A Shepherd's Dream
A silly shepherd lately satAmong a flock of sheep;Where musing long on this and that,At last he fell asleep.And in the slumber as he lay,He gave a piteous groan;He thought his sheep were run away,And he was left alone.He whoop'd, he whistled, and he call'd,But not a sheep came near him;Which made the shepherd sore appall'dTo see that none would hear him.But as the swain amazed stood,In this most solemn vein,Came Phyllida forth of the wood,And stood before the swain.Whom when the shepherd did beholdHe straight began to weep,And at the heart he grew a-cold,To think upon his sheep.For well he knew, where came the queen,The shepherd durst not stay:And where that he durst not be seen,The sheep must needs away.To ask her if she saw his flock,Might happen patience move,And have an answer with a mock,That such demanders prove.Yet for because he saw her comeAlone out of the wood,He thought he would not stand as dumb,When speech might do him good;And therefore falling on his knees,To ask but for his sheep,He did awake, and so did leeseThe honour of his sleep.
Words in this poem
- needs adv.
- Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need. [Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. - wards.]
- leese v. t.
- To hurt. B. Jonson. [Cf. f. léser, L.laesus, p. p. of laedere.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Shepherd's Dream is in the public domain. This text is taken from Pastoral Poems by Nicholas Breton, Selected Poetry by George Wither, and Pastoral Poetry by William Browne (of Tavistock), Project Gutenberg ebook #22001; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Nicholas Breton, A Shepherd's Dream, in Pastoral Poems and Selected Poetry (1597–1604), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22001, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/breton-poems/a-shepherd-s-dream.html, id L08834.
Form and metre
A Shepherd's Dream is 36 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.1 syllables. 14% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 ABABCDCDE-E-FGFGHIHIJKJKLMLMNONO-P-P satA · sheepB · thatA · asleepB · layC · groanD · awayC · aloneD · call'dE · him · appall'dE · him · stoodF · veinG · woodF · swainG · beholdH · weepI · coldH · sheepI · queenJ · stayK · seenJ · awayK · flockL · moveM · mockL · proveM · comeN · woodO · dumbN · goodO · knees · sheepP · leese · sleepP
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| A silly shepherd lately sat | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Among a flock of sheep; | 6 | ······ |
| Where musing long on this and that, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| At last he fell asleep. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| And in the slumber as he lay, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| He gave a piteous groan; | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| He thought his sheep were run away, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And he was left alone. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| He whoop'd, he whistled, and he call'd, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But not a sheep came near him; | 7 | ······· |
| Which made the shepherd sore appall'd | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| To see that none would hear him. | 7 | ······· |
| But as the swain amazed stood, | 7 | ····˘/· |
| In this most solemn vein, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Came Phyllida forth of the wood, | 8 | ········ |
| And stood before the swain. | 6 | ······ |
| Whom when the shepherd did behold | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| He straight began to weep, | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| And at the heart he grew a-cold, | 8 | ········ |
| To think upon his sheep. | 6 | ······ |
| For well he knew, where came the queen, | 8 | ········ |
| The shepherd durst not stay: | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And where that he durst not be seen, | 8 | ········ |
| The sheep must needs away. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| To ask her if she saw his flock, | 8 | ········ |
| Might happen patience move, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| And have an answer with a mock, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| That such demanders prove. | 6 | ······ |
| Yet for because he saw her come | 8 | ········ |
| Alone out of the wood, | 6 | ˘/···· |
| He thought he would not stand as dumb, | 8 | ········ |
| When speech might do him good; | 6 | ······ |
| And therefore falling on his knees, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To ask but for his sheep, | 6 | ······ |
| He did awake, and so did leese | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| The honour of his sleep. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
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.