April Love
We have walked in Love's land a little way,We have learnt his lesson a little while,And shall we not part at the end of day,With a sigh, a smile?
A little while in the shine of the sun,We were twined together, joined lips, forgotHow the shadows fall when the day is done,And when Love is not.
We have made no vows--there will none be broke,Our love was free as the wind on the hill,There was no word said we need wish unspoke,We have wrought no ill.
So shall we not part at the end of day,Who have loved and lingered a little while,Join lips for the last time, go our way,With a sigh, a smile?
Words in this poem
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
April Love is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems and Prose of Ernest Dowson, With a Memoir by Arthur Symons, Project Gutenberg ebook #8497; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Ernest Dowson, April Love, in The Poems of Ernest Dowson (1896–1899), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8497, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dowson-poems/april-love.html, id L01635.
Form and metre
April Love is 16 lines in 4 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 76%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.8 syllables. 6% 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 ABAB wayA · whileB · dayA · smileB
- 2 ABAB sunA · forgotB · doneA · notB
- 3 ABAB brokeA · hillB · unspokeA · illB
- 4 ABAB dayA · whileB · wayA · smileB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| We have walked in Love's land a little way, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| We have learnt his lesson a little while, | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| And shall we not part at the end of day, | 10 | ·········· |
| With a sigh, a smile? | 5 | ····· |
| A little while in the shine of the sun, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| We were twined together, joined lips, forgot | 10 | ···˘/˘··˘/ |
| How the shadows fall when the day is done, | 10 | ··/······· |
| And when Love is not. | 5 | ····· |
| We have made no vows--there will none be broke, | 10 | ·········· |
| Our love was free as the wind on the hill, | 10 | /········· |
| There was no word said we need wish unspoke, | 10 | ·········· |
| We have wrought no ill. | 5 | ····· |
| So shall we not part at the end of day, | 10 | ·········· |
| Who have loved and lingered a little while, | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| Join lips for the last time, go our way, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| With a sigh, a smile? | 5 | ····· |
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.