November
The lonely season in lonely lands, when fledAre half the birds, and mists lie low, and the sunIs rarely seen, nor strayeth far from his bed;The short days pass unwelcomed one by one.
Out by the ricks the mantled engine standsCrestfallen, deserted,--for now all handsAre told to the plough,--and ere it is dawn appearThe teams following and crossing far and near,As hour by hour they broaden the brown bandsOf the striped fields; and behind them firk and pranceThe heavy rooks, and daws grey-pated dance:As awhile, surmounting a crest, in sharp outline(A miniature of toil, a gem's design,)They are pictured, horses and men, or now near byAbove the lane they shout lifting the share,By the trim hedgerow bloom'd with purple air;Where, under the thorns, dead leaves in huddle liePacked by the gales of Autumn, and in and outThe small wrens glideWith a happy note of cheer,And yellow amorets flutter above and about,Gay, familiar in fear.
And now, if the night shall be cold, across the skyLinnets and twites, in small flocks helter-skelter,All the afternoon to the gardens fly,From thistle-pastures hurrying to gain the shelterOf American rhododendron or cherry-laurel:And here and there, near chilly setting of sun,In an isolated tree a congregationOf starlings chatter and chide,Thickset as summer leaves, in garrulous quarrel:Suddenly they hush as one,--The tree top springs,--And off, with a whirr of wings,They fly by the scoreTo the holly-thicket, and there with myriads moreDispute for the roosts; and from the unseen nationA babel of tongues, like running water unceasing,Makes live the wood, the flocking cries increasing,Wrangling discordantly, incessantly,While falls the night on them self-occupied;The long dark night, that lengthens slow,Deepening with Winter to starve grass and tree,And soon to bury in snowThe Earth, that, sleeping 'neath her frozen stole,Shall dream a dream crept from the sunless poleOf how her end shall be.
Words in this poem 19
- crestfallen a.
- With hanging head; hence, dispirited; dejected; cowed.
- broaden v. t.
- To grow broad; to become broader or wider. [From Broad, a.]
- firk v. t.
- To beat; to strike; to chastise. [Cf. OE. ferken to proceed, hasten, AS. fercian to bring, assist; perh. akin to faran to go, E. fare.]
- awhile adv.
- For a while; for some time; for a short time. [Adj. a + while time, interval.]
- miniature n.
- Originally, a painting in colors such as those in mediæval manuscripts; in modern times, any very small painting, especially a portrait. [It. miniatura, fr. L. miniare. See Miniate, v.,Minium.]
- pictured a.
- Furnished with pictures; represented by a picture or pictures; as, a pictured scene.
- hedgerow n.
- A row of shrubs, or trees, planted for inclosure or separation of fields.
- huddle v. i.
- To press together promiscuously, from confusion, apprehension, or the like; to crowd together confusedly; to press or hurry in disorder; to crowd. [Cf. OE. hoderen, hodren, to cover, keep, warm; perh. akin to OE. huden, hiden, to hide, E. hide, and orig. meaning, to get together for protection in a safe pla]
- 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,]
- afternoon n.
- The part of the day which follows noon, between noon and evening.
- rhododendron n.
- A genus of shrubs or small trees, often having handsome evergreen leaves, and remarkable for the beauty of their flowers; rosebay. [L., fr. Gr. "rodo`dendron, literally, rose tree; "ro`don rose + de`ndron tree. See Rose.]
- thickset a.
- Close planted; as, a thickset wood; a thickset hedge.
- garrulous a.
- Talking much, especially about commonplace or trivial things; talkative; loquacious. [L. garrulus, fr. garrire to chatter, talk; cf. Gr. Call.]
- whirr v. i.
- To whirl round, or revolve, with a whizzing noise; to fly or more quickly with a buzzing or whizzing sound; to whiz.
- unseen a.
- Not seen or discovered.
- babel n.
- The city and tower in the land of Shinar, where the confusion of languages took place. [Heb. Babel, the name of the capital of Babylonia; in Genesis associated with the idea of "confusion"]
- incessantly adv.
- Unceasingly; continually.
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
- sunless a.
