The Contadina: Written for a Picture
Not for the myrtle, and not for the vine,Though its grape, like a gem, be the sunbeam’s shrine;And not for the rich blue heaven that showersJoy on thy spirit, like light on the flowers;And not for the scent of the citron trees--Fair peasant! I call thee not blest for these.
Not for the beauty spread over thy brow,Though round thee a gleam, as of spring, it throw;And not for the lustre that laughs from thine eye,Like a dark stream’s flash to the sunny sky,Though the south in its riches naught lovelier sees--Fair peasant! I call thee not blest for these.
But for those breathing and loving things--For the boy’s fond arm that around thee clings,For the smiling cheek on thy lap that glows,In the peace of a trusting child’s repose--For the hearts whose home is thy gentle breast,Oh! richly I call thee, and deeply blest!
Words in this poem
- sunbeam n.
- A beam or ray of the sun. [AS. sunnebeam.]
- lustre n.
- A period of five years; a lustrum. [L. lustrum: cf. F. lustre.]
- sunny a.
- Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; hence, shining; bright; brilliant; radiant.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Contadina: Written for a Picture 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, The Contadina: Written for a Picture, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/the-contadina-written-for-a-picture.html, id L19365.
Form and metre
The Contadina: Written for a Picture is 18 lines in 3 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABBCC, complete in 2 of its 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 73%).
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 AABBCC vineA · shrineA · showersB · flowersB · treesC · theseC
- 2 --AABB brow · throw · eyeA · skyA · seesB · theseB
- 3 AABBCC thingsA · clingsA · glowsB · reposeB · breastC · blestC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Not for the myrtle, and not for the vine, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Though its grape, like a gem, be the sunbeam’s shrine; | 11 | ········/·· |
| And not for the rich blue heaven that showers | 11 | ······/˘·/˘ |
| Joy on thy spirit, like light on the flowers; | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| And not for the scent of the citron trees-- | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Fair peasant! I call thee not blest for these. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Not for the beauty spread over thy brow, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Though round thee a gleam, as of spring, it throw; | 10 | ·········· |
| And not for the lustre that laughs from thine eye, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| Like a dark stream’s flash to the sunny sky, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Though the south in its riches naught lovelier sees-- | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| Fair peasant! I call thee not blest for these. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| But for those breathing and loving things-- | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| For the boy’s fond arm that around thee clings, | 10 | ·········· |
| For the smiling cheek on thy lap that glows, | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| In the peace of a trusting child’s repose-- | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| For the hearts whose home is thy gentle breast, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Oh! richly I call thee, and deeply blest! | 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.