Merry Autumn
It's all a farce,--these tales they tellAbout the breezes sighing,And moans astir o'er field and dell,Because the year is dying.
Such principles are most absurd,--I care not who first taught 'em;There's nothing known to beast or birdTo make a solemn autumn.
In solemn times, when grief holds swayWith countenance distressing,You'll note the more of black and grayWill then be used in dressing.
Now purple tints are all around;The sky is blue and mellow;And e'en the grasses turn the groundFrom modest green to yellow.
The seed burrs all with laughter crackOn featherweed and jimson;And leaves that should be dressed in blackAre all decked out in crimson.
A butterfly goes winging by;A singing bird comes after;And Nature, all from earth to sky,Is bubbling o'er with laughter.
The ripples wimple on the rills,Like sparkling little lasses;The sunlight runs along the hills,And laughs among the grasses.
The earth is just so full of funIt really can't contain it;And streams of mirth so freely runThe heavens seem to rain it.
Don't talk to me of solemn daysIn autumn's time of splendor,Because the sun shows fewer rays,And these grow slant and slender.
Why, it's the climax of the year,--The highest time of living!--Till naturally its bursting cheerJust melts into thanksgiving.
Words in this poem
- astir adv.
- Stirring; in a state of activity or motion; out of bed. [Pref. a- + stir.]
- dell n.
- A small, retired valley; a ravine. [AS. del, akin to E. dale; cf. D. delle, del, low ground. See Dale.]
- wimple n.
- A covering of silk, linen, or other material, for the neck and chin, formerly worn by women as an outdoor protection, and still retained in the dress of nuns. [OE. wimpel, AS. winpel; akin to D. & G. wimpel a pennant, streamer, OHG. wimpal a veil, Icel. vimpill, Dan. & Sw. vimpel a pennant, streamer; of uncertain origi]
- thanksgiving n.
- The act of rending thanks, or expressing gratitude for favors or mercies.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Merry Autumn is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar, Project Gutenberg ebook #18338; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Paul Laurence Dunbar, Merry Autumn, in The Complete Poems (1893–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18338, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dunbar-poems/merry-autumn.html, id L00544.
Form and metre
Merry Autumn is 40 lines in 10 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 9 of its 10 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.5 syllables. 15 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 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 ABAB tellA · sighingB · dellA · dyingB
- 2 ABAB absurdA · emB · birdA · autumnB
- 3 ABAB swayA · distressingB · grayA · dressingB
- 4 ABAB aroundA · mellowB · groundA · yellowB
- 5 A-A- crackA · jimson · blackA · crimson
- 6 ABAB byA · afterB · skyA · laughterB
- 7 ABAB rillsA · lassesB · hillsA · grassesB
- 8 ABAB funA · itB · runA · itB
- 9 ABAB daysA · splendorB · raysA · slenderB
- 10 ABAB yearA · livingB · cheerA · thanksgivingB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| It's all a farce,--these tales they tell | 8 | ········ |
| About the breezes sighing, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| And moans astir o'er field and dell, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Because the year is dying. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Such principles are most absurd,-- | 8 | ·/˘˘··˘/ |
| I care not who first taught 'em; | 7 | ······· |
| There's nothing known to beast or bird | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To make a solemn autumn. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| In solemn times, when grief holds sway | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| With countenance distressing, | 7 | ·/˘˘˘/˘ |
| You'll note the more of black and gray | 8 | ········ |
| Will then be used in dressing. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Now purple tints are all around; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The sky is blue and mellow; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And e'en the grasses turn the ground | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| From modest green to yellow. | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| The seed burrs all with laughter crack | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| On featherweed and jimson; | 6 | ······ |
| And leaves that should be dressed in black | 8 | ········ |
| Are all decked out in crimson. | 8 | ···˘··/˘ |
| A butterfly goes winging by; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| A singing bird comes after; | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| And Nature, all from earth to sky, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Is bubbling o'er with laughter. | 8 | ·/˘˘··/˘ |
| The ripples wimple on the rills, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Like sparkling little lasses; | 7 | ·/˘/˘/˘ |
| The sunlight runs along the hills, | 8 | ·/··˘/·· |
| And laughs among the grasses. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| The earth is just so full of fun | 8 | ········ |
| It really can't contain it; | 7 | ·/˘·˘/· |
| And streams of mirth so freely run | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The heavens seem to rain it. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Don't talk to me of solemn days | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In autumn's time of splendor, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Because the sun shows fewer rays, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And these grow slant and slender. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Why, it's the climax of the year,-- | 8 | ···/···· |
| The highest time of living!-- | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Till naturally its bursting cheer | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| Just melts into thanksgiving. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
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.