Song
When Love came first to Earth, the SPRINGSpread rose-beds to receive himAnd back he vowed his flight he’d wingTo Heaven, if she should leave him.
But SPRING departing, saw his faithPledged to the next new comer—He revelled in the warmer breathAnd richer bowers of SUMMER.
Then sportive AUTUMN claimed by rightsAn Archer for her lover,And even in WINTER’S dark, cold nightsA charm he could discover.
Her routs and balls, and fireside joy,For this time were his reasons—In short, Young Love’s a gallant boy,That likes all times and seasons.
Words in this poem
- comer n.
- One who comes, or who has come; one who has arrived, and is present. All comers, all who come, or offer, to take part in a matter, especially in a contest or controversy.
- discover v. i.
- To discover or show one's self.
- fireside n.
- A place near the fire or hearth; home; domestic life or retirement.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Song is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Thomas Campbell, Project Gutenberg ebook #59788; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Thomas Campbell, Song, in The Pleasures of Hope, and Other Poems (1824), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #59788, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/campbell-poems/song-4.html, id L24444.
Form and metre
Song is 16 lines in 4 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
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 springA · himB · wingA · himB
- 2 -A-A faith · comerA · breath · summerA
- 3 ABAB rightsA · loverB · nightsA · discoverB
- 4 ABAB joyA · reasonsB · boyA · seasonsB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When Love came first to Earth, the SPRING | 8 | ········ |
| Spread rose-beds to receive him | 7 | ····˘/· |
| And back he vowed his flight he’d wing | 8 | ········ |
| To Heaven, if she should leave him. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But SPRING departing, saw his faith | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Pledged to the next new comer— | 8 | ·˘····/˘ |
| He revelled in the warmer breath | 8 | ·˘/··/˘· |
| And richer bowers of SUMMER. | 8 | ·/˘/˘·/˘ |
| Then sportive AUTUMN claimed by rights | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| An Archer for her lover, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| And even in WINTER’S dark, cold nights | 8 | ·/·/˘··· |
| A charm he could discover. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Her routs and balls, and fireside joy, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| For this time were his reasons— | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| In short, Young Love’s a gallant boy, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That likes all times and seasons. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
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.