Autumn in Sussex
A GLORY is this autumn day,That stretches far across the land,To where the sea along the sandSings kindly, with a gentle layUpon its lips. The gleam and swayOf burning leaves ignites the airTo strange soft fire; serene and bareThe wide fields lie on either hand.
More lovely than the timid SpringWho tells her beads of humble flowers,More perfect than the sun-warmed hoursOf summer, gay with birds that sing,Is this fulfilment earth doth bringTo offer up to God; this deepVast prayer before the winter sleep,This final tribute to His powers!
About this text
Autumn in Sussex is in the public domain. This text is taken from Songs of Three Counties, and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #50591; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Radclyffe Hall, Autumn in Sussex, in Songs of Three Counties, and Other Poems (1913), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #50591, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hall-three-counties/autumn-in-sussex.html, id L22696.
Form and metre
Autumn in Sussex is 16 lines in 2 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABBAACCB. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 95%).
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 ABBAACCB dayA · landB · sandB · layA · swayA · airC · bareC · handB
- 2 ABBAACCB springA · flowersB · hoursB · singA · bringA · deepC · sleepC · powersB
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 GLORY is this autumn day, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| That stretches far across the land, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| To where the sea along the sand | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Sings kindly, with a gentle lay | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Upon its lips. The gleam and sway | 8 | ········ |
| Of burning leaves ignites the air | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| To strange soft fire; serene and bare | 8 | ···/˘/·· |
| The wide fields lie on either hand. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| More lovely than the timid Spring | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Who tells her beads of humble flowers, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| More perfect than the sun-warmed hours | 9 | ·/·····/˘ |
| Of summer, gay with birds that sing, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Is this fulfilment earth doth bring | 8 | ········ |
| To offer up to God; this deep | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Vast prayer before the winter sleep, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| This final tribute to His powers! | 9 | ·/˘/˘··/˘ |
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.