The Painted Cup
The fresh savannas of the SangamonHere rise in gentle swells, and the long grassIs mixed with rustling hazels. Scarlet tuftsAre glowing in the green, like flakes of fire;The wanderers of the prairie know them well,And call that brilliant flower the Painted Cup.
Now, if thou art a poet, tell me notThat these bright chalices were tinted thusTo hold the dew for fairies, when they meetOn moonlight evenings in the hazel bowers,And dance till they are thirsty. Call not up,Amid this fresh and virgin solitude,The faded fancies of an elder world;But leave these scarlet cups to spotted mothsOf June, and glistening flies, and humming-birds,To drink from, when on all these boundless lawnsThe morning sun looks hot. Or let the windO'erturn in sport their ruddy brims, and pourA sudden shower upon the strawberry plant,To swell the reddening fruit that even nowBreathes a slight fragrance from the sunny slope.
But thou art of a gayer fancy. Well--Let then the gentle Manitou of flowers,Lingering amid the bloomy waste he loves,Though all his swarthy worshippers are gone--Slender and small, his rounded cheek all brownAnd ruddy with the sunshine; let him comeOn summer mornings, when the blossoms wake,And part with little hands the spiky grass;And touching, with his cherry lips, the edgeOf these bright beakers, drain the gathered dew.
Words in this poem
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- sunny a.
- Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; hence, shining; bright; brilliant; radiant.
- manitou n.
- A name given by tribes of American Indians to a great spirit, whether good or evil, or to any object of worship. Tylor.
- bloomy a.
- Full of bloom; flowery; flourishing with the vigor of youth; as, a bloomy spray.
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- spiky a.
- Like a spike; spikelike.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Painted Cup 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, The Painted Cup, in Poems (1821–1876), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16341, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bryant-poems/the-painted-cup.html, id L07360.
Form and metre
The Painted Cup is 31 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 45% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter, other poems in blank verse.
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.
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 fresh savannas of the Sangamon | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Here rise in gentle swells, and the long grass | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Is mixed with rustling hazels. Scarlet tufts | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Are glowing in the green, like flakes of fire; | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| The wanderers of the prairie know them well, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| And call that brilliant flower the Painted Cup. | 10 | ···/˘/·/˘· |
| Now, if thou art a poet, tell me not | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| That these bright chalices were tinted thus | 10 | ···/˘˘·/˘· |
| To hold the dew for fairies, when they meet | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| On moonlight evenings in the hazel bowers, | 11 | ·/·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| And dance till they are thirsty. Call not up, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Amid this fresh and virgin solitude, | 10 | ˘/···/˘/˘· |
| The faded fancies of an elder world; | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| But leave these scarlet cups to spotted moths | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Of June, and glistening flies, and humming-birds, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| To drink from, when on all these boundless lawns | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The morning sun looks hot. Or let the wind | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| O'erturn in sport their ruddy brims, and pour | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| A sudden shower upon the strawberry plant, | 11 | ·/˘/···/·˘· |
| To swell the reddening fruit that even now | 10 | ···/˘˘··/· |
| Breathes a slight fragrance from the sunny slope. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| But thou art of a gayer fancy. Well-- | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Let then the gentle Manitou of flowers, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Lingering amid the bloomy waste he loves, | 10 | /˘˘/·/˘··· |
| Though all his swarthy worshippers are gone-- | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘·· |
| Slender and small, his rounded cheek all brown | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| And ruddy with the sunshine; let him come | 10 | ·/˘··/···· |
| On summer mornings, when the blossoms wake, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| And part with little hands the spiky grass; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And touching, with his cherry lips, the edge | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Of these bright beakers, drain the gathered dew. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
Notes from the edition 1
William Cullen Bryant's own notes to his Poems (Project Gutenberg #16341).
- Stanza 1, line 1 The Painted Cup, Euchroma Coccinea, or Bartsia Coccinea, grows in great abundance in the hazel prairies of the western states, where its scarlet tufts make a brilliant appearance in the midst of the verdure. The Sangamon is a beautiful river, tributary to the Illinois, bordered with rich prairies.
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