The Last Tree of the Forest
Whisper, thou Tree, thou lonely Tree,One, where a thousand stood!Well might proud tales be told by thee,Last of the solemn wood!
Dwells there no voice amidst thy boughs,With leaves yet darkly green?Stillness is round, and noontide glows--Tell us what thou hast seen.
“I have seen the forest-shadows lieWhere men now reap the corn;I have seen the kingly chase rush byThrough the deep glades at morn.
“With the glance of many a gallant spear,And the wave of many a plume,And the bounding of a hundred deer,It has lit the woodland’s gloom.
“I have seen the knight and his train ride past,With his banner borne on high;O’er all my leaves there was brightness castFrom his gleaming panoply.
“The pilgrim at my feet hath laidHis palm-branch midst the flowers,And told his beads, and meekly pray’d,Kneeling, at vesper hours.
“And the merry men of wild and glen,In the green array they wore,Have feasted here, with the red wine’s cheer,And the hunter’s song of yore.
“And the minstrel, resting in my shade,Hath made the forest ringWith the lordly tales of the high Crusade,Once loved by chief and king.
“But now the noble forms are goneThat walk’d the earth of old;The soft wind has a mournful tone,The sunny light looks cold.
“There is no glory left us nowLike the glory with the dead;I would that, where they slumber low,My latest leaves were shed!”
O thou dark tree, thou lonely tree,That mournest for the past!A peasant’s home in thy shades I see,Embower’d from ever blast.
A lovely and a mirthful soundOf laughter meets mine ear;For the poor man’s children sport aroundOn the turf, with naught to fear.
And roses lend that cabin’s wallA happy summer-glow:And the open door stands free to all,For it recks not of a foe.
And the village bells are on the breezeThat stirs thy leaf, dark tree!How can I mourn, midst things like these,For the stormy past, with thee?
Words in this poem
- 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]
- stillness n.
- The quality or state of being still; quietness; silence; calmness; inactivity.
- noontide n.
- The time of noon; midday. [From noon + tide time; cf. AS. n the ninth hour.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- reap n.
- A bundle of grain; a handful of grain laid down by the reaper as it is cut. Wright. [Cf. AS. rip harvest. See Reap, v.]
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- panoply n.
- Defensive armor in general; a full suit of defensive armor.
- meekly adv.
- In a meek manner.
- vesper n.
- The evening star; Hesper; Venus, when seen after sunset; hence, the evening. [L., the evening, the evening star, the west; akin to Gr. west. Cf. Hesperian, Vespers.]
- yore adv.
- In time long past; in old time; long since. [OE. , yare, , AS. geára;akin to geár a year, E. year. Year.]
- 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 Last Tree of the Forest 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 Last Tree of the Forest, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/the-last-tree-of-the-forest.html, id L19510.
Form and metre
The Last Tree of the Forest is 56 lines in 14 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 9 of its 14 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 treeA · stoodB · theeA · woodB
- 2 -A-A boughs · greenA · glows · seenA
- 3 ABAB lieA · cornB · byA · mornB
- 4 ABAB spearA · plumeB · deerA · gloomB
- 5 A-A- pastA · high · castA · panoply
- 6 ABAB laidA · flowersB · pray'dA · hoursB
- 7 -A-A glen · woreA · cheer · yoreA
- 8 ABAB shadeA · ringB · crusadeA · kingB
- 9 -A-A gone · oldA · tone · coldA
- 10 -A-A now · deadA · low · shedA
- 11 ABAB treeA · pastB · seeA · blastB
- 12 ABAB soundA · earB · aroundA · fearB
- 13 ABAB wallA · glowB · allA · foeB
- 14 ABAB breezeA · treeB · theseA · theeB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Whisper, thou Tree, thou lonely Tree, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| One, where a thousand stood! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Well might proud tales be told by thee, | 8 | ········ |
| Last of the solemn wood! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Dwells there no voice amidst thy boughs, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| With leaves yet darkly green? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Stillness is round, and noontide glows-- | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Tell us what thou hast seen. | 6 | ······ |
| “I have seen the forest-shadows lie | 9 | ····/˘/·· |
| Where men now reap the corn; | 6 | ······ |
| I have seen the kingly chase rush by | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Through the deep glades at morn. | 6 | ······ |
| “With the glance of many a gallant spear, | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| And the wave of many a plume, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| And the bounding of a hundred deer, | 9 | ··/˘··/˘· |
| It has lit the woodland’s gloom. | 7 | ····/·· |
| “I have seen the knight and his train ride past, | 10 | ·········· |
| With his banner borne on high; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| O’er all my leaves there was brightness cast | 9 | ······/˘· |
| From his gleaming panoply. | 7 | ··/˘/˘˘ |
| “The pilgrim at my feet hath laid | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| His palm-branch midst the flowers, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And told his beads, and meekly pray’d, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Kneeling, at vesper hours. | 7 | /˘·/˘/˘ |
| “And the merry men of wild and glen, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| In the green array they wore, | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| Have feasted here, with the red wine’s cheer, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| And the hunter’s song of yore. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| “And the minstrel, resting in my shade, | 9 | ··/˘/˘··· |
| Hath made the forest ring | 6 | ···/˘· |
| With the lordly tales of the high Crusade, | 10 | ··/˘····˘/ |
| Once loved by chief and king. | 6 | ······ |
| “But now the noble forms are gone | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| That walk’d the earth of old; | 6 | ······ |
| The soft wind has a mournful tone, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The sunny light looks cold. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| “There is no glory left us now | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Like the glory with the dead; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| I would that, where they slumber low, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| My latest leaves were shed!” | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| O thou dark tree, thou lonely tree, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That mournest for the past! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| A peasant’s home in thy shades I see, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Embower’d from ever blast. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| A lovely and a mirthful sound | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Of laughter meets mine ear; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| For the poor man’s children sport around | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| On the turf, with naught to fear. | 7 | ······· |
| And roses lend that cabin’s wall | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| A happy summer-glow: | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| And the open door stands free to all, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| For it recks not of a foe. | 7 | ······· |
| And the village bells are on the breeze | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| That stirs thy leaf, dark tree! | 6 | ······ |
| How can I mourn, midst things like these, | 8 | ········ |
| For the stormy past, with thee? | 7 | ··/˘··· |
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