Sunrise on Rydal Water (To E. De S.)
Come down at dawn from windless hillsInto the valley of the lake,Where yet a larger quiet fillsThe hour, and mist and water makeWith rocks and reeds and island boughsOne silence and one element,Where wonder goes surely as onceIt wentBy Galilean prows.
Moveless the water and the mist,Moveless the secret air above,Hushed, as upon some happy trystThe poised expectancy of love;What spirit is it that adoresWhat mighty presence yet unseen?What consummation works apaceBetweenThese rapt enchanted shores?
Never did virgin beauty wakeDevouter to the bridal feastThan moves this hour upon the lakeIn adoration to the east;Here is the bride a god may know,The primal will, the young consent,Till surely upon the appointed moodIntentThe god shall leap--and, lo,
Over the lake’s end strikes the sun,White, flameless fire; some purityThrilling the mist, a splendour wonOut of the world’s heart. Let there beThoughts, and atonements, and desires,Proud limbs, and undeliberate tongue,Where now we move with mortal oarsAmongImmortal dews and fires.
So the old mating goes apace,Wind with the sea, and blood with thought,Lover with lover; and the graceOf understanding comes unsoughtWhen stars into the twilight steer,Or thrushes build among the may,Or wonder moves between the hills,And dayComes up on Rydal mere.
Words in this poem 16
- windless a.
- Having no wind; calm.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- galilean a.
- Of or pertaining to Galileo; as, the Galilean telescope. See Telescope.
- moveless a.
- Motionless; fixed.
- tryst v. i.
- To mutually agree to meet at a certain place.
- expectancy n.
- The act of expecting ; expectation.
- unseen a.
- Not seen or discovered.
- consummation n.
- The act of consummating, or the state of being consummated; completed; completion; perfection; termination; end (as of the world or of life). [L. consummatio.]
- apace adv.
- With a quick pace; quick; fast; speedily. [Pref. a- + pace. OE. a pas at a walk, in which a is the article. See Pace.]
- 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.]
- enchanted a.
- Under the power of enchantment; possessed or exercised by enchanters; as, an enchanted castle.
- primal a.
- First; primary; original; chief. [LL. primalis, fr. L. primus the first. See Prime, a.]
- 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,]
- flameless a.
- Destitute of flame. Sandys.
- thrilling a.
- Causing a thrill; causing tremulous excitement; deeply moving; as, a thrilling romance.
- splendour n.
- Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sunrise on Rydal Water (To E. De S.) is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, 1908-1919, Project Gutenberg ebook #51575; 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 Drinkwater, Sunrise on Rydal Water (To E. De S.), in Poems, 1908-1919 (1919), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #51575, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/drinkwater-poems/sunrise-on-rydal-water-to-e-de-s.html, id L23095.
Form and metre
Sunrise on Rydal Water (To E. De S.) is 45 lines in 5 stanzas of 9 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
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 ABABCD-DC hillsA · lakeB · fillsA · makeB · boughsC · elementD · once · wentD · prowsC
- 2 ABABCD-DC mistA · aboveB · trystA · loveB · adoresC · unseenD · apace · betweenD · shoresC
- 3 ABABCD-DC wakeA · feastB · lakeA · eastB · knowC · consentD · mood · intentD · loC
- 4 A-A-BC-CB sunA · purity · wonA · be · desiresB · tongueC · oars · amongC · firesB
- 5 ABABCD-DC apaceA · thoughtB · graceA · unsoughtB · steerC · mayD · hills · dayD · mereC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Come down at dawn from windless hills | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Into the valley of the lake, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Where yet a larger quiet fills | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The hour, and mist and water make | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| With rocks and reeds and island boughs | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| One silence and one element, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| Where wonder goes surely as once | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| It went | 2 | ·· |
| By Galilean prows. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Moveless the water and the mist, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Moveless the secret air above, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Hushed, as upon some happy tryst | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The poised expectancy of love; | 8 | ··˘/˘˘·· |
| What spirit is it that adores | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| What mighty presence yet unseen? | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| What consummation works apace | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| Between | 2 | ·· |
| These rapt enchanted shores? | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Never did virgin beauty wake | 8 | /˘·/˘/˘· |
| Devouter to the bridal feast | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Than moves this hour upon the lake | 8 | ···/···· |
| In adoration to the east; | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Here is the bride a god may know, | 8 | ········ |
| The primal will, the young consent, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Till surely upon the appointed mood | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| Intent | 2 | ˘/ |
| The god shall leap--and, lo, | 6 | ······ |
| Over the lake’s end strikes the sun, | 8 | ········ |
| White, flameless fire; some purity | 9 | ·/˘/˘·/˘˘ |
| Thrilling the mist, a splendour won | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Out of the world’s heart. Let there be | 8 | ········ |
| Thoughts, and atonements, and desires, | 9 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| Proud limbs, and undeliberate tongue, | 9 | ········· |
| Where now we move with mortal oars | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Among | 2 | ·· |
| Immortal dews and fires. | 7 | ˘/˘··/˘ |
| So the old mating goes apace, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Wind with the sea, and blood with thought, | 8 | ········ |
| Lover with lover; and the grace | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| Of understanding comes unsought | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| When stars into the twilight steer, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Or thrushes build among the may, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Or wonder moves between the hills, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And day | 2 | ·· |
| Comes up on Rydal mere. | 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.