The Sleeper
As Ann came in one summer's day,She felt that she must creep,So silent was the clear cool house,It seemed a house of sleep.And sure, when she pushed open the door,Rapt in the stillness there,Her mother sat, with stooping head,Asleep upon a chair;Fast--fast asleep; her two hands laidLoose-folded on her knee,So that her small unconscious faceLooked half unreal to be:So calmly lit with sleep's pale lightEach feature was; so fairHer forehead--every trouble wasSmooth'd out beneath her hair.But though her mind in dream now moved,Still seemed her gaze to restFrom out beneath her fast-sealed lids,Above her moving breast,On Ann, as quite, quite still she stood;Yet slumber lay so deepEven her hands upon her lapSeemed saturate with sleep.And as Ann peeped, a cloudlike dreadStole over her, and then,On stealthy, mouselike feet she trod,And tiptoed out again.
Words in this poem
- rapt n.
- An ecstasy; a trance. Bp. Morton. [From F. rapt abduction, rape, L. raptus, fr. rapere to seize and carry off, to transport; or fr. E. rapt, a. See Rapt, a., and Rapid.]
- stillness n.
- The quality or state of being still; quietness; silence; calmness; inactivity.
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Sleeper is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Listeners and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #22569; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Walter de la Mare, The Sleeper, in The Listeners and Other Poems (1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22569, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/de-la-mare-listeners/the-sleeper.html, id L17069.
Form and metre
The Sleeper is 28 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.0 syllables. 32% 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 -A-A-BCB-D-D-B-B-E-E-A-ACF-F day · creepA · house · sleepA · door · thereB · headC · chairB · laid · kneeD · face · beD · light · fairB · was · hairB · moved · restE · lids · breastE · stood · deepA · lap · sleepA · dreadC · thenF · trod · againF
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 |
|---|---|---|
| As Ann came in one summer's day, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| She felt that she must creep, | 6 | ······ |
| So silent was the clear cool house, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| It seemed a house of sleep. | 6 | ······ |
| And sure, when she pushed open the door, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Rapt in the stillness there, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Her mother sat, with stooping head, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Asleep upon a chair; | 6 | ˘/···· |
| Fast--fast asleep; her two hands laid | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Loose-folded on her knee, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| So that her small unconscious face | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Looked half unreal to be: | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| So calmly lit with sleep's pale light | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Each feature was; so fair | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Her forehead--every trouble was | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Smooth'd out beneath her hair. | 6 | ······ |
| But though her mind in dream now moved, | 8 | ········ |
| Still seemed her gaze to rest | 6 | ······ |
| From out beneath her fast-sealed lids, | 8 | ········ |
| Above her moving breast, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| On Ann, as quite, quite still she stood; | 8 | ········ |
| Yet slumber lay so deep | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Even her hands upon her lap | 7 | /······ |
| Seemed saturate with sleep. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And as Ann peeped, a cloudlike dread | 8 | ········ |
| Stole over her, and then, | 6 | ······ |
| On stealthy, mouselike feet she trod, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| And tiptoed out again. | 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.