On Receiving a Gift
Look how the golden ocean shines aboveIts pebbly stones, and magnifies their girth;So does the bright and blessed light of LoveIts own things glorify, and raise their worth.As weeds seem flowers beneath the flattering brine,And stones like gems, and gems as gems indeed,Ev'n so our tokens shine; nay, they outshinePebbles and pearls, and gems and coral weed;For where be ocean waves but half so clear,So calmly constant, and so kindly warm,As Love's most mild and glowing atmosphere,That hath no dregs to be upturn'd by storm?Thus, sweet, thy gracious gifts are gifts of price,And more than gold to doting Avarice.
Words in this poem
- pebbly a.
- Full of pebbles; pebbled.
- glorify v. t.
- To make glorious by bestowing glory upon; to confer honor and distinction upon; to elevate to power or happiness, or to celestial glory. [F. glorifier, L. glorificare; gloria glory + - ficare (in comp.) to make. See -fy.]
- outshine v. i.
- To shine forth.
- doting a.
- That dotes; silly; excessively fond.
- avarice n.
- An excessive or inordinate desire of gain; greediness after wealth; covetousness; cupidity. [F. avaritia, fr. avarus avaricious, prob. fr. av to covert, fr. a root av to satiate one's self: cf. Gr. av to satiate one's self, rejoice, protect.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On Receiving a Gift is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Thomas Hood, Project Gutenberg ebook #15652; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Thomas Hood, On Receiving a Gift, in The Song of the Shirt, and Other Poems (1826–1845), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #15652, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hood-poetical-works/on-receiving-a-gift.html, id L20086.
Form and metre
On Receiving a Gift is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABABCDCDEFEFGG, the pattern of the English sonnet. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
See other English sonnets, 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 ABABCDCDEFEFGG aboveA · girthB · loveA · worthB · brineC · indeedD · outshineC · weedD · clearE · warmF · atmosphereE · stormF · priceG · avariceG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Look how the golden ocean shines above | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Its pebbly stones, and magnifies their girth; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| So does the bright and blessed light of Love | 10 | ······˘··· |
| Its own things glorify, and raise their worth. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| As weeds seem flowers beneath the flattering brine, | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| And stones like gems, and gems as gems indeed, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Ev'n so our tokens shine; nay, they outshine | 10 | ··//˘···/· |
| Pebbles and pearls, and gems and coral weed; | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| For where be ocean waves but half so clear, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| So calmly constant, and so kindly warm, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| As Love's most mild and glowing atmosphere, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| That hath no dregs to be upturn'd by storm? | 10 | ·········· |
| Thus, sweet, thy gracious gifts are gifts of price, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And more than gold to doting Avarice. | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
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.