Purple Clover
There is a flower that bees prefer,And butterflies desire;To gain the purple democratThe humming-birds aspire.
And whatsoever insect pass,A honey bears awayProportioned to his several dearthAnd her capacity.
Her face is rounder than the moon,And ruddier than the gownOf orchis in the pasture,Or rhododendron worn.
She doth not wait for June;Before the world is greenHer sturdy little countenanceAgainst the wind is seen,
Contending with the grass,Near kinsman to herself,For privilege of sod and sun,Sweet litigants for life.
And when the hills are full,And newer fashions blow,Doth not retract a single spiceFor pang of jealousy.
Her public is the noon,Her providence the sun,Her progress by the bee proclaimedIn sovereign, swerveless tune.
The bravest of the host,Surrendering the last,Nor even of defeat awareWhen cancelled by the frost.
Words in this poem
- democrat n.
- One who is an adherent or advocate of democracy, or government by the people. [Cf. F. démocrate.]
- aspire v. t.
- To aspire to; to long for; to try to reach; to mount to.
- dearth n.
- Scarcity which renders dear; want; lack; specifically, lack of food on account of failure of crops; famine. [OE. derthe, fr. dere. See Dear.]
- rounder n.
- One who rounds; one who comes about frequently or regularly.
- rhododendron n.
- A genus of shrubs or small trees, often having handsome evergreen leaves, and remarkable for the beauty of their flowers; rosebay. [L., fr. Gr. "rodo`dendron, literally, rose tree; "ro`don rose + de`ndron tree. See Rose.]
- kinsman n.
- A man of the same race or family; one related by blood.
- defeat v. t.
- To undo; to disfigure; to destroy. [From F. défait, OF. desfait, p. p. ofe défaire, OF. desfaire, to undo; L. dis- + facere to do. See Feat, Fact, and cf. Disfashion.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Purple Clover is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems by Emily Dickinson, Three Series, Complete, Project Gutenberg ebook #12242; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Emily Dickinson, Purple Clover, in Poems (1890–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12242, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dickinson-poems/purple-clover.html, id L03608.
Form and metre
Purple Clover is 32 lines in 8 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is short measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.6 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 28% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in short measure.
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.
- 4 -A-A june · greenA · countenance · seenA
- 7 A--A noonA · sun · proclaimed · tuneA
- 8 -A-A host · lastA · aware · frostA
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 short measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| There is a flower that bees prefer, | 8 | ···/··˘/ |
| And butterflies desire; | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| To gain the purple democrat | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The humming-birds aspire. | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| And whatsoever insect pass, | 8 | ··˘/˘/·· |
| A honey bears away | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| Proportioned to his several dearth | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| And her capacity. | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| Her face is rounder than the moon, | 7 | ···/··· |
| And ruddier than the gown | 6 | ······ |
| Of orchis in the pasture, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Or rhododendron worn. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| She doth not wait for June; | 6 | ······ |
| Before the world is green | 6 | ······ |
| Her sturdy little countenance | 7 | ·/˘/˘/˘ |
| Against the wind is seen, | 6 | ······ |
| Contending with the grass, | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| Near kinsman to herself, | 6 | ·/··˘/ |
| For privilege of sod and sun, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Sweet litigants for life. | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| And when the hills are full, | 6 | ······ |
| And newer fashions blow, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Doth not retract a single spice | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| For pang of jealousy. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Her public is the noon, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Her providence the sun, | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| Her progress by the bee proclaimed | 8 | ·/····˘/ |
| In sovereign, swerveless tune. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| The bravest of the host, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Surrendering the last, | 6 | ˘/˘˘·· |
| Nor even of defeat aware | 7 | ·/·˘/˘/ |
| When cancelled by the frost. | 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.