The White-Footed Deer

William Cullen Bryant (1794–1878) · 1821–1876

common measure · 72 lines · from Poems

It was a hundred years ago,When, by the woodland ways,The traveller saw the wild deer drink,Or crop the birchen sprays.

Beneath a hill, whose rocky sideO'erbrowed a grassy mead,And fenced a cottage from the wind,A deer was wont to feed.

She only came when on the cliffsThe evening moonlight lay,And no man knew the secret hauntsIn which she walked by day.

White were her feet, her forehead showedA spot of silvery white,That seemed to glimmer like a starIn autumn's hazy night.

And here, when sang the whippoorwill,She cropped the sprouting leaves,And here her rustling steps were heardOn still October eves.

But when the broad midsummer moonRose o'er that grassy lawn,Beside the silver-footed deerThere grazed a spotted fawn.

The cottage dame forbade her sonTo aim the rifle here;"It were a sin," she said, "to harmOr fright that friendly deer.

"This spot has been my pleasant homeTen peaceful years and more;And ever, when the moonlight shines,She feeds before our door.

"The red men say that here she walkedA thousand moons ago;They never raise the war-whoop here,And never twang the bow.

"I love to watch her as she feeds,And think that all is wellWhile such a gentle creature hauntsThe place in which we dwell."

The youth obeyed, and sought for gameIn forests far away,Where, deep in silence and in moss,The ancient woodland lay.

But once, in autumn's golden time,He ranged the wild in vain,Nor roused the pheasant nor the deer,And wandered home again.

The crescent moon and crimson eveShone with a mingling light;The deer, upon the grassy mead,Was feeding full in sight.

He raised the rifle to his eye,And from the cliffs aroundA sudden echo, shrill and sharp,Gave back its deadly sound.

Away into the neighbouring woodThe startled creature flew,And crimson drops at morning layAmid the glimmering dew.

Next evening shone the waxing moonAs sweetly as before;The deer upon the grassy meadWas seen again no more.

But ere that crescent moon was old,By night the red men came,And burnt the cottage to the ground,And slew the youth and dame.

Now woods have overgrown the mead,And hid the cliffs from sight;There shrieks the hovering hawk at noon,And prowls the fox at night.

Words in this poem

birchen a.: Of or relating to birch.
hazy a.: Thick with haze; somewhat obscured with haze; not clear or transparent. [From Haze, n.]
midsummer n.: The middle of summer. Shak. Midsummer daisy (Bot.), the oxeye daisy. [AS. midsumor.]
dame n.: A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a womam in authority; especially, a lady. [F. dame, LL. domna, fr. L. domina mistress, lady, fem. of dominus master, ruler, lord; akin to domare to tame, subdue. See Tame, and cf. Dam mother, Dan, Danger]
dwell v. i.: To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
neighbouring a.: Living or being near; adjacent; as, the neighboring nations or countries.
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]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

The White-Footed Deer 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 White-Footed Deer, in Poems (1821–1876), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16341, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bryant-poems/the-white-footed-deer.html, id L07368.

Form and metre

The White-Footed Deer is 72 lines in 18 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.2 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.

See other poems in common measure.

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 -A-A ago · ways^A · drink · sprays^A
2 -A-A side · mead^A · wind · feed^A
3 -A-A cliffs · lay^A · haunts · day^A
4 -A-A showed · white^A · star · night^A
5 -A-A whippoorwill · leaves^A · heard · eves^A
6 -A-A moon · lawn^A · deer · fawn^A
7 -A-A son · here^A · harm · deer^A
8 -A-A home · more^A · shines · door^A
9 -A-A walked · ago^A · here · bow^A
10 -A-A feeds · well^A · haunts · dwell^A
11 -A-A game · away^A · moss · lay^A
12 -A-A time · vain^A · deer · again^A
13 -A-A eve · light^A · mead · sight^A
14 -A-A eye · around^A · sharp · sound^A
15 -A-A wood · flew^A · lay · dew^A
16 -A-A moon · before^A · mead · more^A
17 -A-A old · came^A · ground · dame^A
18 -A-A mead · sight^A · noon · night^A

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 common measure. How this is done.

