The Impulse
It was too lonely for her there,And too wild,And since there were but two of them,And no child,
And work was little in the house,She was free,And followed where he furrowed field,Or felled tree.
She rested on a log and tossedThe fresh chips,With a song only to herselfOn her lips.
And once she went to break a boughOf black alder.She strayed so far she scarcely heardWhen he called her--
And didn't answer--didn't speak--Or return.She stood, and then she ran and hidIn the fern.
He never found her, though he lookedEverywhere,And he asked at her mother's houseWas she there.
Sudden and swift and light as thatThe ties gave,And he learned of finalitiesBesides the grave.
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- alder a.
- Of all; -- used in composition; as, alderbest, best of all, alderwisest, wisest of all. [From ealra, alra, gen. pl. of AS. eal. The d is excrescent.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Impulse is in the public domain. This text is taken from Mountain Interval, Project Gutenberg ebook #29345; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Frost, The Impulse, in Mountain Interval (1916), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #29345, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/frost-mountain-interval/the-impulse.html, id L02659.
Form and metre
The Impulse is 28 lines in 7 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is iambic dimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 5.9 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 32% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic dimeter.
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 -A-A there · wildA · them · childA
- 2 -A-A house · freeA · field · treeA
- 3 -A-A tossed · chipsA · herself · lipsA
- 5 -A-A speak · returnA · hid · fernA
- 6 -A-A looked · everywhereA · house · thereA
- 7 -A-A that · gaveA · finalities · graveA
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 dimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| It was too lonely for her there, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And too wild, | 3 | ··· |
| And since there were but two of them, | 8 | ········ |
| And no child, | 3 | ··· |
| And work was little in the house, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| She was free, | 3 | ··· |
| And followed where he furrowed field, | 10 | ·/˘˘··/˘˘· |
| Or felled tree. | 3 | ··· |
| She rested on a log and tossed | 9 | ·/˘·····˘ |
| The fresh chips, | 3 | ··· |
| With a song only to herself | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| On her lips. | 3 | ··· |
| And once she went to break a bough | 8 | ········ |
| Of black alder. | 4 | ··/˘ |
| She strayed so far she scarcely heard | 9 | ··˘···/˘· |
| When he called her-- | 4 | ···· |
| And didn't answer--didn't speak-- | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Or return. | 3 | ·˘/ |
| She stood, and then she ran and hid | 8 | ········ |
| In the fern. | 3 | ··· |
| He never found her, though he looked | 9 | ·/˘·····˘ |
| Everywhere, | 3 | /˘· |
| And he asked at her mother's house | 9 | ···˘··/˘· |
| Was she there. | 3 | ··· |
| Sudden and swift and light as that | 8 | /˘······ |
| The ties gave, | 3 | ··· |
| And he learned of finalities | 9 | ···˘·˘/˘˘ |
| Besides the grave. | 4 | ˘/·· |
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.