Intra Muros
THE sunbeams, lost for half a year,Slant through my pane their morning rays;For dry northwesters cold and clear,The east blows in its thin blue haze.
And first the snowdrop's bells are seen,Then close against the sheltering wallThe tulip's horn of dusky green,The peony's dark unfolding ball.
The golden-chaliced crocus burns;The long narcissus-blades appear;The cone-beaked hyacinth returnsTo light her blue-flamed chandelier.
The willow's whistling lashes, wrungBy the wild winds of gusty March,With sallow leaflets lightly strung,Are swaying by the tufted larch.
The elms have robed their slender sprayWith full-blown flower and embryo leaf;Wide o'er the clasping arch of daySoars like a cloud their hoary chief.
See the proud tulip's flaunting cup,That flames in glory for an hour,--Behold it withering,--then look up,--How meek the forest monarch's flower!
When wake the violets, Winter dies;When sprout the elm-buds, Spring is near:When lilacs blossom, Summer cries,"Bud, little roses! Spring is here!"
The windows blush with fresh bouquets,Cut with the May-dew on their lips;The radish all its bloom displays,Pink as Aurora's finger-tips.
Nor less the flood of light that showersOn beauty's changed corolla-shades,--The walks are gay as bridal bowersWith rows of many-petalled maids.
The scarlet shell-fish click and clashIn the blue barrow where they slide;The horseman, proud of streak and splash,Creeps homeward from his morning ride.
Here comes the dealer's awkward string,With neck in rope and tail in knot,--Rough colts, with careless country-swing,In lazy walk or slouching trot.
Wild filly from the mountain-side,Doomed to the close and chafing thills,Lend me thy long, untiring strideTo seek with thee thy western hills!
I hear the whispering voice of Spring,The thrush's trill, the robin's cry,Like some poor bird with prisoned wingThat sits and sings, but longs to fly.
Oh for one spot of living greed,--One little spot where leaves can grow,--To love unblamed, to walk unseen,To dream above, to sleep below!
Words in this poem
- pane n.
- The narrow edge of a hammer head. See Peen. [F. panne.]
- chandelier n.
- A candlestick, lamp, stand, gas fixture, or the like, having several branches; esp., one hanging from the ceiling. [F. See Chandler.]
- gusty a.
- Subject to, or characterized by, gusts or squalls; windy; stormy; tempestuous.
- hoary a.
- White or whitish."The hoary willows."
- withering a.
- Tending to wither; causing to shrink or fade.
- homeward a.
- Being in the direction of home; as, the homeward way.
- slouching a.
- Hanging down at the side; limp; drooping; without firmness or shapeliness; moving in an ungainly manner.
- filly n.
- A female foal or colt; a young mare. Cf. Colt, Foal. [Cf. Icel. fylia, fr. foli foal. See Foal.]
- stride v. t.
- To walk with long steps, especially in a measured or pompous manner. [AS. stridan to stride, to strive; akin to LG. striden, OFries. strida to strive, D. strijden to strive, to contend, G. streiten, OHG. stritan; of uncertain orig]
- greed n.
- An eager desire or longing; greediness; as, a greed of gain. [Akin to Goth. grdus hunger, Icel. graedhr. sq. root34. See Greedy.]
- unseen a.
- Not seen or discovered.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Intra Muros is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Oliver Wendell Holmes — Volume 06 Poems from the Breakfast Table Series, Project Gutenberg ebook #7393; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Oliver Wendell Holmes, Intra Muros, in Poems from the Breakfast-Table Series (1858), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7393, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/holmes-breakfast-table-poems/intra-muros.html, id L23560.
Form and metre
Intra Muros is 56 lines in 14 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 13 of its 14 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%).
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 yearA · raysB · clearA · hazeB
- 2 ABAB seenA · wallB · greenA · ballB
- 3 ABAB burnsA · appearB · returnsA · chandelierB
- 4 ABAB wrungA · marchB · strungA · larchB
- 5 ABAB sprayA · leafB · dayA · chiefB
- 6 ABAB cupA · hourB · upA · flowerB
- 7 ABAB diesA · nearB · criesA · hereB
- 8 ABAB bouquetsA · lipsB · displaysA · tipsB
- 9 ABAB showersA · shadesB · bowersA · maidsB
- 10 ABAB clashA · slideB · splashA · rideB
- 11 ABAB stringA · knotB · swingA · trotB
- 12 ABAB sideA · thillsB · strideA · hillsB
- 13 ABAB springA · cryB · wingA · flyB
- 14 -A-A greed · growA · unseen · belowA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| THE sunbeams, lost for half a year, | 8 | ·/······ |
| Slant through my pane their morning rays; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| For dry northwesters cold and clear, | 8 | ········ |
| The east blows in its thin blue haze. | 8 | ········ |
| And first the snowdrop's bells are seen, | 8 | ········ |
| Then close against the sheltering wall | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The tulip's horn of dusky green, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The peony's dark unfolding ball. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| The golden-chaliced crocus burns; | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| The long narcissus-blades appear; | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| The cone-beaked hyacinth returns | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| To light her blue-flamed chandelier. | 8 | ·····˘˘/ |
| The willow's whistling lashes, wrung | 8 | ·/·/˘/˘· |
| By the wild winds of gusty March, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| With sallow leaflets lightly strung, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Are swaying by the tufted larch. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The elms have robed their slender spray | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| With full-blown flower and embryo leaf; | 9 | ···/·/˘·· |
| Wide o'er the clasping arch of day | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Soars like a cloud their hoary chief. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| See the proud tulip's flaunting cup, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| That flames in glory for an hour,-- | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Behold it withering,--then look up,-- | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| How meek the forest monarch's flower! | 9 | ···/˘/·/˘ |
| When wake the violets, Winter dies; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| When sprout the elm-buds, Spring is near: | 8 | ········ |
| When lilacs blossom, Summer cries, | 8 | ·/·/˘/˘· |
| "Bud, little roses! Spring is here!" | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| The windows blush with fresh bouquets, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Cut with the May-dew on their lips; | 8 | ········ |
| The radish all its bloom displays, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Pink as Aurora's finger-tips. | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| Nor less the flood of light that showers | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| On beauty's changed corolla-shades,-- | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| The walks are gay as bridal bowers | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| With rows of many-petalled maids. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The scarlet shell-fish click and clash | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| In the blue barrow where they slide; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The horseman, proud of streak and splash, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Creeps homeward from his morning ride. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Here comes the dealer's awkward string, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| With neck in rope and tail in knot,-- | 8 | ········ |
| Rough colts, with careless country-swing, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| In lazy walk or slouching trot. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Wild filly from the mountain-side, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Doomed to the close and chafing thills, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Lend me thy long, untiring stride | 8 | ········ |
| To seek with thee thy western hills! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I hear the whispering voice of Spring, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The thrush's trill, the robin's cry, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Like some poor bird with prisoned wing | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That sits and sings, but longs to fly. | 8 | ········ |
| Oh for one spot of living greed,-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| One little spot where leaves can grow,-- | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To love unblamed, to walk unseen, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| To dream above, to sleep below! | 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.