Late Spring Evening
I saw the Virgin-mother clad in green,Walking the sprinkled meadows at sundown;While yet the moon's cold flame was hung betweenThe day and night, above the dusky town:I saw her brighter than the Western gold,Whereto she faced in splendour to behold.
Her dress was greener than the tenderest leafThat trembled in the sunset glare aglow:Herself more delicate than is the brief,Pink apple-blossom, that May showers lay low,And more delicious than 's the earliest streakThe blushing rose shows of her crimson cheek.
As if to match the sight that so did please,A music entered, making passion fain:Three nightingales sat singing in the trees,And praised the Goddess for the fallen rain;Which yet their unseen motions did arouse,Or parting Zephyrs shook out from the boughs.
And o'er the treetops, scattered in mid air,The exhausted clouds laden with crimson lightFloated, or seemed to sleep; and, highest there,One planet broke the lingering ranks of night;Daring day's company, so he might spyThe Virgin-queen once with his watchful eye.
And when I saw her, then I worshipped her,And said,--O bounteous Spring, O beauteous Spring,Mother of all my years, thou who dost stirMy heart to adore thee and my tongue to sing,Flower of my fruit, of my heart's blood the fire,Of all my satisfaction the desire!
How art thou every year more beautiful,Younger for all the winters thou hast cast:And I, for all my love grows, grow more dull,Decaying with each season overpast!In vain to teach him love must man employ thee,The more he learns the less he can enjoy thee.
Words in this poem
- clad v.
- To clothe. Holland.
- sundown n.
- The setting of the sun; sunset.
- whereto adv.
- To which; -- used relatively.
- splendour n.
- Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
- glare v. i.
- To shine with a bright, dazzling light. [OE. glaren, gloren; cf. AS. glær amber, LG. glaren to glow or burn like coals, D. gloren to glimmer; prob. akin to E. glass.]
- aglow adv.
- In a glow; glowing; as, cheeks aglow; the landscape all aglow. [Pref. a- + glow.]
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- unseen a.
- Not seen or discovered.
- shook v. t.
- To pack, as staves, in a shook.
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- bounteous a.
- Liberal in charity; disposed to give freely; generously liberal; munificent; beneficent; free in bestowing gifts; as, bounteous production. [OE. bountevous, fr. bounte bounty.]
- beauteous a.
- Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
- adore v. t.
- To worship with profound reverence; to pay divine honors to; to honor as deity or as divine. [OE. aouren, anouren, adoren, OF. aorer, adorer, F. adorer, fr. L. adorare; ad + orare to speak, pray, os, oris, mouth. In OE. confused with honor, the French pr]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Late Spring Evening 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, Late Spring Evening, in The Growth of Love, and Other Poems (1873–1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #37804, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bridges-shorter-poems/late-spring-evening.html, id L01754.
Form and metre
Late Spring Evening is 36 lines in 6 stanzas of 6 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCC. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 87% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.3 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 17% 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 greenA · sundownB · betweenA · townB · goldC · beholdC
- 2 ABABCC leafA · aglowB · briefA · lowB · streakC · cheekC
- 3 ABABCC pleaseA · fainB · treesA · rainB · arouseC · boughsC
- 4 ABABCC airA · lightB · thereA · nightB · spyC · eyeC
- 5 ABABCC herA · springB · stirA · singB · fireC · desireC
- 6 ABABCC beautifulA · castB · dullA · overpastB · theeC · theeC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I saw the Virgin-mother clad in green, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Walking the sprinkled meadows at sundown; | 10 | /˘·/˘/··/· |
| While yet the moon's cold flame was hung between | 10 | ·········· |
| The day and night, above the dusky town: | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I saw her brighter than the Western gold, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Whereto she faced in splendour to behold. | 10 | ˘/···/˘·˘/ |
| Her dress was greener than the tenderest leaf | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| That trembled in the sunset glare aglow: | 10 | ·/˘··/··˘/ |
| Herself more delicate than is the brief, | 10 | ˘/·/˘˘···· |
| Pink apple-blossom, that May showers lay low, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/·· |
| And more delicious than 's the earliest streak | 11 | ··˘/˘···/˘· |
| The blushing rose shows of her crimson cheek. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| As if to match the sight that so did please, | 10 | ·········· |
| A music entered, making passion fain: | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| Three nightingales sat singing in the trees, | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘··· |
| And praised the Goddess for the fallen rain; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Which yet their unseen motions did arouse, | 10 | ···˘//˘·˘/ |
| Or parting Zephyrs shook out from the boughs. | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| And o'er the treetops, scattered in mid air, | 10 | ···/·/˘··· |
| The exhausted clouds laden with crimson light | 11 | ·˘/˘·/˘·/˘· |
| Floated, or seemed to sleep; and, highest there, | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| One planet broke the lingering ranks of night; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Daring day's company, so he might spy | 10 | /˘·/˘˘···· |
| The Virgin-queen once with his watchful eye. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And when I saw her, then I worshipped her, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And said,--O bounteous Spring, O beauteous Spring, | 12 | ···/˘˘··/˘˘· |
| Mother of all my years, thou who dost stir | 10 | /˘········ |
| My heart to adore thee and my tongue to sing, | 11 | ···˘/······ |
| Flower of my fruit, of my heart's blood the fire, | 11 | /········/˘ |
| Of all my satisfaction the desire! | 11 | ····˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| How art thou every year more beautiful, | 11 | ···/˘˘··/˘˘ |
| Younger for all the winters thou hast cast: | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| And I, for all my love grows, grow more dull, | 10 | ·········· |
| Decaying with each season overpast! | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘··· |
| In vain to teach him love must man employ thee, | 11 | ········˘/· |
| The more he learns the less he can enjoy thee. | 11 | ········˘/· |
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