Our Lady’s Well
Fount of the woods! thou art hid no moreFrom heaven’s clear eye, as in time of yore.For the roof hath sunk from thy mossy walls,And the sun’s free glance on thy slumber falls;And the dim tree-shadows across thee pass,As the boughs are sway’d o’er thy silvery glass;And the reddening leaves to thy breast are blown,When the autumn wind hath a stormy tone;And thy bubbles rise to the flashing rain--Bright Fount! thou art nature’s own again!
Fount of the vale! thou art sought no moreBy the pilgrim’s foot, as in time of yore,When he came from afar, his beads to tell,And to chant his hymn at Our Lady’s Well.There is heard no Ave through thy bowers,Thou art gleaming lone midst thy water-flowers!But the herd may drink from thy gushing wave,And there may the reaper his forehead lave,And the woodman seeks thee not in vain--Bright Fount! thou art nature’s own again!
Fount of the Virgin’s ruin’d shrine!A voice that speaks of the past is thine!It mingles the tone of a thoughtful sighWith the notes that ring through the laughing sky;Midst the mirthful song of the summer bird,And the sound of the breeze, it will yet be heard!--Why is it that thus we may gaze on thee,To the brilliant sunshine sparkling free?’Tis that all on earth is of Time’s domain--He hath made thee nature’s own again!
Fount of the chapel with ages gray!Thou art springing freshly amidst decay;Thy rites are closed, and thy cross lies low,And the changeful hours breathe o’er thee now.Yet if at thine altar one holy thoughtIn man’s deep spirit of old hath wrought;If peace to the mourner hath here been given,Or prayer, from a chasten’d heart, to heaven--Be the spot still hallow’d while Time shall reign,Who hath made thee nature’s own again!
Words in this poem
- yore adv.
- In time long past; in old time; long since. [OE. , yare, , AS. geára;akin to geár a year, E. year. Year.]
- vale n.
- A tract of low ground, or of land between hills; a valley. [OE. val, F. val, L. vallis; perhaps akin to Gr. Avalanche, Vail to lower, Valley.]
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- lave v. t.
- To lade, dip, or pour out. [OE. laven. See Lavish.]
- woodman n.
- A forest officer appointed to take care of the king's woods; a forester. [Eng.]
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- amidst 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]
- changeful a.
- Full of change; mutable; inconstant; fickle; uncertain.
- mourner n.
- One who mourns or is grieved at any misfortune, as the death of a friend.
- hallow v. t.
- To make holy; to set apart for holy or religious use; to consecrate; to treat or keep as sacred; to reverence. [OE. halowen, halwien, halgien, AS. halgian, fr. halig holy. See Holy.]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Our Lady’s Well is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Felicia Hemans, Project Gutenberg ebook #66785; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Felicia Hemans, Our Lady’s Well, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/our-lady-s-well.html, id L19373.
Form and metre
Our Lady’s Well is 40 lines in 4 stanzas of 10 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABBCCDDEE, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 77%).
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 AABBCCDDEE moreA · yoreA · wallsB · fallsB · passC · glassC · blownD · toneD · rainE · againE
- 2 AABBCCDDEE moreA · yoreA · tellB · wellB · bowersC · flowersC · waveD · laveD · vainE · againE
- 3 AABBCCDDEE shrineA · thineA · sighB · skyB · birdC · heardC · theeD · freeD · domainE · againE
- 4 AA--BBCCCC grayA · decayA · low · now · thoughtB · wroughtB · givenC · heavenC · reignC · againC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Fount of the woods! thou art hid no more | 9 | ········· |
| From heaven’s clear eye, as in time of yore. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| For the roof hath sunk from thy mossy walls, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And the sun’s free glance on thy slumber falls; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And the dim tree-shadows across thee pass, | 10 | ····/·˘/·· |
| As the boughs are sway’d o’er thy silvery glass; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And the reddening leaves to thy breast are blown, | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| When the autumn wind hath a stormy tone; | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| And thy bubbles rise to the flashing rain-- | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| Bright Fount! thou art nature’s own again! | 9 | ····/˘·˘/ |
| Fount of the vale! thou art sought no more | 9 | ········· |
| By the pilgrim’s foot, as in time of yore, | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| When he came from afar, his beads to tell, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| And to chant his hymn at Our Lady’s Well. | 10 | ······//˘· |
| There is heard no Ave through thy bowers, | 11 | ····/˘˘··/˘ |
| Thou art gleaming lone midst thy water-flowers! | 11 | ··/˘···/˘/˘ |
| But the herd may drink from thy gushing wave, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And there may the reaper his forehead lave, | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| And the woodman seeks thee not in vain-- | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Bright Fount! thou art nature’s own again! | 9 | ····/˘·˘/ |
| Fount of the Virgin’s ruin’d shrine! | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| A voice that speaks of the past is thine! | 9 | ········· |
| It mingles the tone of a thoughtful sigh | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| With the notes that ring through the laughing sky; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Midst the mirthful song of the summer bird, | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| And the sound of the breeze, it will yet be heard!-- | 11 | ··········· |
| Why is it that thus we may gaze on thee, | 10 | ·········· |
| To the brilliant sunshine sparkling free? | 9 | ··/˘/·/˘· |
| ’Tis that all on earth is of Time’s domain-- | 10 | ········˘/ |
| He hath made thee nature’s own again! | 9 | ····/˘·˘/ |
| Fount of the chapel with ages gray! | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| Thou art springing freshly amidst decay; | 10 | ··/˘/˘˘/˘/ |
| Thy rites are closed, and thy cross lies low, | 10 | ····˘····· |
| And the changeful hours breathe o’er thee now. | 10 | ··/˘/˘···· |
| Yet if at thine altar one holy thought | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| In man’s deep spirit of old hath wrought; | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| If peace to the mourner hath here been given, | 11 | ····/˘···/˘ |
| Or prayer, from a chasten’d heart, to heaven-- | 10 | ····/˘··/˘ |
| Be the spot still hallow’d while Time shall reign, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Who hath made thee nature’s own again! | 9 | ····/˘·˘/ |
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