A Niëllo II
When orchards are in bloom againMy heart will bound, my blood will beat,To hear the redbird so repeat,On boughs of rosy stain,His blithe, loud song,--like some far strainFrom out the past,--among the bloom,--(Where bee and wasp and hornet boom)--Fresh, redolent of rain.
When orchards are in bloom once more,Invasions of lost dreams will drawMy feet, like some insistent law,Through blossoms to her door:In dreams I'll ask her, as before,To let me help her at the well;And fill her pail; and long to tellMy love as once of yore.
I shall not speak until we quitThe farm-gate, leading to the laneAnd orchard, all in bloom again,Mid which the bluebirds sitAnd sing; and through whose blossoms flitThe catbirds crying while they fly:Then tenderly I'll speak, and tryTo tell her all of it.
And in my dream again she'll placeHer hand in mine, as oft before,--When orchards are in bloom once more,--With all her young-girl grace:And we shall tarry till a traceOf sunset dyes the heav'ns; and then--We'll part; and, parting, I againShall bend and kiss her face.
And homeward, singing, I shall goAlong the cricket-chirring ways,While sunset, one long crimson blazeOf orchards, lingers low:And my dead youth again I'll know,And all her love, when spring is here--Whose memory holds me many a year,Whose love still haunts me so!
Words in this poem
- blithe a.
- Gay; merry; sprightly; joyous; glad; cheerful; as, a blithe spirit. [AS. bli blithe, kind; akin to Goth. blei kind, Icel. bli mild, gentle, Dan. & Sw. blid gentle, D. blijd blithe, OHG. blidi kind, blithe.]
- redolent a.
- Diffusing odor or fragrance; spreading sweet scent; scented; odorous; smelling; -- usually followed by of. [L. redolens, -entis, p. pr. of redolere to emit a scent, diffuse an odor; pref. red-, re-, re- + olere to emit a smell. See Odor.]
- insistent a.
- Standing or resting on something; as, an insistent wall. Sir H. [L. insistens, -entis, p. pr. of insistere.]
- yore adv.
- In time long past; in old time; long since. [OE. , yare, , AS. geára;akin to geár a year, E. year. Year.]
- 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,]
- flit a.
- Nimble; quick; swift. See Fleet.
- tenderly adv.
- In a tender manner; with tenderness; mildly; gently; softly; in a manner not to injure or give pain; with pity or affection; kindly.
- homeward a.
- Being in the direction of home; as, the homeward way.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Niëllo II is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #7796; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Madison Julius Cawein, A Niëllo II, in Poems (1911), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7796, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/cawein-poems/a-ni-llo-ii.html, id L10841.
Form and metre
A Niëllo II is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABBAACCA. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.5 syllables. 35% 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 ABBAACCA againA · beatB · repeatB · stainA · strainA · bloomC · boomC · rainA
- 2 ABBAACCA moreA · drawB · lawB · doorA · beforeA · wellC · tellC · yoreA
- 3 ABBAACCA quitA · laneB · againB · sitA · flitA · flyC · tryC · itA
- 4 ABBAACCA placeA · beforeB · moreB · graceA · traceA · thenC · againC · faceA
- 5 ABBAACCA goA · waysB · blazeB · lowA · knowA · hereC · yearC · soA
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 orchards are in bloom again | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| My heart will bound, my blood will beat, | 8 | ········ |
| To hear the redbird so repeat, | 8 | ···/··˘/ |
| On boughs of rosy stain, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| His blithe, loud song,--like some far strain | 8 | ········ |
| From out the past,--among the bloom,-- | 8 | ········ |
| (Where bee and wasp and hornet boom)-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Fresh, redolent of rain. | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| When orchards are in bloom once more, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Invasions of lost dreams will draw | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| My feet, like some insistent law, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Through blossoms to her door: | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| In dreams I'll ask her, as before, | 8 | ········ |
| To let me help her at the well; | 8 | ········ |
| And fill her pail; and long to tell | 8 | ········ |
| My love as once of yore. | 6 | ······ |
| I shall not speak until we quit | 8 | ········ |
| The farm-gate, leading to the lane | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And orchard, all in bloom again, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Mid which the bluebirds sit | 6 | ···/·· |
| And sing; and through whose blossoms flit | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The catbirds crying while they fly: | 8 | ·/·/˘··· |
| Then tenderly I'll speak, and try | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| To tell her all of it. | 6 | ······ |
| And in my dream again she'll place | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Her hand in mine, as oft before,-- | 8 | ········ |
| When orchards are in bloom once more,-- | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| With all her young-girl grace: | 6 | ······ |
| And we shall tarry till a trace | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Of sunset dyes the heav'ns; and then-- | 8 | ·/······ |
| We'll part; and, parting, I again | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Shall bend and kiss her face. | 6 | ······ |
| And homeward, singing, I shall go | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Along the cricket-chirring ways, | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| While sunset, one long crimson blaze | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| Of orchards, lingers low: | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| And my dead youth again I'll know, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| And all her love, when spring is here-- | 8 | ········ |
| Whose memory holds me many a year, | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| Whose love still haunts me so! | 6 | ······ |
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.