thy shore,Companions of my youth, now meet no more!Whate'er the cause, upon thy banks I bend,Sorrowing; yet feel such solace at my heart,As at the meeting of some long-lost friend,From whom, in happier hours, we wept to part.
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.]
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To the River Itchin 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, To the River Itchin, in Sonnets, and Other Poems (1789–1837), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18915, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bowles-sonnets/to-the-river-itchin.html, id L09880.
Form and metre
To the River Itchin 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 86%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 7% 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 againA · breastB · restA · painB · pastC · sideD · sighedC · fastD · shoreE · moreF · bendE · heartF · friendG · partG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Itchin! when I behold thy banks again, | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| Thy crumbling margin, and thy silver breast, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| On which the self-same tints still seem to rest, | 10 | ·········· |
| Why feels my heart a shivering sense of pain! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Is it, that many a summer's day has past | 10 | ···/·/˘··· |
| Since, in life's morn, I carolled on thy side! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Is it, that oft since then my heart has sighed, | 10 | ·········· |
| As Youth, and Hope's delusive gleams, flew fast! | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Is it, that those who gathered on thy shore, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Companions of my youth, now meet no more! | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| Whate'er the cause, upon thy banks I bend, | 11 | ˘˘/········ |
| Sorrowing; yet feel such solace at my heart, | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| As at the meeting of some long-lost friend, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| From whom, in happier hours, we wept to part. | 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.