The West Wind
Beneath the forest's skirts I rest,Whose branching pines rise dark and high,And hear the breezes of the WestAmong the threaded foliage sigh.
Sweet Zephyr! why that sound of woe?Is not thy home among the flowers?Do not the bright June roses blow,To meet thy kiss at morning hours?
And lo! thy glorious realm outspread--Yon stretching valleys, green and gay,And yon free hill-tops, o'er whose headThe loose white clouds are borne away.
And there the full broad river runs,And many a fount wells fresh and sweet,To cool thee when the mid-day sunsHave made thee faint beneath their heat.
Thou wind of joy, and youth, and love;Spirit of the new-wakened year!The sun in his blue realm aboveSmooths a bright path when thou art here.
In lawns the murmuring bee is heard,The wooing ring-dove in the shade;On thy soft breath, the new-fledged birdTakes wing, half happy, half afraid.
Ah! thou art like our wayward race;--When not a shade of pain or illDims the bright smile of Nature's face,Thou lovest to sigh and murmur still.
Words in this poem
- zephyr n.
- The west wind; poetically, any soft, gentle breeze. [L. zephyrus, Gr. zéphyr.]
- 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.]
- outspread v. t.
- To spread out; to expand; -- usually as a past part. or adj.
- wayward a.
- Taking one's own way; disobedient; froward; perverse; willful. [OE. weiward, for aweiward, i. e., turned away. See Away, and -ward.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The West Wind 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 West Wind, in Poems (1821–1876), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16341, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bryant-poems/the-west-wind.html, id L07255.
Form and metre
The West Wind is 28 lines in 7 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.3 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 21% 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 restA · highB · westA · sighB
- 2 ABAB woeA · flowersB · blowA · hoursB
- 3 ABAB outspreadA · gayB · headA · awayB
- 4 ABAB runsA · sweetB · sunsA · heatB
- 5 ABAB loveA · yearB · aboveA · hereB
- 6 ABAB heardA · shadeB · birdA · afraidB
- 7 ABAB raceA · illB · faceA · stillB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Beneath the forest's skirts I rest, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Whose branching pines rise dark and high, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And hear the breezes of the West | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Among the threaded foliage sigh. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Sweet Zephyr! why that sound of woe? | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Is not thy home among the flowers? | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Do not the bright June roses blow, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To meet thy kiss at morning hours? | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| And lo! thy glorious realm outspread-- | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Yon stretching valleys, green and gay, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And yon free hill-tops, o'er whose head | 8 | ········ |
| The loose white clouds are borne away. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And there the full broad river runs, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And many a fount wells fresh and sweet, | 8 | ·/······ |
| To cool thee when the mid-day suns | 8 | ········ |
| Have made thee faint beneath their heat. | 8 | ········ |
| Thou wind of joy, and youth, and love; | 8 | ········ |
| Spirit of the new-wakened year! | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| The sun in his blue realm above | 8 | ········ |
| Smooths a bright path when thou art here. | 8 | ········ |
| In lawns the murmuring bee is heard, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The wooing ring-dove in the shade; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| On thy soft breath, the new-fledged bird | 8 | ········ |
| Takes wing, half happy, half afraid. | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Ah! thou art like our wayward race;-- | 8 | ····//˘· |
| When not a shade of pain or ill | 8 | ········ |
| Dims the bright smile of Nature's face, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Thou lovest to sigh and murmur still. | 9 | ······/˘· |
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.