Willie
Roget, droop not, see the springIs the earth enamelling,And the birds on every treeGreet this morn with melody:Hark, how yonder thrustle chants it,And her mate as proudly vants itSee how every stream is dress'dBy her margin with the bestOf Flora's gifts; she seems gladFor such brooks such flow'rs she had.All the trees are quaintly tiredWith green buds, of all desired;And the hawthorn every daySpreads some little show of May:See the primrose sweetly setBy the much-lov'd violet,All the banks do sweetly cover,As they would invite a loverWith his lass to see their dressingAnd to grace them by their pressing:Yet in all this merry tideWhen all cares are laid aside,Roget sits as if his bloodHad not felt the quick'ning goodOf the sun, nor cares to play,Or with songs to pass the dayAs he wont: fie, Roget, fie,Raise thy head, and merrilyTune us somewhat to thy reed:See our flocks do freely feed,Here we may together sit,And for music very fitIs this place; from yonder woodComes an echo shrill and good,Twice full perfectly it willAnswer to thine oaten quill.Roget, droop not then, but singSome kind welcome to the spring.
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.]
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- thrustle n.
- The throstle, or song thrust.
- quaintly adv.
- In a quaint manner.
- lass n.
- A youth woman; a girl; a sweetheart. [OE. lasse; prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. llodes girl, fem. of llawd lad. (Lad a youth.]
- oaten a.
- Consisting of an oat straw or stem; as, an oaten pipe.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Willie 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, Willie, in Pastoral Poems and Selected Poetry (1597–1604), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22001, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/breton-poems/willie.html, id L08866.
Form and metre
Willie is 38 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 84% of the lines. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, 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 7.2 syllables. 10 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 53% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in trochaic 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 AA----BBCCCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJ--KKLLMMNNOO springA · enamellingA · tree · melody · it · it · dress'dB · bestB · gladC · hadC · tiredC · desiredC · dayD · mayD · setE · violetE · coverF · loverF · dressingG · pressingG · tideH · asideH · bloodI · goodI · playJ · dayJ · fie · merrily · reedK · feedK · sitL · fitL · woodM · goodM · willN · quillN · singO · springO
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Roget, droop not, see the spring | 7 | ˘/····· |
| Is the earth enamelling, | 7 | ···˘/˘˘ |
| And the birds on every tree | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Greet this morn with melody: | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| Hark, how yonder thrustle chants it, | 8 | ··/˘/˘·· |
| And her mate as proudly vants it | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| See how every stream is dress'd | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| By her margin with the best | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Of Flora's gifts; she seems glad | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| For such brooks such flow'rs she had. | 7 | ······· |
| All the trees are quaintly tired | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| With green buds, of all desired; | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| And the hawthorn every day | 7 | ··/·/˘· |
| Spreads some little show of May: | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| See the primrose sweetly set | 7 | ··/·/˘· |
| By the much-lov'd violet, | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| All the banks do sweetly cover, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| As they would invite a lover | 8 | ···˘/·/˘ |
| With his lass to see their dressing | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And to grace them by their pressing: | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Yet in all this merry tide | 7 | ····/˘· |
| When all cares are laid aside, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Roget sits as if his blood | 7 | ˘/····· |
| Had not felt the quick'ning good | 7 | ······· |
| Of the sun, nor cares to play, | 7 | ······· |
| Or with songs to pass the day | 7 | ······· |
| As he wont: fie, Roget, fie, | 7 | ····˘/· |
| Raise thy head, and merrily | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| Tune us somewhat to thy reed: | 7 | ··//··· |
| See our flocks do freely feed, | 7 | ·/··/˘· |
| Here we may together sit, | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| And for music very fit | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Is this place; from yonder wood | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Comes an echo shrill and good, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Twice full perfectly it will | 7 | ··/˘˘·· |
| Answer to thine oaten quill. | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Roget, droop not then, but sing | 7 | ˘/····· |
| Some kind welcome to the spring. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
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.