In the Shadow of the Beeches
In the shadow of the beeches,Where the fragile wildflowers bloom;Where the pensive silence pleachesGreen a roof of cool perfume,Have you felt an awe imperiousAs when, in a church, mysteriousWindows paint with God the gloom?
In the shadow of the beeches,Where the rock-ledged waters flow;Where the sun's slant splendor bleachesEvery wave to foaming snow,Have you felt a music solemnAs when minster arch and columnEcho organ worship low?
In the shadow of the beeches,Where the light and shade are blent;Where the forest bird beseeches,And the breeze is brimmed with scent,--Is it joy or melancholyThat o'erwhelms us partly, wholly,To our spirit's betterment?
In the shadow of the beechesLay me where no eye perceives;Where,--like some great arm that reachesGently as a love that grieves,--One gnarled root may clasp me kindly,While the long years, working blindly,Slowly change my dust to leaves.
Words in this poem
- imperious a.
- Commanding; ascendant; imperial; lordly; majestic. [L. imperiosus: cf. F. impérieux. See Imperial.]
- blent p. p.
- Blinded. Also (Chaucer), 3d sing. pres. Blindeth.
- betterment n.
- A making better; amendment; improvement. W. Montagu.
- gnarled a.
- Knotty; full of knots or gnarls; twisted; crossgrained.
- blindly adv.
- Without sight, discernment, or understanding; without thought, investigation, knowledge, or purpose of one's own.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
In the Shadow of the Beeches 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, In the Shadow of the Beeches, in Poems (1911), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7796, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/cawein-poems/in-the-shadow-of-the-beeches.html, id L10861.
Form and metre
In the Shadow of the Beeches is 28 lines in 4 stanzas of 7 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCCB, complete in 2 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.8 syllables. 16 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 32% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic 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 -A-ABBA beeches · bloomA · pleaches · perfumeA · imperiousB · mysteriousB · gloomA
- 2 ABABCCB beechesA · flowB · bleachesA · snowB · solemnC · columnC · lowB
- 3 ABAB--B beechesA · blentB · beseechesA · scentB · melancholy · wholly · bettermentB
- 4 ABABCCB beechesA · perceivesB · reachesA · grievesB · kindlyC · blindlyC · leavesB
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| In the shadow of the beeches, | 8 | ··/···/˘ |
| Where the fragile wildflowers bloom; | 7 | ··/˘/·· |
| Where the pensive silence pleaches | 8 | ··/˘/˘·· |
| Green a roof of cool perfume, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Have you felt an awe imperious | 9 | ·····˘/˘˘ |
| As when, in a church, mysterious | 9 | ·····˘/˘˘ |
| Windows paint with God the gloom? | 7 | /˘····· |
| In the shadow of the beeches, | 8 | ··/···/˘ |
| Where the rock-ledged waters flow; | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Where the sun's slant splendor bleaches | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Every wave to foaming snow, | 8 | /˘˘··/˘· |
| Have you felt a music solemn | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| As when minster arch and column | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Echo organ worship low? | 7 | /˘/˘/˘· |
| In the shadow of the beeches, | 8 | ··/···/˘ |
| Where the light and shade are blent; | 7 | ······· |
| Where the forest bird beseeches, | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| And the breeze is brimmed with scent,-- | 8 | ·····˘·· |
| Is it joy or melancholy | 8 | ····/˘·˘ |
| That o'erwhelms us partly, wholly, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| To our spirit's betterment? | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘˘ |
| In the shadow of the beeches | 8 | ··/···/˘ |
| Lay me where no eye perceives; | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Where,--like some great arm that reaches | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Gently as a love that grieves,-- | 7 | /˘····· |
| One gnarled root may clasp me kindly, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| While the long years, working blindly, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Slowly change my dust to leaves. | 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.