The Flower That Makes the Springtime
The chestnut trees are soon to flowerAt fair Saint Jean, the villa dippedIn sun, before whose viny towerStretch purple mountains silver-tipped.
The little leaves that yesterdayPressed in their bodices were seenHave put their sober garb away,And touched the tender twigs with green.
But vainly do the sunbeams fillThe branches with a flood of light.The shy bud hesitateth stillTo show the secret thyrse of white.
And yet the rosy peach-tree blooms,Like some faint blush of first desire.The apple waves a wealth of plumes,And laughs in all its fresh attire.
To bask amid the buttercupsThe timid speedwell ventures out.Nature calls every earthling up,And reassures each tiny sprout.
Yet I must off to other sphere!Then please your poet, chestnuts tall,Yea, spread ye forth without a fearYour firework bloom fantastical!
I know your summer splendour's pride.I've seen you standing sumptuousIn autumn's tunics purple-dyed,With golden circlets luminous.
In winter white and crystal-crossedYour delicate boughs I saw again,--Like lovely traceries the frostLimns lightly on the window-pane.
Your every garment I have known,Ye chestnuts grand that loom aloft,--Save one to me you've never shown,Of young green fabric first and soft.
Ah, well, good-bye, for I must go!Keep, then, your flowers, where'er they be.There is another flower I know,That makes the springtime fair for me.
Let May with all her blooms arise,Let May with all her blooms depart!That flower sufficeth for mine eyes,And hath pure honey in its heart.
Let be the season where it waits,And blue or dull be heaven's dome--It smiles and charms and captivates,--The precious violet of my home!
Words in this poem
- villa n.
- A country seat; a country or suburban residence of some pretensions to elegance. Dryden. [L. villa, LL. also village, dim. of L. vicus a village: cf. It. & F. villa. See Vicinity, and cf. Vill, Village, Villain.]
- viny a.
- Of or pertaining to vines; producing, or abounding in, vines.
- garb n.
- External appearance, as expressive of the feelings or character; looks; fashion or manner, as of speech. [OF. garbe looks, countenance, grace, ornament, fr. OHG. garawi, garwi, ornament, dress. akin to E. gear. See Gear, n.]
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- bask v. i.
- To lie in warmth; to be exposed to genial heat. [OScand. ba to bathe one's self, or perh. bakask to bake one's self, sk being reflexive. See Bath, n., Bake, v. t.]
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- speedwell n.
- Any plant of the genus Veronica, mostly low herbs with pale blue corollas, which quickly fall off.
- earthling n.
- An inhabitant of the earth; a mortal. [Earth + -ling.]
- fantastical a.
- Fanciful; unreal; whimsical; capricious; fantastic.
- springtime n.
- The season of spring; springtide.
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Flower That Makes the Springtime 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 Flower That Makes the Springtime, in Enamels and Cameos and Other Poems (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #29521, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/gautier-enamels-cameos/the-flower-that-makes-the-springtime.html, id L27031.
Form and metre
The Flower That Makes the Springtime is 48 lines in 12 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 11 of its 12 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%).
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 flowerA · dippedB · towerA · tippedB
- 2 ABAB yesterdayA · seenB · awayA · greenB
- 3 ABAB fillA · lightB · stillA · whiteB
- 4 ABAB bloomsA · desireB · plumesA · attireB
- 5 -A-A buttercups · outA · up · sproutA
- 6 ABAB sphereA · tallB · fearA · fantasticalB
- 7 ABAB prideA · sumptuousB · dyedA · luminousB
- 8 ABAB crossedA · againB · frostA · paneB
- 9 ABAB knownA · aloftB · shownA · softB
- 10 ABAB goA · beB · knowA · meB
- 11 ABAB ariseA · departB · eyesA · heartB
- 12 ABAB waitsA · domeB · captivatesA · homeB
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 chestnut trees are soon to flower | 9 | ·/·····/˘ |
| At fair Saint Jean, the villa dipped | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In sun, before whose viny tower | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Stretch purple mountains silver-tipped. | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| The little leaves that yesterday | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Pressed in their bodices were seen | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Have put their sober garb away, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| And touched the tender twigs with green. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But vainly do the sunbeams fill | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| The branches with a flood of light. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The shy bud hesitateth still | 8 | ···/˘·˘· |
| To show the secret thyrse of white. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And yet the rosy peach-tree blooms, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Like some faint blush of first desire. | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| The apple waves a wealth of plumes, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And laughs in all its fresh attire. | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| To bask amid the buttercups | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| The timid speedwell ventures out. | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Nature calls every earthling up, | 8 | /˘·/˘/˘· |
| And reassures each tiny sprout. | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Yet I must off to other sphere! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Then please your poet, chestnuts tall, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Yea, spread ye forth without a fear | 8 | ········ |
| Your firework bloom fantastical! | 8 | ·/··˘/˘˘ |
| I know your summer splendour's pride. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| I've seen you standing sumptuous | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| In autumn's tunics purple-dyed, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| With golden circlets luminous. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| In winter white and crystal-crossed | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Your delicate boughs I saw again,-- | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Like lovely traceries the frost | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Limns lightly on the window-pane. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Your every garment I have known, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Ye chestnuts grand that loom aloft,-- | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Save one to me you've never shown, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Of young green fabric first and soft. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Ah, well, good-bye, for I must go! | 8 | ········ |
| Keep, then, your flowers, where'er they be. | 9 | ···/˘˘/·· |
| There is another flower I know, | 8 | ··˘/˘/·· |
| That makes the springtime fair for me. | 8 | ···/···· |
| Let May with all her blooms arise, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Let May with all her blooms depart! | 8 | ······˘/ |
| That flower sufficeth for mine eyes, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And hath pure honey in its heart. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Let be the season where it waits, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And blue or dull be heaven's dome-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| It smiles and charms and captivates,-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The precious violet of my home! | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
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