To P. A. G
HERE they trysted, here they strayed,In the leafage dewy and boon,Many a man and many a maid,And the morn was merry June.‘Death is fleet, Life is sweet,’Sang the blackbird in the may;And the hour with flying feet,While they dreamed, was yesterday.
Many a maid and many a manFound the leafage close and boon;Many a destiny began—O, the morn was merry June!Dead and gone, dead and gone,(Hark the blackbird in the may!),Life and Death went hurrying on,Cheek on cheek—and where were they?
Dust on dust engendering dustIn the leafage fresh and boon,Man and maid fulfil their trust—Still the morn turns merry June.Mother Life, Father Death(O, the blackbird in the may!),Each the other’s breath for breath,Fleet the times of the world away.
Words in this poem
- leafage n.
- Leaves, collectively; foliage.
- boon n.
- A prayer or petition. [OE. bone, boin, a petition, fr. Icel. b; akin to Sw. & Dan. b, AS. b, and perh. to E. ban; but influenced by F. bon good, fr. L. bonus. Ban, Bounty.]
- 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.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To P. A. G is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #1568; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: W. E. Henley, To P. A. G, in Poems (1898), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1568, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/henley-poems/to-p-a-g.html, id L12459.
Form and metre
To P. A. G is 24 lines in 3 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCDCD. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.3 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 12% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic 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 ABABCDCD strayedA · boonB · maidA · juneB · sweetC · mayD · feetC · yesterdayD
- 2 ABABCDCD manA · boonB · beganA · juneB · goneC · mayD · onC · theyD
- 3 ABABCDCD dustA · boonB · trustA · juneB · deathC · mayD · breathC · awayD
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| HERE they trysted, here they strayed, | 8 | ··/˘···˘ |
| In the leafage dewy and boon, | 8 | ··/˘/˘·· |
| Many a man and many a maid, | 8 | /···/˘·· |
| And the morn was merry June. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| ‘Death is fleet, Life is sweet,’ | 6 | ······ |
| Sang the blackbird in the may; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And the hour with flying feet, | 8 | ··/˘·/˘· |
| While they dreamed, was yesterday. | 8 | ···˘·/˘· |
| Many a maid and many a man | 8 | /···/˘·· |
| Found the leafage close and boon; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Many a destiny began— | 8 | /˘·/˘˘˘/ |
| O, the morn was merry June! | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Dead and gone, dead and gone, | 6 | ······ |
| (Hark the blackbird in the may!), | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Life and Death went hurrying on, | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| Cheek on cheek—and where were they? | 7 | ······· |
| Dust on dust engendering dust | 8 | ···˘/˘˘· |
| In the leafage fresh and boon, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Man and maid fulfil their trust— | 7 | ······· |
| Still the morn turns merry June. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Mother Life, Father Death | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| (O, the blackbird in the may!), | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Each the other’s breath for breath, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Fleet the times of the world away. | 8 | ······˘/ |
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.