The Waning Moon
I've watched too late; the morn is near;One look at God's broad silent sky!Oh, hopes and wishes vainly dear,How in your very strength ye die!
Even while your glow is on the cheek,And scarce the high pursuit begun,The heart grows faint, the hand grows weak,The task of life is left undone.
See where upon the horizon's brim,Lies the still cloud in gloomy bars;The waning moon, all pale and dim,Goes up amid the eternal stars.
Late, in a flood of tender light,She floated through the ethereal blue,A softer sun, that shone all nightUpon the gathering beads of dew.
And still thou wanest, pallid moon!The encroaching shadow grows apace;Heaven's everlasting watchers soonShall see thee blotted from thy place.
Oh, Night's dethroned and crownless queen!Well may thy sad, expiring rayBe shed on those whose eyes have seenHope's glorious visions fade away.
Shine thou for forms that once were bright,For sages in the mind's eclipse,For those whose words were spells of might,But falter now on stammering lips!
In thy decaying beam there liesFull many a grave on hill and plain,Of those who closed their dying eyesIn grief that they had lived in vain.
Another night, and thou amongThe spheres of heaven shalt cease to shine,All rayless in the glittering throngWhose lustre late was quenched in thine.
Yet soon a new and tender lightFrom out thy darkened orb shall beam,And broaden till it shines all nightOn glistening dew and glimmering stream.
Words in this poem 15
- 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.]
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- undone a.
- Not done or performed; neglected. [Pref. un- not + done.]
- waning n.
- The act or process of waning, or decreasing.
- 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]
- apace adv.
- With a quick pace; quick; fast; speedily. [Pref. a- + pace. OE. a pas at a walk, in which a is the article. See Pace.]
- 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,]
- crownless a.
- Without a crown.
- expiring a.
- Breathing out air from the lungs; emitting fluid or volatile matter; exhaling; breathing the last breath; dying; ending; terminating.
- 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.]
- falter v. t.
- To thrash in the chaff; also, to cleanse or sift, as barley.
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- rayless a.
- Destitute of rays; hence, dark; not illuminated; blind; as, a rayless sky; rayless eyes.
- lustre n.
- A period of five years; a lustrum. [L. lustrum: cf. F. lustre.]
- broaden v. t.
- To grow broad; to become broader or wider. [From Broad, a.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Waning Moon 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 Waning Moon, in Poems (1821–1876), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16341, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bryant-poems/the-waning-moon.html, id L07369.
Form and metre
The Waning Moon is 40 lines in 10 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 9 of its 10 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.5 syllables. 25% 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 ABAB nearA · skyB · dearA · dieB
- 2 ABAB cheekA · begunB · weakA · undoneB
- 3 ABAB brimA · barsB · dimA · starsB
- 4 ABAB lightA · blueB · nightA · dewB
- 5 ABAB moonA · apaceB · soonA · placeB
- 6 ABAB queenA · rayB · seenA · awayB
- 7 ABAB brightA · eclipseB · mightA · lipsB
- 8 ABAB liesA · plainB · eyesA · vainB
- 9 -A-A among · shineA · throng · thineA
- 10 ABAB lightA · beamB · nightA · streamB
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've watched too late; the morn is near; | 8 | ········ |
| One look at God's broad silent sky! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Oh, hopes and wishes vainly dear, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| How in your very strength ye die! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Even while your glow is on the cheek, | 8 | /······· |
| And scarce the high pursuit begun, | 8 | ····˘/˘/ |
| The heart grows faint, the hand grows weak, | 8 | ········ |
| The task of life is left undone. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| See where upon the horizon's brim, | 9 | ·····˘/˘· |
| Lies the still cloud in gloomy bars; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The waning moon, all pale and dim, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Goes up amid the eternal stars. | 9 | ··˘/·˘/˘· |
| Late, in a flood of tender light, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| She floated through the ethereal blue, | 9 | ·/˘··˘/˘· |
| A softer sun, that shone all night | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Upon the gathering beads of dew. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And still thou wanest, pallid moon! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The encroaching shadow grows apace; | 9 | ·˘/˘/··˘/ |
| Heaven's everlasting watchers soon | 9 | /˘·˘/˘/˘· |
| Shall see thee blotted from thy place. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Oh, Night's dethroned and crownless queen! | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Well may thy sad, expiring ray | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Be shed on those whose eyes have seen | 8 | ········ |
| Hope's glorious visions fade away. | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Shine thou for forms that once were bright, | 8 | ········ |
| For sages in the mind's eclipse, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| For those whose words were spells of might, | 8 | ········ |
| But falter now on stammering lips! | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| In thy decaying beam there lies | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Full many a grave on hill and plain, | 8 | ·/······ |
| Of those who closed their dying eyes | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In grief that they had lived in vain. | 8 | ········ |
| Another night, and thou among | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| The spheres of heaven shalt cease to shine, | 8 | ···/···· |
| All rayless in the glittering throng | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Whose lustre late was quenched in thine. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Yet soon a new and tender light | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| From out thy darkened orb shall beam, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And broaden till it shines all night | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| On glistening dew and glimmering stream. | 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.