Graves of Infants
Infants’ gravemounds are steps of angels, whereEarth’s brightest gems of innocence repose.God is their parent, so they need no tear;He takes them to his bosom from earth’s woes,A bud their lifetime and a flower their close.Their spirits are the Iris of the skies,Needing no prayers; a sunset’s happy close.Gone are the bright rays of their soft blue eyes;Flowers weep in dew-drops o’er them, and the gale gently sighs.
Their lives were nothing but a sunny shower,Melting on flowers as tears melt from the eye.Each deathWas tolled on flowers as Summer gales went by.They bowed and trembled, yet they heaved no sigh,And the sun smiled to show the end was well.Infants have nought to weep for ere they die;All prayers are needless, beads they need not tell,White flowers their mourners are, Nature their passing bell.
Words in this poem
- lifetime n.
- The time that life continues.
- sunny a.
- Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; hence, shining; bright; brilliant; radiant.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- needless a.
- Having no need.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Graves of Infants is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #52601; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Clare, Graves of Infants, in Poems (1820–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #52601, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/clare-poems/graves-of-infants.html, id L06694.
Form and metre
Graves of Infants is 18 lines in 2 stanzas of 9 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 11% 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 ABABBCBCC whereA · reposeB · tearA · woesB · closeB · skiesC · closeB · eyesC · sighsC
- 2 -A-AABABB shower · eyeA · death · byA · sighA · wellB · dieA · tellB · bellB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Infants’ gravemounds are steps of angels, where | 11 | /˘······/˘· |
| Earth’s brightest gems of innocence repose. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘˘/ |
| God is their parent, so they need no tear; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| He takes them to his bosom from earth’s woes, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| A bud their lifetime and a flower their close. | 10 | ···/···/·· |
| Their spirits are the Iris of the skies, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Needing no prayers; a sunset’s happy close. | 10 | /˘···/·/˘· |
| Gone are the bright rays of their soft blue eyes; | 10 | ·········· |
| Flowers weep in dew-drops o’er them, and the gale gently sighs. | 13 | /·········/˘· |
| Their lives were nothing but a sunny shower, | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Melting on flowers as tears melt from the eye. | 10 | /˘·/······ |
| Each death | 2 | ·· |
| Was tolled on flowers as Summer gales went by. | 10 | ···/·/˘··· |
| They bowed and trembled, yet they heaved no sigh, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And the sun smiled to show the end was well. | 10 | ·········· |
| Infants have nought to weep for ere they die; | 10 | /˘········ |
| All prayers are needless, beads they need not tell, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| White flowers their mourners are, Nature their passing bell. | 12 | ·/·/˘·/˘·/˘· |
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.