In the Firelight
The fire upon the hearth is low,And there is stillness everywhere,While like winged spirits, here and there,The firelight shadows fluttering go.And as the shadows round me creep,A childish treble breaks the gloom,And softly from a further roomComes, "Now I lay me down to sleep."
And somehow, with that little prayerAnd that sweet treble in my ears,My thoughts go back to distant yearsAnd linger with a loved one there;And as I hear my child's amen,My mother's faith comes back to me,--Crouched at her side I seem to be,And Mother holds my hands again.
Oh, for an hour in that dear place!Oh, for the peace of that dear time!Oh, for that childish trust sublime!Oh, for a glimpse of Mother's face!Yet, as the shadows round me creep,I do not seem to be alone,--Sweet magic of that treble tone,And "Now I lay me down to sleep."
Words in this poem
- stillness n.
- The quality or state of being still; quietness; silence; calmness; inactivity.
- somehow adv.
- In one way or another; in some way not yet known or designated; by some means; as, the thing must be done somehow; he lives somehow.
- amen interj.
- An expression used at the end of prayers, and meaning, So be it. At the end of a creed, it is a solemn asseveration of belief. [L. amen, Gr. am certainly, truly.]
- crouched a.
- Marked with the sign of the cross. Crouched friar. See Crutched friar, under Crutched.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
In the Firelight is in the public domain. This text is taken from A Little Book of Western Verse, Project Gutenberg ebook #9606; 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, In the Firelight, in A Little Book of Western Verse (1889), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9606, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/field-western-verse/in-the-firelight.html, id L24639.
Form and metre
In the Firelight is 24 lines in 3 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABBACDDC. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
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 ABBACDDC lowA · everywhereB · thereB · goA · creepC · gloomD · roomD · sleepC
- 2 ABBACDDC prayerA · earsB · yearsB · thereA · amenC · meD · beD · againC
- 3 ABBACDDC placeA · timeB · sublimeB · faceA · creepC · aloneD · toneD · sleepC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The fire upon the hearth is low, | 8 | ·/······ |
| And there is stillness everywhere, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| While like winged spirits, here and there, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The firelight shadows fluttering go. | 9 | ····/·/˘· |
| And as the shadows round me creep, | 8 | ···/···· |
| A childish treble breaks the gloom, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And softly from a further room | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Comes, "Now I lay me down to sleep." | 8 | ········ |
| And somehow, with that little prayer | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| And that sweet treble in my ears, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| My thoughts go back to distant years | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And linger with a loved one there; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And as I hear my child's amen, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| My mother's faith comes back to me,-- | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Crouched at her side I seem to be, | 8 | ········ |
| And Mother holds my hands again. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Oh, for an hour in that dear place! | 8 | ···/···· |
| Oh, for the peace of that dear time! | 8 | ········ |
| Oh, for that childish trust sublime! | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Oh, for a glimpse of Mother's face! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Yet, as the shadows round me creep, | 8 | ···/···· |
| I do not seem to be alone,-- | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Sweet magic of that treble tone, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And "Now I lay me down to sleep." | 8 | ········ |
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.