The Lonely Bird

Felicia Hemans (1793–1835) · 1808–1835

iambic tetrameter · ABABCDCD · 32 lines · from Poems

From a ruin thou art singing,O lonely, lonely bird!The soft blue air is ringing,By thy summer music stirr’d.But all is dark and cold beneath,Where harps no more are heard:Whence win’st thou that exulting breath,O lonely, lonely bird?

Thy songs flow richly swellingTo a triumph of glad sounds,As from its cavern-dwellingA stream in glory bounds!Though the castle-echoes catch no toneOf human step or word,Though the fires be quench’d and the feasting done,O lonely, lonely bird?

How can that flood of gladnessRush through thy fiery lay,From the haunted place of sadness,From the bosom of decay--While the dirge-notes in the breeze’s moan,Through the ivy garlands heard,Come blent with thy rejoicing tone,O lonely, lonely bird?

There’s many a heart, wild singer!Like thy forsaken tower,Where joy no more may linger,Where Love hath left his bower:And there’s many a spirit e’en like thee,To mirth as lightly stirr’d,Though it soar from ruins in its glee,O lonely, lonely bird!

Words in this poem

exulting a.: Rejoicing triumphantly or exceedingly; exultant.
haunted a.: Inhabited by, or subject to the visits of, apparitions; frequented by a ghost.
sadness n.: Heaviness; firmness.
dirge n.: A piece of music of a mournful character, to accompany funeral rites; a funeral hymn. [Contraction of Lat. dirige, direct thou (imperative of dirigere), the first word of a funeral hymn (Lat. transl. of Psalm v. 8) beginning, "Dirige, Domine, in c]
blent p. p.: Blinded. Also (Chaucer), 3d sing. pres. Blindeth.
glee n.: Music; minstrelsy; entertainment.

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

The Lonely Bird 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 Lonely Bird, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/the-lonely-bird.html, id L19680.

Form and metre

The Lonely Bird is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 2 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).

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 ABAB-B-B singing^A · bird^B · ringing^A · stirr'd^B · beneath · heard^B · breath · bird^B
2 ABAB-C-C swelling^A · sounds^B · dwelling^A · bounds^B · tone · word^C · done · bird^C
3 ABABCDCD gladness^A · lay^B · sadness^A · decay^B · moan^C · heard^D · tone^C · bird^D
4 ABABCDCD singer^A · tower^B · linger^A · bower^B · thee^C · stirr'd^D · glee^C · bird^D

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
From a ruin thou art singing,	8	··/˘··/˘
O lonely, lonely bird!	6	·/˘/˘·
The soft blue air is ringing,	7	·····/˘
By thy summer music stirr’d.	7	··/˘/˘·
But all is dark and cold beneath,	8	········
Where harps no more are heard:	6	······
Whence win’st thou that exulting breath,	8	····˘/˘·
O lonely, lonely bird?	6	·/˘/˘·
Thy songs flow richly swelling	7	···/˘/˘
To a triumph of glad sounds,	7	··/˘···
As from its cavern-dwelling	7	···/˘/˘
A stream in glory bounds!	6	···/˘·
Though the castle-echoes catch no tone	9	··/˘/˘···
Of human step or word,	6	·/˘···
Though the fires be quench’d and the feasting done,	10	··/····/˘·
O lonely, lonely bird?	6	·/˘/˘·
How can that flood of gladness	7	·····/˘
Rush through thy fiery lay,	7	···/˘˘·
From the haunted place of sadness,	8	··/˘··/˘
From the bosom of decay--	7	··/˘·˘/
While the dirge-notes in the breeze’s moan,	9	······/˘·
Through the ivy garlands heard,	7	··/˘/˘·
Come blent with thy rejoicing tone,	8	····˘/˘·
O lonely, lonely bird?	6	·/˘/˘·
There’s many a heart, wild singer!	8	·/˘···/˘
Like thy forsaken tower,	7	··˘/˘/˘
Where joy no more may linger,	7	·····/˘
Where Love hath left his bower:	7	·····/˘
And there’s many a spirit e’en like thee,	10	··/˘·/˘···
To mirth as lightly stirr’d,	6	···/˘·
Though it soar from ruins in its glee,	9	····/˘···
O lonely, lonely bird!	6	·/˘/˘·

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