June
I gazed upon the glorious skyAnd the green mountains round,And thought that when I came to lieWithin the silent ground,'Twere pleasant, that in flowery June,When brooks send up a cheerful tune,And groves a joyous sound,The sexton's hand, my grave to make,The rich, green mountain turf should break.
A cell within the frozen mould,A coffin borne through sleet,And icy clods above it rolled,While fierce the tempests beat--Away!--I will not think of these--Blue be the sky and soft the breeze,Earth green beneath the feet,And be the damp mould gently pressedInto my narrow place of rest.
There through the long, long summer hours,The golden light should lie,And thick young herbs and groups of flowersStand in their beauty by.The oriole should build and tellHis love-tale close beside my cell;The idle butterflyShould rest him there, and there be heardThe housewife bee and humming-bird.
And what if cheerful shouts at noonCome, from the village sent,Or songs of maids, beneath the moonWith fairy laughter blent?And what if, in the evening light,Betrothed lovers walk in sightOf my low monument?I would the lovely scene aroundMight know no sadder sight nor sound.
I know, I know I should not seeThe season's glorious show,Nor would its brightness shine for me,Nor its wild music flow;But if, around my place of sleep,The friends I love should come to weep,They might not haste to go.Soft airs, and song, and light, and bloom,Should keep them lingering by my tomb.
These to their softened hearts should bearThe thought of what has been,And speak of one who cannot shareThe gladness of the scene;Whose part, in all the pomp that fillsThe circuit of the summer hills,Is--that his grave is green;And deeply would their hearts rejoiceTo hear again his living voice.
Words in this poem
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- mould n.
- Crumbling, soft, friable earth; esp., earth containing the remains or constituents of organic matter, and suited to the growth of plants; soil. [OE. molde, AS. molde; akin to D. mul, G. mull, mulm, OHG. molt, molta, Icel. mold, Dan. muld, Sw. mull, Goth. mulda, and E. meal flour. See Meal, and cf. Mole a]
- sleet n.
- The part of a mortar extending from the chamber to the trunnions.
- blent p. p.
- Blinded. Also (Chaucer), 3d sing. pres. Blindeth.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
June is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems by William Cullen Bryant, Project Gutenberg ebook #16341; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Cullen Bryant, June, in Poems (1821–1876), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16341, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bryant-poems/june.html, id L07287.
Form and metre
June is 54 lines in 6 stanzas of 9 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCCBDD, complete in 5 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.5 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 30% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic 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 ABABCCBDD skyA · roundB · lieA · groundB · juneC · tuneC · soundB · makeD · breakD
- 2 ABABCCBDD mouldA · sleetB · rolledA · beatB · theseC · breezeC · feetB · pressedD · restD
- 3 ABABCCBDD hoursA · lieB · flowersA · byB · tellC · cellC · butterflyB · heardD · birdD
- 4 ABABCCBDD noonA · sentB · moonA · blentB · lightC · sightC · monumentB · aroundD · soundD
- 5 ABABCCBDD seeA · showB · meA · flowB · sleepC · weepC · goB · bloomD · tombD
- 6 A-ABCCBDD bearA · been · shareA · sceneB · fillsC · hillsC · greenB · rejoiceD · voiceD
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I gazed upon the glorious sky | 10 | ··˘···/˘˘· |
| And the green mountains round, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And thought that when I came to lie | 8 | ········ |
| Within the silent ground, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| 'Twere pleasant, that in flowery June, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘˘· |
| When brooks send up a cheerful tune, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And groves a joyous sound, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The sexton's hand, my grave to make, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The rich, green mountain turf should break. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A cell within the frozen mould, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A coffin borne through sleet, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And icy clods above it rolled, | 9 | ·/˘·····˘ |
| While fierce the tempests beat-- | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Away!--I will not think of these-- | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Blue be the sky and soft the breeze, | 8 | ········ |
| Earth green beneath the feet, | 6 | ······ |
| And be the damp mould gently pressed | 9 | ·····/˘·˘ |
| Into my narrow place of rest. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| There through the long, long summer hours, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| The golden light should lie, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And thick young herbs and groups of flowers | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Stand in their beauty by. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The oriole should build and tell | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| His love-tale close beside my cell; | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| The idle butterfly | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Should rest him there, and there be heard | 8 | ········ |
| The housewife bee and humming-bird. | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| And what if cheerful shouts at noon | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Come, from the village sent, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Or songs of maids, beneath the moon | 8 | ········ |
| With fairy laughter blent? | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| And what if, in the evening light, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Betrothed lovers walk in sight | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Of my low monument? | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| I would the lovely scene around | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Might know no sadder sight nor sound. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I know, I know I should not see | 8 | ········ |
| The season's glorious show, | 7 | ·/˘/˘˘· |
| Nor would its brightness shine for me, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Nor its wild music flow; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| But if, around my place of sleep, | 8 | ········ |
| The friends I love should come to weep, | 8 | ········ |
| They might not haste to go. | 6 | ······ |
| Soft airs, and song, and light, and bloom, | 8 | ········ |
| Should keep them lingering by my tomb. | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| These to their softened hearts should bear | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| The thought of what has been, | 6 | ······ |
| And speak of one who cannot share | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The gladness of the scene; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Whose part, in all the pomp that fills | 8 | ········ |
| The circuit of the summer hills, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Is--that his grave is green; | 6 | ······ |
| And deeply would their hearts rejoice | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| To hear again his living voice. | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
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.