The Fifth of July
The sun climbs up, but still the tyrant SleepHolds fast our baby boy in his embrace;The slumb'rer sighs, anon athwart his faceFaint, half-suggested frowns like shadows creep,One little hand lies listless on his breast,One little thumb sticks up with mute appeal,While motley burns and powder marks revealThe fruits of boyhood's patriotic zest.
Our baby's faithful poodle crouches near--He, too, is weary of the din and playThat come with glorious Independence Day,But which, thank God! come only once a year!And Fido, too, has suffered in this cause,Which once a year right noisily obtains,For Fido's tail--or what thereof remains--Is not so fair a sight as once it was.
Words in this poem
- anon adv.
- Straightway; at once. [OE. anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), fr. AS. on in + an one. See On and One.]
- listless a.
- Having no desire or inclination; indifferent; heedless; spiritless. [OE. listles, lustles. See Lust.]
- zest n.
- A piece of orange or lemon peel, or the aromatic oil which may be squeezed from such peel, used to give flavor to liquor, etc. [F. zeste, probably fr. L. schistos split, cleft, divided, Gr. Schism.]
- poodle n.
- A breed of dogs having curly hair, and often showing remarkable intelligence in the performance of tricks. [G. pudel.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- thank n.
- A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural. [AS. Þanc, Þonc, thanks, favor, thought; akin to OS. thank favor, pleasure, thanks, D. & G. dank thanks, Icel. Þ\'94kk, Dan. tak, Sw. tack, Goth. Þagks thanks; -]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Fifth of July is in the public domain. This text is taken from Hoosier Lyrics, Project Gutenberg ebook #36150; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Eugene Field, The Fifth of July, in Hoosier Lyrics (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36150, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/field-poems/the-fifth-of-july.html, id L11623.
Form and metre
The Fifth of July is 16 lines in 2 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABBACDDC. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 25% 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 ABBACDDC sleepA · embraceB · faceB · creepA · breastC · appealD · revealD · zestC
- 2 ABBACDDC nearA · playB · dayB · yearA · causeC · obtainsD · remainsD · wasC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The sun climbs up, but still the tyrant Sleep | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Holds fast our baby boy in his embrace; | 10 | ··//˘···˘/ |
| The slumb'rer sighs, anon athwart his face | 10 | ····˘/˘/·· |
| Faint, half-suggested frowns like shadows creep, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/·· |
| One little hand lies listless on his breast, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| One little thumb sticks up with mute appeal, | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| While motley burns and powder marks reveal | 9 | ·/˘··/·˘/ |
| The fruits of boyhood's patriotic zest. | 10 | ···/··˘/˘· |
| Our baby's faithful poodle crouches near-- | 10 | //˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| He, too, is weary of the din and play | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| That come with glorious Independence Day, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| But which, thank God! come only once a year! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And Fido, too, has suffered in this cause, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Which once a year right noisily obtains, | 9 | ·····/˘˘/ |
| For Fido's tail--or what thereof remains-- | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Is not so fair a sight as once it was. | 10 | ·········· |
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.