The Charming Month of May
It was the charming month of May,When all the flow’rs were fresh and gay.One morning, by the break of day,The youthful, charming Chloe—From peaceful slumber she arose,Girt on her mantle and her hose,And o’er the flow’ry mead she goes—The youthful, charming Chloe.
Chorus.—Lovely was she by the dawn,Youthful Chloe, charming Chloe,Tripping o’er the pearly lawn,The youthful, charming Chloe.
The feather’d people you might seePerch’d all around on every tree,In notes of sweetest melodyThey hail the charming Chloe;Till, painting gay the eastern skies,The glorious sun began to rise,Outrival’d by the radiant eyesOf youthful, charming Chloe.Lovely was she, &c.
Words in this poem
- girt v. t.
- To gird; to encircle; to invest by means of a girdle; to measure the girth of; as, to girt a tree. [From Girt, n., cf. Girth, v.]
- 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.]
- outrival v. t.
- To surpass in a rivalry.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Charming Month of May is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems and Songs of Robert Burns, Project Gutenberg ebook #1279; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Burns, The Charming Month of May, in Poems and Songs (1786–1796), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1279, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/burns-poems/the-charming-month-of-may.html, id L03389.
Form and metre
The Charming Month of May is 21 lines in 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.6 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 14% 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 AAABCCCB mayA · gayA · dayA · chloeB · aroseC · hoseC · goesC · chloeB
- 2 ABAB dawnA · chloeB · lawnA · chloeB
- 3 AA-BCCCB- seeA · treeA · melody · chloeB · skiesC · riseC · eyesC · chloeB · —
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 |
|---|---|---|
| It was the charming month of May, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| When all the flow’rs were fresh and gay. | 8 | ········ |
| One morning, by the break of day, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The youthful, charming Chloe— | 7 | ·/˘/˘/˘ |
| From peaceful slumber she arose, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Girt on her mantle and her hose, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And o’er the flow’ry mead she goes— | 8 | ········ |
| The youthful, charming Chloe. | 7 | ·/˘/˘/˘ |
| Chorus.—Lovely was she by the dawn, | 9 | /˘/˘····· |
| Youthful Chloe, charming Chloe, | 8 | /˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| Tripping o’er the pearly lawn, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| The youthful, charming Chloe. | 7 | ·/˘/˘/˘ |
| The feather’d people you might see | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Perch’d all around on every tree, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In notes of sweetest melody | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| They hail the charming Chloe; | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Till, painting gay the eastern skies, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The glorious sun began to rise, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| Outrival’d by the radiant eyes | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Of youthful, charming Chloe. | 7 | ·/˘/˘/˘ |
| Lovely was she, &c. | 5 | /˘··· |
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.