The Spirit of the Forest Spring
Over the rocks she trails her locks,Her mossy locks that drip, drip, drip:Her sparkling eyes smile at the skiesIn friendship-wise and fellowship:While the gleam and glance of her countenanceLull into trance the woodland places,As over the rocks she trails her locks,Her dripping locks that the long fern graces.
She pours clear ooze from her heart's cool cruse,Its crystal cruse that drips, drips, drips:And all the day its limpid sprayIs heard to play from her finger tips:And the slight, soft sound makes haunted groundOf the woods around that the sunlight laces,As she pours clear ooze from her heart's cool cruse,Its dripping cruse that no man traces.
She swims and swims with glimmering limbs,With lucid limbs that drip, drip, drip:Where beechen boughs build a leafy house,Where her eyes may drowse or her beauty trip:And the liquid beat of her rippling feetMakes three times sweet the forest mazes,As she swims and swims with glimmering limbs,With dripping limbs through the twilight hazes.
Then wrapped in deeps of the wild she sleeps,She whispering sleeps and drips, drips, drips:Where moon and mist wreathe neck and wrist,And, starry-whist, through the dark she slips:While the heavenly dream of her soul makes gleamThe falls that stream and the foam that races,As wrapped in the deeps of the wild she sleeps,She dripping sleeps or starward gazes.
Words in this poem
- drip v. i.
- To fall in drops; as, water drips from the eaves. [Akin to LG. drippen, Dan. dryppe, from a noun. See Drop.]
- lull v. t.
- To cause to rest by soothing influences; to compose; to calm; to soothe; to quiet. [Akin to OD. lullen to sing to sleep, G. lullen, Dan. lulle, Sw. lulla; all of imitative origin. Cf. Loll, Lollard.]
- dripping n.
- A falling in drops, or the sound so made.
- haunted a.
- Inhabited by, or subject to the visits of, apparitions; frequented by a ghost.
- beechen a.
- Consisting, or made, of the wood or bark of the beech; belonging to the beech. [AS. b.]
- drowse v. i.
- To sleep imperfectly or unsoundly; to slumber; to be heavy with sleepiness; to doze. [AS. dr, dr, to sink, become slow or inactive; cf. OD. droosen to be sleepy, fall asleep, LG. dr, druusken, to slumber, fall down with a noise; prob, akin to AS.]
- starry a.
- Abounding with stars; adorned with stars.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Spirit of the Forest Spring 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 Spirit of the Forest Spring, in Poems (1911), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7796, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/cawein-poems/the-spirit-of-the-forest-spring.html, id L10902.
Form and metre
The Spirit of the Forest Spring is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.0 syllables. 9 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 19% 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 ABCB-CAC locksA · dripB · skiesC · fellowshipB · countenance · placesC · locksA · gracesC
- 2 AB-B-CAC cruseA · dripsB · spray · tipsB · ground · lacesC · cruseA · tracesC
- 3 AB-B-CAC limbsA · dripB · house · tripB · feet · mazesC · limbsA · hazesC
- 4 AB-B--A- sleepsA · dripsB · wrist · slipsB · gleam · races · sleepsA · gazes
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Over the rocks she trails her locks, | 8 | ········ |
| Her mossy locks that drip, drip, drip: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Her sparkling eyes smile at the skies | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| In friendship-wise and fellowship: | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| While the gleam and glance of her countenance | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Lull into trance the woodland places, | 9 | ·····/·/˘ |
| As over the rocks she trails her locks, | 8 | ········ |
| Her dripping locks that the long fern graces. | 10 | ·/˘·····/˘ |
| She pours clear ooze from her heart's cool cruse, | 9 | ········· |
| Its crystal cruse that drips, drips, drips: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And all the day its limpid spray | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Is heard to play from her finger tips: | 9 | ······/˘· |
| And the slight, soft sound makes haunted ground | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Of the woods around that the sunlight laces, | 11 | ·······/·/˘ |
| As she pours clear ooze from her heart's cool cruse, | 10 | ·········· |
| Its dripping cruse that no man traces. | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| She swims and swims with glimmering limbs, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| With lucid limbs that drip, drip, drip: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Where beechen boughs build a leafy house, | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| Where her eyes may drowse or her beauty trip: | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And the liquid beat of her rippling feet | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| Makes three times sweet the forest mazes, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| As she swims and swims with glimmering limbs, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| With dripping limbs through the twilight hazes. | 10 | ·/˘···/·/˘ |
| Then wrapped in deeps of the wild she sleeps, | 9 | ········· |
| She whispering sleeps and drips, drips, drips: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Where moon and mist wreathe neck and wrist, | 8 | ········ |
| And, starry-whist, through the dark she slips: | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| While the heavenly dream of her soul makes gleam | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| The falls that stream and the foam that races, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| As wrapped in the deeps of the wild she sleeps, | 10 | ·········· |
| She dripping sleeps or starward gazes. | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
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.