A Water-Party
Let us, as by this verdant bank we float,Search down the marge to find some shady poolWhere we may rest awhile and moor our boat,And bathe our tired limbs in the waters cool.Beneath the noonday sun,Swiftly, O river, run!
Here is a mirror for Narcissus, see!I cannot sound it, plumbing with my oar.Lay the stern in beneath this bowering tree!Now, stepping on this stump, we are ashore.Guard, Hamadryades,Our clothes laid by your trees!
How the birds warble in the woods! I pickThe waxen lilies, diving to the root.But swim not far in the stream, the weeds grow thick,And hot on the bare head the sunbeams shoot.Until our sport be done,O merry birds, sing on!
If but to-night the sky be clear, the moonWill serve us well, for she is near the full.We shall row safely home; only too soon,--So pleasant 'tis, whether we float or pull.To guide us through the night,O summer moon, shine bright!
Words in this poem
- marge n.
- Border; margin; edge; verge. [F. marge. See Margin.]
- awhile adv.
- For a while; for some time; for a short time. [Adj. a + while time, interval.]
- noonday n.
- Midday; twelve o'clock in the day; noon.
- narcissus n.
- A genus of endogenous bulbous plants with handsome flowers, having a cup-shaped crown within the six-lobed perianth, and comprising the daffodils and jonquils of several kinds. [L. narcissus, and (personified) Narcissus, Gr. na`rkissos, Na`rkissos, fr. na`rkh torpor, in allusion to the narcotic properties of the flower. Cf. Narcotic.]
- plumbing n.
- The art of casting and working in lead, and applying it to building purposes; especially, the business of furnishing, fitting, and repairing pipes for conducting water, sewage, etc. Gwilt.
- warble v. t.
- To sing in a trilling, quavering, or vibratory manner; to modulate with turns or variations; to trill; as, certain birds are remarkable for warbling their songs. [OE. werbelen, OF. werbler; of Teutonic origin; cf. G. wirbeln to turn, to warble, D. wervelen, akin to E. whirl. See Whirl.]
- 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
A Water-Party is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Robert Bridges, Excluding the Eight Dramas, Project Gutenberg ebook #37804; 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 Bridges, A Water-Party, in The Growth of Love, and Other Poems (1873–1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #37804, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bridges-shorter-poems/a-water-party.html, id L01756.
Form and metre
A Water-Party is 24 lines in 4 stanzas of 6 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCC. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.7 syllables. 12% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 ABABCC floatA · poolB · boatA · coolB · sunC · runC
- 2 ABABCC seeA · oarB · treeA · ashoreB · hamadryadesC · treesC
- 3 ABABCC pickA · rootB · thickA · shootB · doneC · onC
- 4 ABABCC moonA · fullB · soonA · pullB · nightC · brightC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Let us, as by this verdant bank we float, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Search down the marge to find some shady pool | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Where we may rest awhile and moor our boat, | 10 | ····˘/··/· |
| And bathe our tired limbs in the waters cool. | 10 | ··//···/˘· |
| Beneath the noonday sun, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Swiftly, O river, run! | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| Here is a mirror for Narcissus, see! | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| I cannot sound it, plumbing with my oar. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Lay the stern in beneath this bowering tree! | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Now, stepping on this stump, we are ashore. | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Guard, Hamadryades, | 4 | ···· |
| Our clothes laid by your trees! | 7 | /˘····· |
| How the birds warble in the woods! I pick | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| The waxen lilies, diving to the root. | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| But swim not far in the stream, the weeds grow thick, | 11 | ··········· |
| And hot on the bare head the sunbeams shoot. | 10 | ·······/·· |
| Until our sport be done, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| O merry birds, sing on! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| If but to-night the sky be clear, the moon | 10 | ·········· |
| Will serve us well, for she is near the full. | 10 | ·········· |
| We shall row safely home; only too soon,-- | 10 | ···/˘·/˘·· |
| So pleasant 'tis, whether we float or pull. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| To guide us through the night, | 6 | ······ |
| O summer moon, shine bright! | 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.