The Spell
And we have met but twice or thrice!--Three times enough to make me love!--I praised your hair once; then your glove;Your eyes; your gown;--you were like ice;And yet this might suffice, my love,And yet this might suffice.
St. John hath told me what to do:To search and find the ferns that growThe fern seed that the faeries know;Then sprinkle fern seed in my shoe,And haunt the steps of you, my dear,And haunt the steps of you.
You'll see the poppy pods dip here;The blow-ball of the thistle slip,And no wind breathing--but my lipNext to your anxious cheek and ear,To tell you I am near, my love,To tell you I am near.
On wood-ways I shall tread your gown--You'll know it is no brier!--thenI'll whisper words of love again,And smile to see your quick face frown:And then I'll kiss it down, my dear,And then I'll kiss it down.
And when at home you read or knit,--Who'll know it was my hands that blottedThe page?--or all your needles knotted?When in your rage you cry a bit:And loud I laugh at it, my love,And loud I laugh at it.
The secrets that you say in prayerRight so I'll hear: and, when you sing,The name you speak; and whisperingI'll bend and kiss your mouth and hair,And tell you I am there, my dear,And tell you I am there.
Would it were true what people say!--Would I could find that elfin seed!Then should I win your love, indeed,By being near you night and day--There is no other way, my love,There is no other way.
Meantime the truth in this is said:It is my soul that follows you;It needs no fern seed in the shoe,--While in the heart love pulses red,To win you and to wed, my dear,To win you and to wed.
Words in this poem
- suffice v. i.
- To be enough, or sufficient; to meet the need (of anything); to be equal to the end proposed; to be adequate. [OE. suffisen, OF. soufire, F. suffire (cf. suffisant, p.pr.), L. sufficere to put under, to substitute, to avail for, to suffice; sub under + facere to make. Se]
- 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,]
- brier n.
- A plant with a slender woody stem bearing stout prickles; especially, species of Rosa, Rubus, and Smilax. [OE. brere, brer, AS. brer, brær; cf. Ir. briar prickle, thorn, brier, pin, Gael. preas bush, brier, W. prys, prysg.]
- elfin a.
- Relating to elves.
- needs adv.
- Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need. [Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. - wards.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Spell 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 Spell, in Poems (1911), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7796, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/cawein-poems/the-spell.html, id L10892.
Form and metre
The Spell is 48 lines in 8 stanzas of 6 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.7 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 12% 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 ABBABA thriceA · loveB · gloveB · iceA · loveB · sufficeA
- 2 ABBA-A doA · growB · knowB · shoeA · dear · youA
- 3 ABBA-A hereA · slipB · lipB · earA · love · nearA
- 4 ABBA-A gownA · thenB · againB · frownA · dear · downA
- 5 A--A-A knitA · blotted · knotted · bitA · love · itA
- 6 ABBAAA prayerA · singB · whisperingB · hairA · dearA · thereA
- 7 ABBA-A sayA · seedB · indeedB · dayA · love · wayA
- 8 ABBA-A saidA · youB · shoeB · redA · dear · wedA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| And we have met but twice or thrice!-- | 8 | ········ |
| Three times enough to make me love!-- | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| I praised your hair once; then your glove; | 8 | ········ |
| Your eyes; your gown;--you were like ice; | 8 | ········ |
| And yet this might suffice, my love, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| And yet this might suffice. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| St. John hath told me what to do: | 8 | ········ |
| To search and find the ferns that grow | 8 | ········ |
| The fern seed that the faeries know; | 7 | ······· |
| Then sprinkle fern seed in my shoe, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And haunt the steps of you, my dear, | 8 | ········ |
| And haunt the steps of you. | 6 | ······ |
| You'll see the poppy pods dip here; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The blow-ball of the thistle slip, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And no wind breathing--but my lip | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Next to your anxious cheek and ear, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To tell you I am near, my love, | 8 | ········ |
| To tell you I am near. | 6 | ······ |
| On wood-ways I shall tread your gown-- | 8 | ········ |
| You'll know it is no brier!--then | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I'll whisper words of love again, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| And smile to see your quick face frown: | 8 | ········ |
| And then I'll kiss it down, my dear, | 8 | ········ |
| And then I'll kiss it down. | 6 | ······ |
| And when at home you read or knit,-- | 8 | ········ |
| Who'll know it was my hands that blotted | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| The page?--or all your needles knotted? | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| When in your rage you cry a bit: | 8 | ········ |
| And loud I laugh at it, my love, | 8 | ········ |
| And loud I laugh at it. | 6 | ······ |
| The secrets that you say in prayer | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Right so I'll hear: and, when you sing, | 8 | ········ |
| The name you speak; and whispering | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| I'll bend and kiss your mouth and hair, | 8 | ········ |
| And tell you I am there, my dear, | 8 | ········ |
| And tell you I am there. | 6 | ······ |
| Would it were true what people say!-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Would I could find that elfin seed! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Then should I win your love, indeed, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| By being near you night and day-- | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| There is no other way, my love, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| There is no other way. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Meantime the truth in this is said: | 8 | /······· |
| It is my soul that follows you; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| It needs no fern seed in the shoe,-- | 8 | ········ |
| While in the heart love pulses red, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To win you and to wed, my dear, | 8 | ········ |
| To win you and to wed. | 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.