The Need of Being Versed in Country Things
The house had gone to bring againTo the midnight sky a sunset glow.Now the chimney was all of the house that stood,Like a pistil after the petals go.
The barn opposed across the way,That would have joined the house in flameHad it been the will of the wind, was leftTo bear forsaken the place's name.
No more it opened with all one endFor teams that came by the stony roadTo drum on the floor with scurrying hoofsAnd brush the mow with the summer load.
The birds that came to it through the airAt broken windows flew out and in,Their murmur more like the sigh we sighFrom too much dwelling on what has been.
Yet for them the lilac renewed its leaf,And the aged elm, though touched with fire;And the dry pump flung up an awkward arm;And the fence post carried a strand of wire.
For them there was really nothing sad.But though they rejoiced in the nest they kept,One had to be versed in country thingsNot to believe the phoebes wept.
Words in this poem
- chimney n.
- A fireplace or hearth. Sir W. Raleigh.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Need of Being Versed in Country Things is in the public domain. This text is taken from New Hampshire, A Poem; with Notes and Grace Notes, Project Gutenberg ebook #58611; 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 Need of Being Versed in Country Things, in New Hampshire (1923), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #58611, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/frost-new-hampshire/the-need-of-being-versed-in-country-things.html, id L02716.
Form and metre
The Need of Being Versed in Country Things is 24 lines in 6 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%). 86% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.5 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 38% 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 -A-A again · glowA · stood · goA
- 2 -A-A way · flameA · left · nameA
- 3 -A-A end · roadA · hoofs · loadA
- 4 -A-A air · inA · sigh · beenA
- 5 -A-A leaf · fireA · arm · wireA
- 6 -A-A sad · keptA · things · weptA
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 house had gone to bring again | 8 | ······˘/ |
| To the midnight sky a sunset glow. | 9 | ··/···/·· |
| Now the chimney was all of the house that stood, | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| Like a pistil after the petals go. | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| The barn opposed across the way, | 9 | ··˘/˘˘/·· |
| That would have joined the house in flame | 9 | ····˘···· |
| Had it been the will of the wind, was left | 10 | ·········· |
| To bear forsaken the place's name. | 9 | ··˘/˘·/˘· |
| No more it opened with all one end | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| For teams that came by the stony road | 9 | ······/˘· |
| To drum on the floor with scurrying hoofs | 10 | ······/˘˘· |
| And brush the mow with the summer load. | 9 | ······/˘· |
| The birds that came to it through the air | 9 | ········· |
| At broken windows flew out and in, | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| Their murmur more like the sigh we sigh | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| From too much dwelling on what has been. | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Yet for them the lilac renewed its leaf, | 10 | ····/·˘/·· |
| And the aged elm, though touched with fire; | 10 | ······˘·/˘ |
| And the dry pump flung up an awkward arm; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And the fence post carried a strand of wire. | 11 | ····/˘···/˘ |
| For them there was really nothing sad. | 9 | ····/˘/˘· |
| But though they rejoiced in the nest they kept, | 10 | ···˘/····· |
| One had to be versed in country things | 10 | ·····˘·/˘· |
| Not to believe the phoebes wept. | 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.