Laurel · Robert Bridges · The Growth of Love, and Other Poems

Morning Hymn

Robert Bridges (1844–1930) · 1873–1912

iambic trimeter · ABAB · 68 lines · from The Growth of Love, and Other Poems

O golden Sun, whose rayMy path illumineth:Light of the circling day,Whose night is birth and death:

That dost not stint the primeOf wise and strong, nor stayThe changeful ordering time,That brings their sure decay:

Though thou, the central sphere,Dost seem to turn aroundThy creature world, and nearAs father fond art found;

Thereon, as from aboveTo shine, and make rejoiceWith beauty, life, and love,The garden of thy choice,To dress the jocund SpringWith bounteous promise gayOf hotter months, that bringThe full perfected day;

To touch with richest goldThe ripe fruit, ere it fall;And smile through cloud and coldOn Winter's funeral.

Now with resplendent floodGladden my waking eyes,And stir my slothful bloodTo joyous enterprise.

Arise, arise, as whenAt first God said LIGHT BE!That He might make us menWith eyes His light to see.

Scatter the clouds that hideThe face of heaven, and showWhere sweet Peace doth abide,Where Truth and Beauty grow.

Awaken, cheer, adorn,Invite, inspire, assureThe joys that praise thy morn,The toil thy noons mature:

And soothe the eve of day,That darkens back to death;O golden Sun, whose rayOur path illumineth!

I have loved flowers that fade,Within whose magic tentsRich hues have marriage madeWith sweet unmemoried scents:A honeymoon delight,--A joy of love at sight,That ages in an hour:--My song be like a flower!

I have loved airs, that dieBefore their charm is writAlong a liquid skyTrembling to welcome it.Notes, that with pulse of fireProclaim the spirit's desire,Then die, and are nowhere:--My song be like an air!

Die, song, die like a breath,And wither as a bloom:Fear not a flowery death,Dread not an airy tomb!Fly with delight, fly hence!'Twas thine love's tender senseTo feast; now on thy bierBeauty shall shed a tear.

Words in this poem

changeful a.: Full of change; mutable; inconstant; fickle; uncertain.
ordering n.: Disposition; distribution; management. South.
thereon adv.: On that or this. [AS. . See There, and On.]
jocund: Merry; cheerful; gay; airy; lively; sportive. [L. jocundus, jucundus, orig., helpful, fr. juvare to help. See Aid.]
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.]
gladden v. t.: To make glad; to cheer; to please; to gratify; to rejoice; to exhilarate. [See Glad, v. t.]
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.]
soothe v. t.: To assent to as true. Testament of Love. [Originally, to assent to as true; OE. so to verify, AS. ges to prove the truth of, to bear witness. See Sooth, a.]
honeymoon n.: The first month after marriage.
nowhere adv.: Not anywhere; not in any place or state; as, the book is nowhere to be found. [AS. nahwær. See No, and Where.]
bier n.: A handbarrow or portable frame on which a corpse is placed or borne to the grave. [OE. bæe, beere, AS. b, b; akin to D. baar, OHG. bara, G. bahre, Icel barar, Dbaare, L. feretrum, Gr. , from the same bear to produce. See 1st Bear, and cf. Barr]
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

Morning Hymn 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, Morning Hymn, in The Growth of Love, and Other Poems (1873–1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #37804, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bridges-shorter-poems/morning-hymn.html, id L01762.

Form and metre

Morning Hymn is 68 lines in 13 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 9 of its 13 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.2 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 41% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.

See other poems in iambic trimeter.

