The Golden Wedding
The day but not the bride is come,As in her blossom-time;But golden lights sustain the homeShe cherished in her prime.
May we not call upon the band?May we not ask the priest?Our golden wedding is at hand,And we shall hold a feast.
But where is he in snow-white stoleWho the old service read,That made us one in heart and soul?Long, long has he been dead.
The bridesmaids clad in silken foldWho waited on the bride,Where are they now? Their tale is told:Long, long ago they died.
Where is the groomsman, chosen friend,The true, the well-beloved;His term, alas! is at an end;Too soon was he removed.
Where is the bride, ah! such a brideAs every joy foretells?I see her walking by my side,I hear the wedding-bells.
Where is she now? That we should sayShe did not live to knowHow passed her silver wedding-day,So many years ago!
But come, and for your mother’s sake,Though vain it were to weep,Let us the silent feast partake,Her golden wedding keep.
Printed by T. and A. CONSTABLE, Printers to Her Majesty, at theEdinburgh University Press.
Words in this poem
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
- clad v.
- To clothe. Holland.
- groomsman n.
- A male attendant of a bridegroom at his wedding; -- the correlative of bridesmaid.
- university n.
- The universe; the whole. Dr. H. More. [OE. universite, L. universitas all together, the whole, the universe, a number of persons associated into one body, a society, corporation, fr. universus all to]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Golden Wedding is in the public domain. This text is taken from The poems of Thomas Gordon Hake, Project Gutenberg ebook #78947; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Thomas Gordon Hake, The Golden Wedding, in Poems (1870), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #78947, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hake-poems/the-golden-wedding.html, id L23620.
Form and metre
The Golden Wedding is 34 lines in 9 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 7 of its 9 stanzas. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
See other poems in common measure.
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 comeA · timeB · homeA · primeB
- 2 ABAB bandA · priestB · handA · feastB
- 3 ABAB stoleA · readB · soulA · deadB
- 4 ABAB foldA · brideB · toldA · diedB
- 5 A-A- friendA · beloved · endA · removed
- 6 ABAB brideA · foretellsB · sideA · bellsB
- 7 ABAB sayA · knowB · dayA · agoB
- 8 ABAB sakeA · weepB · partakeA · keepB
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The day but not the bride is come, | 8 | ········ |
| As in her blossom-time; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| But golden lights sustain the home | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| She cherished in her prime. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| May we not call upon the band? | 8 | ········ |
| May we not ask the priest? | 6 | ······ |
| Our golden wedding is at hand, | 8 | //˘/˘··· |
| And we shall hold a feast. | 6 | ······ |
| But where is he in snow-white stole | 8 | ········ |
| Who the old service read, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| That made us one in heart and soul? | 8 | ········ |
| Long, long has he been dead. | 6 | ······ |
| The bridesmaids clad in silken fold | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| Who waited on the bride, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Where are they now? Their tale is told: | 8 | ········ |
| Long, long ago they died. | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Where is the groomsman, chosen friend, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The true, the well-beloved; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| His term, alas! is at an end; | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Too soon was he removed. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Where is the bride, ah! such a bride | 8 | ········ |
| As every joy foretells? | 7 | ·/˘˘·˘/ |
| I see her walking by my side, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I hear the wedding-bells. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Where is she now? That we should say | 8 | ········ |
| She did not live to know | 6 | ······ |
| How passed her silver wedding-day, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| So many years ago! | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| But come, and for your mother’s sake, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Though vain it were to weep, | 6 | ······ |
| Let us the silent feast partake, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Her golden wedding keep. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Printed by T. and A. CONSTABLE, Printers to Her Majesty, at the | 16 | /˘····/˘/˘··/˘·· |
| Edinburgh University Press. | 8 | /˘·˘/˘˘· |
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