The Idyll of the Standing Stone
The teasel and the horsemint spreadThe hillside as with sunset, sownWith blossoms, o'er the Standing-StoneThat ripples in its rocky bed:There are no treasuries that holdGold richer than the marigoldThat crowns its sparkling head.
'Tis harvest time: a mower standsAmong the morning wheat and whetsHis scythe, and for a space forgetsThe labor of the ripening lands;Then bends, and through the dewy grainHis long scythe hisses, and againHe swings it in his hands.
And she beholds him where he mowsOn acres whence the water sendsFaint music of reflecting bendsAnd falls that interblend with flows:She stands among the old bee-gums,--Where all the apiary hums,--A simple bramble-rose.
She hears him whistling as he leans,And, reaping, sweeps the ripe wheat by;She sighs and smiles, and knows not why,Nor what her heart's disturbance means:He whets his scythe, and, resting, seesHer rose-like 'mid the hives of bees,Beneath the flowering beans.
The peacock-purple lizard creepsAlong the rail; and deep the droneOf insects makes the country loneWith summer where the water sleeps:She hears him singing as he swingsHis scythe--who thinks of other thingsThan toil, and, singing, reaps.
Words in this poem
- mower n.
- One who, or that which, mows; a mowing machine; as, a lawn mower.
- apiary n.
- A place where bees are kept; a stand or shed for bees; a beehouse. [L. apiarium, fr. apis bee.]
- bramble n.
- Any plant of the genus Rubus, including the raspberry and blackberry. Hence: Any rough, prickly shrub. [OE. brembil, AS.brbramal), fr. the same root as E. broom, As. br. See Broom.]
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Idyll of the Standing Stone 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 Idyll of the Standing Stone, in Poems (1911), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7796, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/cawein-poems/the-idyll-of-the-standing-stone.html, id L10849.
Form and metre
The Idyll of the Standing Stone is 35 lines in 5 stanzas of 7 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABBACCA, complete in 3 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.7 syllables. 54% 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 ABBACCA spreadA · sownB · stoneB · bedA · holdC · marigoldC · headA
- 2 A--ABBA standsA · whets · forgets · landsA · grainB · againB · handsA
- 3 -AABCCB mows · sendsA · bendsA · flowsB · gumsC · humsC · roseB
- 4 ABBACCA leansA · byB · whyB · meansA · seesC · beesC · beansA
- 5 ABBACCA creepsA · droneB · loneB · sleepsA · swingsC · thingsC · reapsA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The teasel and the horsemint spread | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The hillside as with sunset, sown | 8 | ·/···/·· |
| With blossoms, o'er the Standing-Stone | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| That ripples in its rocky bed: | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| There are no treasuries that hold | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Gold richer than the marigold | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| That crowns its sparkling head. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| 'Tis harvest time: a mower stands | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Among the morning wheat and whets | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| His scythe, and for a space forgets | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The labor of the ripening lands; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Then bends, and through the dewy grain | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| His long scythe hisses, and again | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| He swings it in his hands. | 6 | ······ |
| And she beholds him where he mows | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| On acres whence the water sends | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Faint music of reflecting bends | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| And falls that interblend with flows: | 8 | ········ |
| She stands among the old bee-gums,-- | 8 | ········ |
| Where all the apiary hums,-- | 8 | ···/˘˘˘· |
| A simple bramble-rose. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| She hears him whistling as he leans, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And, reaping, sweeps the ripe wheat by; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| She sighs and smiles, and knows not why, | 8 | ········ |
| Nor what her heart's disturbance means: | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| He whets his scythe, and, resting, sees | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Her rose-like 'mid the hives of bees, | 8 | ········ |
| Beneath the flowering beans. | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| The peacock-purple lizard creeps | 8 | ·/·/˘/˘· |
| Along the rail; and deep the drone | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Of insects makes the country lone | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| With summer where the water sleeps: | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| She hears him singing as he swings | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| His scythe--who thinks of other things | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Than toil, and, singing, reaps. | 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.