The Chipmunk
He makes a roadway of the crumbling fence,Or on the fallen tree,--brown as a leafFall stripes with russet,--gambols down the denseGreen twilight of the woods. We see not whenceHe comes, nor whither (in a time so brief)He vanishes--swift carrier of some Fay,Some pixy steed that haunts our child-belief--A goblin glimpse upon some wildwood way.
What harlequin mood of nature qualifiedHim so with happiness? and limbed him withSuch young activity as winds, that rideThe ripples, have, dancing on every side?As sunbeams know, that urge the sap and pithThrough hearts of trees? yet made him to delight,Gnome-like, in darkness,--like a moonlight myth,--Lairing in labyrinths of the under night.
Here, by a rock, beneath the moss, a holeLeads to his home, the den wherein he sleeps;Lulled by near noises of the laboring moleTunneling its mine--like some ungainly Troll--Or by the tireless cricket there that keepsPicking its rusty and monotonous lute;Or slower sounds of grass that creeps and creeps,And trees unrolling mighty root on root.
Such is the music of his sleeping hours.Day hath another--'tis a melodyHe trips to, made by the assembled flowers,And light and fragrance laughing 'mid the bowers,And ripeness busy with the acorn-tree.Such strains, perhaps, as filled with mute amaze(The silent music of Earth's ecstasy)The Satyr's soul, the Faun of classic days.
Words in this poem
- roadway n.
- A road; especially, the part traveled by carriages.
- whither adv.
- To what place; -- used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou [OE. whider. AS. hwider; akin to E. where, who; cf. Goth. hvadre whither. See Who, and cf. Hither, Thither.]
- pixy n.
- An old English name for a fairy; an elf. [For Pucksy, from Puck.]
- steed n.
- A horse, especially a spirited horse for state of war; -- used chiefly in poetry or stately prose. [OE. stede, AS. steda a stud-horse, war horse, fr. stod a stud of breeding steeds; akin to G. stute a mare, Icel. stedda, sto, a stud. *163. See Stud of horses.]
- wildwood n.
- A wild or unfrequented wood. Also used adjectively; as, wildwood flowers; wildwood echoes. Burns.
- limbed a.
- Having limbs; -- much used in composition; as, large-limbed; short-limbed.
- gnome n.
- An imaginary being, supposed by the Rosicrucians to inhabit the inner parts of the earth, and to be the guardian of mines, quarries, etc. [F. gnome, prob. fr. Gr. i. e., of the treasures in the inner parts of the earth, or fr. Know.]
- laboring a.
- That labors; performing labor; esp., performing coarse, heavy work, not requiring skill also, set apart for labor; as, laboring days.
- troll n.
- A supernatural being, often represented as of diminutive size, but sometimes as a giant, and fabled to inhabit caves, hills, and like places; a witch. Troll flower. (Bot.) Same as Globeflower (a). [Icel. troll. Cf. Droll, Trull.]
- amaze v. t.
- To bewilder; to stupefy; to bring into a maze. [Pref. a- + maze.]
- faun n.
- A god of fields and shipherds, diddering little from the satyr. [L. Faunus, fr. favere to be favorable. See Favor.]
- classic a.
- Of or relating to the first class or rank, especially in literature or art. [L. classicus relating to the classes of the Roman people, and especially to the frist class; hence, of the first rank, superior, from classis class: cf. F. clas]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Chipmunk 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, The Chipmunk, in Poems (1911), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7796, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/cawein-poems/the-chipmunk.html, id L10919.
Form and metre
The Chipmunk is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAABCBC, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.8 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 38% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 ABAABCBC fenceA · leafB · denseA · whenceA · briefB · fayC · beliefB · wayC
- 2 ABAABCBC qualifiedA · withB · rideA · sideA · pithB · delightC · mythB · nightC
- 3 ABAABCBC holeA · sleepsB · moleA · trollA · keepsB · luteC · creepsB · rootC
- 4 A-AA-B-B hoursA · melody · flowersA · bowersA · tree · amazeB · ecstasy · daysB
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| He makes a roadway of the crumbling fence, | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| Or on the fallen tree,--brown as a leaf | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Fall stripes with russet,--gambols down the dense | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Green twilight of the woods. We see not whence | 10 | ·/········ |
| He comes, nor whither (in a time so brief) | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| He vanishes--swift carrier of some Fay, | 9 | ·/˘·/˘··· |
| Some pixy steed that haunts our child-belief-- | 10 | ······/·˘/ |
| A goblin glimpse upon some wildwood way. | 10 | ·/˘····/·· |
| What harlequin mood of nature qualified | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Him so with happiness? and limbed him with | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Such young activity as winds, that ride | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| The ripples, have, dancing on every side? | 10 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘· |
| As sunbeams know, that urge the sap and pith | 10 | ·/········ |
| Through hearts of trees? yet made him to delight, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Gnome-like, in darkness,--like a moonlight myth,-- | 10 | ···/˘··/·· |
| Lairing in labyrinths of the under night. | 11 | /˘·/˘······ |
| Here, by a rock, beneath the moss, a hole | 10 | ·········· |
| Leads to his home, the den wherein he sleeps; | 10 | ·········· |
| Lulled by near noises of the laboring mole | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Tunneling its mine--like some ungainly Troll-- | 10 | /˘····˘/˘· |
| Or by the tireless cricket there that keeps | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Picking its rusty and monotonous lute; | 10 | /˘·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Or slower sounds of grass that creeps and creeps, | 9 | ·/······· |
| And trees unrolling mighty root on root. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Such is the music of his sleeping hours. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘/ |
| Day hath another--'tis a melody | 9 | ··˘/˘··/˘ |
| He trips to, made by the assembled flowers, | 10 | ······˘/˘/ |
| And light and fragrance laughing 'mid the bowers, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··/ |
| And ripeness busy with the acorn-tree. | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Such strains, perhaps, as filled with mute amaze | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| (The silent music of Earth's ecstasy) | 9 | ·/˘/˘··/˘ |
| The Satyr's soul, the Faun of classic days. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
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.