Line	Syl.	Stress
It was a hundred years ago,	8	···/˘·˘/
When, by the woodland ways,	6	···/··
The traveller saw the wild deer drink,	9	·/˘˘·····
Or crop the birchen sprays.	6	···/˘·
Beneath a hill, whose rocky side	8	·····/˘·
O'erbrowed a grassy mead,	6	···/˘·
And fenced a cottage from the wind,	8	···/˘···
A deer was wont to feed.	6	······
She only came when on the cliffs	8	·/˘·····
The evening moonlight lay,	6	·/˘/··
And no man knew the secret haunts	8	·····/˘·
In which she walked by day.	6	······
White were her feet, her forehead showed	8	·····/˘·
A spot of silvery white,	7	···/˘˘·
That seemed to glimmer like a star	8	···/˘···
In autumn's hazy night.	6	·/˘/˘·
And here, when sang the whippoorwill,	7	·····/˘
She cropped the sprouting leaves,	6	···/˘·
And here her rustling steps were heard	8	···/˘···
On still October eves.	6	··˘/˘·
But when the broad midsummer moon	8	····//˘·
Rose o'er that grassy lawn,	6	···/˘·
Beside the silver-footed deer	8	˘/·/˘/˘·
There grazed a spotted fawn.	6	···/˘·
The cottage dame forbade her son	8	·/˘·˘/··
To aim the rifle here;	6	···/˘·
"It were a sin," she said, "to harm	8	········
Or fright that friendly deer.	6	···/˘·
"This spot has been my pleasant home	8	·····/˘·
Ten peaceful years and more;	6	·/˘···
And ever, when the moonlight shines,	8	·/˘··/··
She feeds before our door.	7	····/˘·
"The red men say that here she walked	8	········
A thousand moons ago;	6	·/˘·˘/
They never raise the war-whoop here,	8	·/˘·····
And never twang the bow.	6	·/˘···
"I love to watch her as she feeds,	8	········
And think that all is well	6	······
While such a gentle creature haunts	8	···/˘/˘·
The place in which we dwell."	6	······
The youth obeyed, and sought for game	8	··˘/····
In forests far away,	6	·/˘·˘/
Where, deep in silence and in moss,	8	···/˘···
The ancient woodland lay.	6	·/˘/··
But once, in autumn's golden time,	8	···/˘/˘·
He ranged the wild in vain,	6	······
Nor roused the pheasant nor the deer,	8	···/˘···
And wandered home again.	6	·/˘·˘/
The crescent moon and crimson eve	8	·/˘··/˘·
Shone with a mingling light;	7	···/˘˘·
The deer, upon the grassy mead,	8	·····/˘·
Was feeding full in sight.	6	·/˘···
He raised the rifle to his eye,	8	···/˘···
And from the cliffs around	6	······
A sudden echo, shrill and sharp,	8	·/˘/˘···
Gave back its deadly sound.	6	···/˘·
Away into the neighbouring wood	9	˘/···/˘˘·
The startled creature flew,	6	·/˘/˘·
And crimson drops at morning lay	8	·/˘··/˘·
Amid the glimmering dew.	7	˘/·/˘˘·
Next evening shone the waxing moon	8	·/˘··/˘·
As sweetly as before;	6	·/˘···
The deer upon the grassy mead	8	·····/˘·
Was seen again no more.	6	··˘/··
But ere that crescent moon was old,	8	···/˘···
By night the red men came,	6	······
And burnt the cottage to the ground,	8	···/˘···
And slew the youth and dame.	6	······
Now woods have overgrown the mead,	8	····˘/··
And hid the cliffs from sight;	6	······
There shrieks the hovering hawk at noon,	9	···/˘˘···
And prowls the fox at night.	6	······

On this poem

During the stay of Long's Expedition at Engineer Cantonment, three specimens of a variety of the common deer were brought in, having all the feet white near the hoofs, and extending to those on the hind feet from a little above the spurious hoofs. This white extremity was divided, upon the sides of the foot, by the general colour of the leg, which extends down near to the hoofs, leaving a white triangle in front, of which the point was elevated rather higher than the spurious hoofs.--GODMAN'S NATURAL HISTORY, vol. ii. p 314.

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