There Are Faeries
There are faeries, bright of eye,Who the wildflowers' warders are:Ouphes, that chase the firefly;Elves, that ride the shooting-star:Fays, who in a cobweb lie,Swinging on a moonbeam bar;Or who harness bumblebees,Grumbling on the clover leas,To a blossom or a breeze--That's their faery car.If you care, you too may seeThere are faeries.--Verily,There are faeries.
There are faeries. I could swearI have seen them busy, whereRoses loose their scented hair,In the moonlight weaving, weaving,
Out of starlight and the dew,Glinting gown and shimmering shoe;Or, within a glowworm lair,From the dark earth slowly heavingMushrooms whiter than the moon,On whose tops they sit and croon,With their grig-like mandolins,To fair faery ladykins,Leaning from the windowsillOf a rose or daffodil,Listening to their serenadeAll of cricket-music made.Follow me, oh, follow me!Ho! away to Faërie!Where your eyes like mine may seeThere are faeries.--Verily,There are faeries.
There are faeries. Elves that swingIn a wild and rainbow ringThrough the air; or mount the wingOf a bat to courier newsTo the faery King and Queen:Fays, who stretch the gossamersOn which twilight hangs the dews;
Who, within the moonlight sheen,Whisper dimly in the earsOf the flowers words so sweetThat their hearts are turned to muskAnd to honey; things that beatIn their veins of gold and blue:Ouphes, that shepherd moths of dusk--Soft of wing and gray of hue--Forth to pasture on the dew.
There are faeries; verily;Verily:For the old owl in the tree,Hollow tree,He who maketh melodyFor them tripping merrily,Told it me.There are faeries.--Verily,There are faeries.
Words in this poem
- firefly n.
- Any luminous winged insect, esp. luminous beetles of the family Lampyridæ.
- cobweb n.
- The network spread by a spider to catch its prey. [Cob a spider + web.]
- moonbeam n.
- A ray of light from the moon.
- starlight n.
- The light given by the stars.
- shimmering n.
- A gleam or glimmering.
- glowworm n.
- A coleopterous insect of the genus Lampyris; esp., the wingless females and larvæ of the two European species (L. noctiluca, and L.
- lair n.
- A place in which to lie or rest; especially, the bed or couch of a wild beast. [OE. leir, AS. leger; akin to D. leger, G. lager couch, lair, OHG. laga, Goth. ligrs, and to E. lie. See Lie to be prostrate, and cf. Layer, Leaguer.]
- croon v. i.
- To make a continuous hollow moan, as cattle do when in pain.
- sheen v. i.
- To shine; to glisten.
- dimly adv.
- In a dim or obscure manner; not brightly or clearly; with imperfect sight.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
There Are Faeries 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, There Are Faeries, in Poems (1911), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7796, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/cawein-poems/there-are-faeries.html, id L10901.
Form and metre
There Are Faeries is 59 lines in 6 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.5 syllables. 10 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% 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 ABABABCCCB--- eyeA · areB · fireflyA · starB · lieA · barB · bumblebeesC · leasC · breezeC · carB · see · verily · faeries
- 2 AAA- swearA · whereA · hairA · weaving
- 3 AA--BBCC--DDE-E-- dewA · shoeA · lair · heaving · moonB · croonB · mandolinsC · ladykinsC · windowsill · daffodil · serenadeD · madeD · meE · faërie · seeE · verily · faeries
- 4 AAAB-BB swingA · ringA · wingA · newsB · queen · gossamersB · dewsB
- 5 --ABACBCC sheen · ears · sweetA · muskB · beatA · blueC · duskB · hueC · dewC
- 6 AABB--BA- verilyA · verilyA · treeB · treeB · melody · merrily · meB · verilyA · faeries
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 |
|---|---|---|
| There are faeries, bright of eye, | 6 | ······ |
| Who the wildflowers' warders are: | 7 | ··/·/˘· |
| Ouphes, that chase the firefly; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Elves, that ride the shooting-star: | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Fays, who in a cobweb lie, | 7 | ····/·· |
| Swinging on a moonbeam bar; | 7 | /˘··/·· |
| Or who harness bumblebees, | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Grumbling on the clover leas, | 8 | /˘˘··/˘· |
| To a blossom or a breeze-- | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| That's their faery car. | 5 | ····· |
| If you care, you too may see | 7 | ······· |
| There are faeries.--Verily, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| There are faeries. | 3 | ··· |
| There are faeries. I could swear | 6 | ······ |
| I have seen them busy, where | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Roses loose their scented hair, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| In the moonlight weaving, weaving, | 8 | ··/·/˘/˘ |
| Out of starlight and the dew, | 7 | ··/···· |
| Glinting gown and shimmering shoe; | 8 | /˘··/˘˘· |
| Or, within a glowworm lair, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| From the dark earth slowly heaving | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Mushrooms whiter than the moon, | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| On whose tops they sit and croon, | 7 | ······· |
| With their grig-like mandolins, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| To fair faery ladykins, | 7 | ······· |
| Leaning from the windowsill | 7 | /˘····· |
| Of a rose or daffodil, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Listening to their serenade | 8 | /˘˘···˘/ |
| All of cricket-music made. | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Follow me, oh, follow me! | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Ho! away to Faërie! | 6 | ·˘/··· |
| Where your eyes like mine may see | 7 | ······· |
| There are faeries.--Verily, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| There are faeries. | 3 | ··· |
| There are faeries. Elves that swing | 6 | ······ |
| In a wild and rainbow ring | 7 | ····/·· |
| Through the air; or mount the wing | 7 | ······· |
| Of a bat to courier news | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| To the faery King and Queen: | 7 | ······· |
| Fays, who stretch the gossamers | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| On which twilight hangs the dews; | 7 | ··/···· |
| Who, within the moonlight sheen, | 7 | ····/·· |
| Whisper dimly in the ears | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| Of the flowers words so sweet | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| That their hearts are turned to musk | 8 | ·····˘·· |
| And to honey; things that beat | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| In their veins of gold and blue: | 7 | ······· |
| Ouphes, that shepherd moths of dusk-- | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Soft of wing and gray of hue-- | 7 | ······· |
| Forth to pasture on the dew. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| There are faeries; verily; | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Verily: | 3 | /˘˘ |
| For the old owl in the tree, | 7 | ······· |
| Hollow tree, | 3 | /˘· |
| He who maketh melody | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| For them tripping merrily, | 7 | ··/˘/˘˘ |
| Told it me. | 3 | ··· |
| There are faeries.--Verily, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| There are faeries. | 3 | ··· |
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