Dawn
IT is the dawn, that wondrous fateful hourOf strange desires, of thoughts and deeds that stirWithin the womb of possibility.A wind new-wakened combs the silken sea,Lifting the foam like some unearthly flower.The lights still glimmer all along the quay:And overhead a flight of hurried starsSeek hiding swiftly, e’er the day shall be.Ships pass like spectres, little white-sailed ships,Gliding away towards their destiny.The earth, expectant, seems to thrill and waitFor some loved being; through the eastern gateRed clouds come floating. Oh! that I were day,Resplendent, bountiful, a heaven-born fire,Filled with the glory of my own desire,And thou, the trembling earth awaiting me!
Words in this poem
- wondrous adv.
- In a wonderful or surprising manner or degree; wonderfully. [OE. wonders, adv. (later also adj.). See Wonder, n., and cf. -wards.]
- fateful a.
- Having the power of serving or accomplishing fate.
- womb n.
- The belly; the abdomen. [OE. wombe, wambe, AS. wamb, womb; akin to D. wam belly, OS. & OHG. wamba, G. wamme, wampe, Icel. vömb, Sw. v&mb, Dan. vom, Goth. wamba.]
- unearthly a.
- Not terrestrial; supernatural; preternatural; hence, weird; appalling; terrific; as, an unearthly sight or sound.
- quay n.
- A mole, bank, or wharf, formed toward the sea, or at the side of a harbor, river, or other navigable water, for convenience in loading and unloading vessels. [F. quai. See Key quay.]
- 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,]
- bountiful a.
- Free in giving; liberal in bestowing gifts and favors.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Dawn 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, Dawn, in Songs of Three Counties, and Other Poems (1913), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #50591, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hall-three-counties/dawn.html, id L22687.
Form and metre
Dawn is 16 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
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--BAB-B--CC-DDB hourA · stir · possibility · seaB · flowerA · quayB · stars · beB · ships · destiny · waitC · gateC · day · fireD · desireD · meB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| IT is the dawn, that wondrous fateful hour | 11 | ·····/˘/˘/˘ |
| Of strange desires, of thoughts and deeds that stir | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Within the womb of possibility. | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
| A wind new-wakened combs the silken sea, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Lifting the foam like some unearthly flower. | 11 | /˘····˘/˘/˘ |
| The lights still glimmer all along the quay: | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| And overhead a flight of hurried stars | 10 | ·/˘/···/˘· |
| Seek hiding swiftly, e’er the day shall be. | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Ships pass like spectres, little white-sailed ships, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Gliding away towards their destiny. | 10 | /˘˘/···/˘˘ |
| The earth, expectant, seems to thrill and wait | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| For some loved being; through the eastern gate | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Red clouds come floating. Oh! that I were day, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Resplendent, bountiful, a heaven-born fire, | 11 | ˘/˘/˘˘·/·/˘ |
| Filled with the glory of my own desire, | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| And thou, the trembling earth awaiting me! | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
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.