The Blackbird
A bird from yonder branch at dawnIs trilling forth a joyful note,Or hopping o'er the frozen lawn,In yellow boots and ebon coat.
It is the blackbird credulous.Little of calendar knows he,Whose soul, with sunbeams luminous,Sings April to the snows that be.
Rain sweeps in torrents unrepressed.The Arve makes dull the Rhone with mire.The pleasant hall retains its guestIn goodly cheer before the fire.
The mountains have their ermine on,Each one a mighty magistrate,And hold grave conference uponA case of Winter lasting late.
The bird dries well his wing, and long,Despite the rains, the mists that roll,Insists upon his little song,Believes in Spring with all his soul.
He softly chides the slumberous mornFor dallying so long abed,And bids the shivering flower forlornBe bold, and raise aloft its head;
Behind the dark sees day that smiles,Even as behind the Holy Rod,When bare the altar, dim the aisles,The child of faith beholds his God.
He trusts to Nature's purpose high,Sure of her laws for here and now.Who laughs at thy philosophy,Dear blackbird, is less wise than thou!
Words in this poem
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- trilling n.
- One of tree children born at the same birth. Wright. [Cf. G. drilling.]
- ebon a.
- Consisting of ebony.
- goodly a.
- Pleasant; agreeable; desirable. [OE. godlich, AS. g. See Good, and Like.]
- slumberous a.
- Inviting slumber; soporiferous.
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- abed adv.
- In bed, or on the bed. [Pref. a- in, on + bed.]
- forlorn a.
- Deserted abandoned; lost. [OE., p.p. of forlesen to lose utterly, AS. forleósan (p.p. forloren); pref. for- + leósan (in comp.) to lose; cf. D. verliezen to lose, G. verlieren, Sw. förlor]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Blackbird is in the public domain. This text is taken from Enamels and Cameos and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #29521, the Agnes Lee translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Théophile Gautier, The Blackbird, in Enamels and Cameos and Other Poems (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #29521, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/gautier-enamels-cameos/the-blackbird.html, id L27030.
Form and metre
The Blackbird is 32 lines in 8 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 7 of its 8 stanzas. 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 ABAB dawnA · noteB · lawnA · coatB
- 2 ABAB credulousA · heB · luminousA · beB
- 3 ABAB unrepressedA · mireB · guestA · fireB
- 4 ABAB onA · magistrateB · uponA · lateB
- 5 ABAB longA · rollB · songA · soulB
- 6 ABAB mornA · abedB · forlornA · headB
- 7 ABAB smilesA · rodB · aislesA · godB
- 8 -A-A high · nowA · philosophy · thouA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A bird from yonder branch at dawn | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Is trilling forth a joyful note, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Or hopping o'er the frozen lawn, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| In yellow boots and ebon coat. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| It is the blackbird credulous. | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| Little of calendar knows he, | 8 | /˘·/˘˘·· |
| Whose soul, with sunbeams luminous, | 8 | ···/·/˘˘ |
| Sings April to the snows that be. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Rain sweeps in torrents unrepressed. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The Arve makes dull the Rhone with mire. | 8 | ········ |
| The pleasant hall retains its guest | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| In goodly cheer before the fire. | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| The mountains have their ermine on, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Each one a mighty magistrate, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And hold grave conference upon | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| A case of Winter lasting late. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The bird dries well his wing, and long, | 8 | ········ |
| Despite the rains, the mists that roll, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Insists upon his little song, | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| Believes in Spring with all his soul. | 8 | ˘/······ |
| He softly chides the slumberous morn | 9 | ·/˘··/˘˘· |
| For dallying so long abed, | 8 | ·/˘˘··˘/ |
| And bids the shivering flower forlorn | 8 | ···/˘/˘/ |
| Be bold, and raise aloft its head; | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Behind the dark sees day that smiles, | 8 | ········ |
| Even as behind the Holy Rod, | 8 | /····/˘· |
| When bare the altar, dim the aisles, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The child of faith beholds his God. | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| He trusts to Nature's purpose high, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Sure of her laws for here and now. | 8 | ········ |
| Who laughs at thy philosophy, | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| Dear blackbird, is less wise than thou! | 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.