- Destitute or deprived of the sun or its rays; shaded; shadowed.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
November 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, November, in The Growth of Love, and Other Poems (1873–1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #37804, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bridges-shorter-poems/november-3.html, id L01812.
Form and metre
November is 47 lines in 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 77%). 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 9 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 43% 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 ABAB fledA · sunB · bedA · oneB
- 2 AABBACCDDEFFEG-BGB standsA · handsA · appearB · nearB · bandsA · pranceC · danceC · outlineD · designD · byE · shareF · airF · lieE · outG · glide · cheerB · aboutG · fearB
- 3 ABABCDEFCDGGHHEII-FJKJLLK skyA · skelterB · flyA · shelterB · laurelC · sunD · congregationE · chideF · quarrelC · oneD · springsG · wingsG · scoreH · moreH · nationE · unceasingI · increasingI · incessantly · occupiedF · slowJ · treeK · snowJ · stoleL · poleL · beK
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The lonely season in lonely lands, when fled | 11 | ·/˘/˘·/˘··· |
| Are half the birds, and mists lie low, and the sun | 11 | ··········· |
| Is rarely seen, nor strayeth far from his bed; | 11 | ·/˘··/˘···· |
| The short days pass unwelcomed one by one. | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Out by the ricks the mantled engine stands | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Crestfallen, deserted,--for now all hands | 10 | /·˘˘/˘···· |
| Are told to the plough,--and ere it is dawn appear | 12 | ··········˘/ |
| The teams following and crossing far and near, | 10 | ··/˘·/˘··· |
| As hour by hour they broaden the brown bands | 10 | ·/·/·/˘··· |
| Of the striped fields; and behind them firk and prance | 11 | ··········· |
| The heavy rooks, and daws grey-pated dance: | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| As awhile, surmounting a crest, in sharp outline | 12 | ·˘/˘/˘····/· |
| (A miniature of toil, a gem's design,) | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| They are pictured, horses and men, or now near by | 12 | ··/˘/˘······ |
| Above the lane they shout lifting the share, | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| By the trim hedgerow bloom'd with purple air; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Where, under the thorns, dead leaves in huddle lie | 11 | ········/˘· |
| Packed by the gales of Autumn, and in and out | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| The small wrens glide | 4 | ···· |
| With a happy note of cheer, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And yellow amorets flutter above and about, | 13 | ·/˘···/˘····· |
| Gay, familiar in fear. | 6 | ·˘/˘·· |
| And now, if the night shall be cold, across the sky | 12 | ········˘/·· |
| Linnets and twites, in small flocks helter-skelter, | 11 | /˘·····/˘/˘ |
| All the afternoon to the gardens fly, | 10 | ···˘/··/˘· |
| From thistle-pastures hurrying to gain the shelter | 12 | ·/˘/˘/˘···/˘ |
| Of American rhododendron or cherry-laurel: | 13 | ·˘/˘·˘/˘·/˘/˘ |
| And here and there, near chilly setting of sun, | 11 | ·····/˘/˘·· |
| In an isolated tree a congregation | 12 | ··/˘·˘···˘/˘ |
| Of starlings chatter and chide, | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| Thickset as summer leaves, in garrulous quarrel: | 11 | /˘·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Suddenly they hush as one,-- | 7 | /˘˘···· |
| The tree top springs,-- | 4 | ···· |
| And off, with a whirr of wings, | 7 | ······· |
| They fly by the score | 5 | ····· |
| To the holly-thicket, and there with myriads more | 12 | ··/˘/˘···/˘· |
| Dispute for the roosts; and from the unseen nation | 12 | ˘/······˘//˘ |
| A babel of tongues, like running water unceasing, | 13 | ·/˘···/˘/˘˘/˘ |
| Makes live the wood, the flocking cries increasing, | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| Wrangling discordantly, incessantly, | 11 | /˘˘····˘/˘˘ |
| While falls the night on them self-occupied; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The long dark night, that lengthens slow, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Deepening with Winter to starve grass and tree, | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| And soon to bury in snow | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| The Earth, that, sleeping 'neath her frozen stole, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Shall dream a dream crept from the sunless pole | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Of how her end shall be. | 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.