To One of the Author’s Children on His Birthday
Where sucks the bee now? Summer is flying,Leaves round the elm-tree faded are lying;Violets are gone from their grassy dell,With the cowslip cups, where the fairies dwell;The rose from the garden hath pass’d away--Yet happy, fair boy, is thy natal day!
For love bids it welcome, the love which hath smiledEver around thee, my gentle child!Watching thy footsteps, and guarding thy bed,And pouring out joy on thy sunny head.Roses may vanish, but this will stay--Happy and bright is thy natal day!
Words in this poem
- dell n.
- A small, retired valley; a ravine. [AS. del, akin to E. dale; cf. D. delle, del, low ground. See Dale.]
- cowslip n.
- A common flower in England (Primula veris) having yellow blossoms and appearing in early spring. It is often cultivated in the United States. [AS. c, c, prob. orig., cow's droppings. Cf. Slop, n.]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- natal a.
- Of or pertaining to one's birth; accompying or dating from one's birth; native. [L. natalis, fr. natus, p.p. of nasci to be born: cf. F. natal. See Nation, and cf. Noel.]
- 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
To One of the Author’s Children on His Birthday 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, To One of the Author’s Children on His Birthday, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/to-one-of-the-author-s-children-on-his-birthday.html, id L19351.
Form and metre
To One of the Author’s Children on His Birthday is 12 lines in 2 stanzas of 6 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABBCC. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 76%).
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 flyingA · lyingA · dellB · dwellB · awayC · dayC
- 2 AABBCC smiledA · childA · bedB · headB · stayC · dayC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Where sucks the bee now? Summer is flying, | 10 | ·····/˘·/˘ |
| Leaves round the elm-tree faded are lying; | 10 | ·····/˘·/˘ |
| Violets are gone from their grassy dell, | 10 | /˘˘····/˘· |
| With the cowslip cups, where the fairies dwell; | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| The rose from the garden hath pass’d away-- | 10 | ····/˘··˘/ |
| Yet happy, fair boy, is thy natal day! | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| For love bids it welcome, the love which hath smiled | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| Ever around thee, my gentle child! | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
| Watching thy footsteps, and guarding thy bed, | 10 | /˘·/··/˘·· |
| And pouring out joy on thy sunny head. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Roses may vanish, but this will stay-- | 9 | /˘·/˘···· |
| Happy and bright is thy natal day! | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
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.