Eileen Aroon
"Come, love, and dwell with me,Eileen aroon;I'll roam the world with thee,Eileen aroon!Down to Terawley free,From this sad house we'll flee,If thou wilt wed with me,Eileen aroon!
"We'll seek a home of peace,Eileen aroon;All fear and doubt shall cease,Eileen aroon.If thou wilt seek my side,If thou wilt be my bride,All matters not beside,Eileen aroon.
"Then, wilt thou fly or stay,Eileen aroon?Ah! do not say me nay,Come to me soon.""I come, I come to thee,Life of the world to me,Nought holds me, for I fleeThus to thy home."
"Welcome thy steps before,Eileen aroon.Fling wide our cottage door,Eileen aroon.Oh! welcome evermore,My darling and my store,Thou shalt go out no more,Eileen aroon!"
Words in this poem
- 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]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Eileen Aroon is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poem-Book of the Gael Translations from Irish Gaelic Poetry into English Prose and Verse, Project Gutenberg ebook #46917; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Eleanor Hull, Eileen Aroon, in The Poem-Book of the Gael (1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #46917, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hull-gael/eileen-aroon.html, id L11710.
Form and metre
Eileen Aroon is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABAAAB, complete in 2 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 5.3 syllables.
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
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 ABABAAAB meA · aroonB · theeA · aroonB · freeA · fleeA · meA · aroonB
- 2 ABABCCCB peaceA · aroonB · ceaseA · aroonB · sideC · brideC · besideC · aroonB
- 3 ABABCCC- stayA · aroonB · nayA · soonB · theeC · meC · fleeC · home
- 4 ABABAAAB beforeA · aroonB · doorA · aroonB · evermoreA · storeA · moreA · aroonB
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| "Come, love, and dwell with me, | 6 | ······ |
| Eileen aroon; | 4 | ˘/·· |
| I'll roam the world with thee, | 6 | ······ |
| Eileen aroon! | 4 | ˘/·· |
| Down to Terawley free, | 6 | ······ |
| From this sad house we'll flee, | 6 | ······ |
| If thou wilt wed with me, | 6 | ······ |
| Eileen aroon! | 4 | ˘/·· |
| "We'll seek a home of peace, | 6 | ······ |
| Eileen aroon; | 4 | ˘/·· |
| All fear and doubt shall cease, | 6 | ······ |
| Eileen aroon. | 4 | ˘/·· |
| If thou wilt seek my side, | 6 | ······ |
| If thou wilt be my bride, | 6 | ······ |
| All matters not beside, | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| Eileen aroon. | 4 | ˘/·· |
| "Then, wilt thou fly or stay, | 6 | ······ |
| Eileen aroon? | 4 | ˘/·· |
| Ah! do not say me nay, | 6 | ······ |
| Come to me soon." | 4 | ···· |
| "I come, I come to thee, | 6 | ······ |
| Life of the world to me, | 6 | ······ |
| Nought holds me, for I flee | 6 | ······ |
| Thus to thy home." | 4 | ···· |
| "Welcome thy steps before, | 6 | /˘···· |
| Eileen aroon. | 4 | ˘/·· |
| Fling wide our cottage door, | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Eileen aroon. | 4 | ˘/·· |
| Oh! welcome evermore, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| My darling and my store, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Thou shalt go out no more, | 6 | ······ |
| Eileen aroon!" | 4 | ˘/·· |
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.