The Cow
Before the farm where, o'er the porch, festoonWild creepers red, and gaffer sits at noon,Whilst strutting fowl display their varied crests,And the old watchdog slumberously rests,They half-attentive to the clarion of their king,Resplendent in the sunshine op'ning wing--There stood a cow, with neck-bell jingling light,Superb, enormous, dappled red and white--Soft, gentle, patient as a hind unto its young,Letting the children swarm until they hungAround her, under--rustics with their teethWhiter than marble their ripe lips beneath,And bushy hair fresh and more brownThan mossy walls at old gates of a town,Calling to one another with loud criesFor younger imps to be in at the prize;Stealing without concern but tremulous with fearThey glance around lest Doll the maid appear;--Their jolly lips--that haply cause some pain,And all those busy fingers, pressing now and 'gain,The teeming udders whose small, thousand poresGush out the nectar 'mid their laughing roars,While she, good mother, gives and gives in heaps,And never moves. Anon there creepsA vague soft shiver o'er the hide unmarred,As sharp they pull, she seems of stone most hard.Dreamy of large eye, seeks she no release,And shrinks not while there's one still to appease.Thus Nature--refuge 'gainst the slings of fate!Mother of all, indulgent as she's great!Lets us, the hungered of each age and rank,Shadow and milk seek in the eternal flank;Mystic and carnal, foolish, wise, repair,The souls retiring and those that dare,Sages with halos, poets laurel-crowned,All creep beneath or cluster close around,And with unending greed and joyous cries,From sources full, draw need's supplies,Quench hearty thirst, obtain what must eftsoonForm blood and mind, in freest boon,Respire at length thy sacred flaming light,From all that greets our ears, touch, scent or sight--Brown leaves, blue mountains, yellow gleams, green sod--Thou undistracted still dost dream of God.
Words in this poem 17
- festoon n.
- A garland or wreath hanging in a depending curve, used in decoration for festivals, etc.; anything arranged in this way. [F. feston (cf. Sp. feston, It. festone), prob. fr. L. festum festival. See Feast.]
- gaffer n.
- An old fellow; an aged rustic. [Possibly contr. fr. godfather; but prob. fr. gramfer for grandfather. Cf. Gammer.]
- watchdog n.
- A dog kept to watch and guard premises or property, and to give notice of the approach of intruders.
- clarion n.
- A kind of trumpet, whose note is clear and shrill. [OE. clarioun, OF. clarion, F. clairon, LL. clario, claro; so called from its clear tone, fr. L. clarus clear. See Clear.]
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- jingling n.
- The act or process of producing a jingle; also, the sound itself; a chink.
- superb a.
- Grand; magnificent; august; stately; as, a superb edifice; a superb colonnade. [F. superbe, L. superbus, fr. super over. See Super-.]
- dappled a.
- Marked with spots of different shades of color; spotted; variegated; as, a dapple horse.
- haply adv.
- By hap, chance, luck, or accident; perhaps; it may be.
- teeming a.
- Prolific; productive.
- anon adv.
- Straightway; at once. [OE. anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), fr. AS. on in + an one. See On and One.]
- dreamy a.
- Abounding in dreams or given to dreaming; appropriate to, or like, dreams; visionary.
- hungered a.
- Hungry; pinched for food.
- greed n.
- An eager desire or longing; greediness; as, a greed of gain. [Akin to Goth. grdus hunger, Icel. graedhr. sq. root34. See Greedy.]
- eftsoon adv.
- Again; anew; a second time; at once; speedily. [OE. eftsone, eftsones; AS. eft + s soon. See Eft, and Soon.]
- 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.]
- respire v. i.
- To take breath again; hence, to take rest or refreshment. [L. respirare, respiratum; pref. re- re- + spirare to breathe: cf. F. respirer. See Spirit.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Cow is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #8775, the various hands translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Victor Hugo, The Cow, in Poems (1888), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8775, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hugo-poems/the-cow.html, id L26769.
Form and metre
The Cow is 44 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOOPPQQRRSSTTUUVV festoonA · noonA · crestsB · restsB · kingC · wingC · lightD · whiteD · youngE · hungE · teethF · beneathF · brownG · townG · criesH · prizeH · fearI · appearI · painJ · gainJ · poresK · roarsK · heapsL · creepsL · unmarredM · hardM · releaseN · appeaseN · fateO · greatO · rankP · flankP · repairQ · dareQ · crownedR · aroundR · criesS · suppliesS · eftsoonT · boonT · lightU · sightU · sodV · godV
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Before the farm where, o'er the porch, festoon | 10 | ·········/ |
| Wild creepers red, and gaffer sits at noon, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Whilst strutting fowl display their varied crests, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| And the old watchdog slumberously rests, | 10 | ···/······ |
| They half-attentive to the clarion of their king, | 12 | ··˘/˘··/˘··· |
| Resplendent in the sunshine op'ning wing-- | 10 | ˘/˘··/···· |
| There stood a cow, with neck-bell jingling light, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Superb, enormous, dappled red and white-- | 10 | ˘/˘/˘·˘··· |
| Soft, gentle, patient as a hind unto its young, | 12 | ·/˘/˘······· |
| Letting the children swarm until they hung | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| Around her, under--rustics with their teeth | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Whiter than marble their ripe lips beneath, | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| And bushy hair fresh and more brown | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Than mossy walls at old gates of a town, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Calling to one another with loud cries | 10 | /˘··˘/˘··· |
| For younger imps to be in at the prize; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Stealing without concern but tremulous with fear | 11 | /˘··˘/·/˘·· |
| They glance around lest Doll the maid appear;-- | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Their jolly lips--that haply cause some pain, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| And all those busy fingers, pressing now and 'gain, | 12 | ···/˘/˘/˘··· |
| The teeming udders whose small, thousand pores | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Gush out the nectar 'mid their laughing roars, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| While she, good mother, gives and gives in heaps, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And never moves. Anon there creeps | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| A vague soft shiver o'er the hide unmarred, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| As sharp they pull, she seems of stone most hard. | 10 | ·········· |
| Dreamy of large eye, seeks she no release, | 10 | /˘······˘/ |
| And shrinks not while there's one still to appease. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Thus Nature--refuge 'gainst the slings of fate! | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Mother of all, indulgent as she's great! | 10 | /˘··˘/˘··· |
| Lets us, the hungered of each age and rank, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Shadow and milk seek in the eternal flank; | 11 | /······˘/˘· |
| Mystic and carnal, foolish, wise, repair, | 10 | /˘·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| The souls retiring and those that dare, | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| Sages with halos, poets laurel-crowned, | 10 | /˘·/˘/˘/˘· |
| All creep beneath or cluster close around, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And with unending greed and joyous cries, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| From sources full, draw need's supplies, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Quench hearty thirst, obtain what must eftsoon | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| Form blood and mind, in freest boon, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Respire at length thy sacred flaming light, | 10 | ˘/···/˘/˘· |
| From all that greets our ears, touch, scent or sight-- | 10 | ····/····· |
| Brown leaves, blue mountains, yellow gleams, green sod-- | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Thou undistracted still dost dream of God. | 10 | ·········· |
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