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 ABAB ray^A · illumineth^B · day^A · death^B
2 ABAB prime^A · stay^B · time^A · decay^B
3 ABAB sphere^A · around^B · near^A · found^B
4 ABABCDCD above^A · rejoice^B · love^A · choice^B · spring^C · gay^D · bring^C · day^D
5 ABAB gold^A · fall^B · cold^A · funeral^B
6 ABAB flood^A · eyes^B · blood^A · enterprise^B
7 ABAB when^A · be^B · men^A · see^B
8 ABAB hide^A · show^B · abide^A · grow^B
9 ABAB adorn^A · assure^B · morn^A · mature^B
10 ABAB day^A · death^B · ray^A · illumineth^B
11 ABABCCDD fade^A · tents^B · made^A · scents^B · delight^C · sight^C · hour^D · flower^D
12 ABABCCDD die^A · writ^B · sky^A · it^B · fire^C · desire^C · nowhere^D · air^D
13 ABABCCDD breath^A · bloom^B · death^A · tomb^B · hence^C · sense^C · bier^D · tear^D

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 trimeter. How this is done.

Line	Syl.	Stress
O golden Sun, whose ray	6	·/˘···
My path illumineth:	6	······
Light of the circling day,	6	···/˘·
Whose night is birth and death:	6	······
That dost not stint the prime	6	······
Of wise and strong, nor stay	6	······
The changeful ordering time,	6	·/˘/˘·
That brings their sure decay:	6	····˘/
Though thou, the central sphere,	6	···/˘·
Dost seem to turn around	6	······
Thy creature world, and near	6	·/˘···
As father fond art found;	6	·/˘···
Thereon, as from above	6	˘/····
To shine, and make rejoice	6	····˘/
With beauty, life, and love,	6	·/˘···
The garden of thy choice,	6	·/˘···
To dress the jocund Spring	6	···/˘·
With bounteous promise gay	7	·/˘˘/˘·
Of hotter months, that bring	6	·/˘···
The full perfected day;	6	··˘/˘·
To touch with richest gold	6	···/˘·
The ripe fruit, ere it fall;	6	······
And smile through cloud and cold	6	······
On Winter's funeral.	6	·/˘/˘˘
Now with resplendent flood	6	··˘/˘·
Gladden my waking eyes,	6	/˘·/˘·
And stir my slothful blood	6	···/˘·
To joyous enterprise.	6	·/˘/˘·
Arise, arise, as when	6	˘/˘/··
At first God said LIGHT BE!	6	······
That He might make us men	6	······
With eyes His light to see.	6	······
Scatter the clouds that hide	6	/˘····
The face of heaven, and show	6	···/··
Where sweet Peace doth abide,	6	····˘/
Where Truth and Beauty grow.	6	···/˘·
Awaken, cheer, adorn,	6	˘/˘·˘/
Invite, inspire, assure	6	˘/˘/˘/
The joys that praise thy morn,	6	······
The toil thy noons mature:	6	····˘/
And soothe the eve of day,	6	······
That darkens back to death;	6	·/˘···
O golden Sun, whose ray	6	·/˘···
Our path illumineth!	6	/·····
I have loved flowers that fade,	6	···/··
Within whose magic tents	6	···/˘·
Rich hues have marriage made	6	···/˘·
With sweet unmemoried scents:	6	······
A honeymoon delight,--	6	·/˘·˘/
A joy of love at sight,	6	······
That ages in an hour:--	7	·/˘··/˘
My song be like a flower!	7	·····/˘
I have loved airs, that die	6	······
Before their charm is writ	6	······
Along a liquid sky	6	˘/·/˘·
Trembling to welcome it.	6	/˘·/˘·
Notes, that with pulse of fire	7	·····/˘
Proclaim the spirit's desire,	7	˘/·/˘˘/
Then die, and are nowhere:--	6	····/·
My song be like an air!	6	······
Die, song, die like a breath,	6	······
And wither as a bloom:	6	·/˘···
Fear not a flowery death,	6	···/˘·
Dread not an airy tomb!	6	···/˘·
Fly with delight, fly hence!	6	··˘/··
'Twas thine love's tender sense	6	···/˘·
To feast; now on thy bier	6	······
Beauty shall shed a tear.	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.

More by Robert Bridges

The Growth of Love, and Other Poems