A Morn of May
All the clouds about the sun lay up in golden creases,(Merry rings the maiden's voice that sings at dawn of day;)Lambkins woke and skipped around to dry their dewy fleeces,So sweetly as she carolled, all on a morn of May.
Quoth the Sergeant, "Here I'll halt; here's wine of joy for drinking;To my heart she sets her hand, and in the strings doth play;All among the daffodils, and fairer to my thinking,And fresh as milk and roses, she sits this morn of May."
Quoth the Sergeant, "Work is work, but any ye might make me,If I worked for you, dear lass, I'd count my holiday.I'm your slave for good and all, an' if ye will but take me,So sweetly as ye carol upon this morn of May."
"Medals count for worth," quoth she, "and scars are worn for honor;But a slave an' if ye be, kind wooer, go your way."All the nodding daffodils woke up and laughed upon her.O! sweetly did she carol, all on that morn of May.
Gladsome leaves upon the bough, they fluttered fast and faster,Fretting brook, till he would speak, did chide the dull delay:"Beauty! when I said a slave, I think I meant a master;So sweetly as ye carol all on this morn of May.
"Lass, I love you! Love is strong, and some men's hearts are tender."Far she sought o'er wood and wold, but found not aught to say;Mounting lark nor mantling cloud would any counsel render,Though sweetly she had carolled upon that morn of May.
Shy, she sought the wooer's face, and deemed the wooing mended;Proper man he was, good sooth, and one would have his way:So the lass was made a wife, and so the song was ended.O! sweetly she did carol all on that morn of May.
Words in this poem
- 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.]
- quoth v. t.
- Said; spoke; uttered; -- used only in the first and third persons in the past tenses, and always followed by its nominative, the word or words said being the object; as, quoth I. quoth he. [AS.cweedhan, imp cwæedh, pl. cwædon; akin to OS. queedhan, OHG. quethan, quedan, Icel. kveedha, Goth. qiþan. sq. root22. Cf. Bequeath.]
- lass n.
- A youth woman; a girl; a sweetheart. [OE. lasse; prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. llodes girl, fem. of llawd lad. (Lad a youth.]
- carol v. t.
- To praise or celebrate in song.
- wooer n.
- One who wooes; one who courts or solicits in love; a suitor. [AS. wogere. See Woo, v. t.]
- gladsome a.
- Pleased; joyful; cheerful.
- wold n.
- A wood; a forest. [OE. wold, wald, AS. weald, wald, a wood, forest; akin to OFries. & OS. wald, D. woud, G. wald, Icel. völlr, a field, and probably to Gr. va a garden, inclosure.]
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- mantling n.
- The representation of a mantle, or the drapery behind and around a coat of arms: -- called also lambrequin.
- sooth a.
- True; faithful; trustworthy. [OE. soth, AS. s, for san; akin to OS. s, OHG. sand, Icel. sannr, Sw. sann, Dan. sand, Skr. sat, sant, real, genuine, present, being; properly p. pr. from a root]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Morn of May is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems by Jean Ingelow, In Two Volumes, Volume I., Project Gutenberg ebook #13223; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Jean Ingelow, A Morn of May, in Poems, Volume I (1863), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13223, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/ingelow-poems/a-morn-of-may.html, id L12829.
Form and metre
A Morn of May is 28 lines in 7 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 6 of its 7 stanzas. The metre is trochaic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.5 syllables. 11 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
See other poems in trochaic heptameter.
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 creasesA · dayB · fleecesA · mayB
- 2 ABAB drinkingA · playB · thinkingA · mayB
- 3 ABAB meA · holidayB · meA · mayB
- 4 -A-A honor · wayA · her · mayA
- 5 ABAB fasterA · delayB · masterA · mayB
- 6 ABAB tenderA · sayB · renderA · mayB
- 7 ABAB mendedA · wayB · endedA · mayB
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 heptameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| All the clouds about the sun lay up in golden creases, | 14 | ··········/˘/˘ |
| (Merry rings the maiden's voice that sings at dawn of day;) | 13 | /˘··/˘······· |
| Lambkins woke and skipped around to dry their dewy fleeces, | 14 | ··········/˘/˘ |
| So sweetly as she carolled, all on a morn of May. | 13 | ·/˘··/˘······ |
| Quoth the Sergeant, "Here I'll halt; here's wine of joy for drinking; | 14 | ··/˘········/˘ |
| To my heart she sets her hand, and in the strings doth play; | 13 | ············· |
| All among the daffodils, and fairer to my thinking, | 14 | ····/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| And fresh as milk and roses, she sits this morn of May." | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| Quoth the Sergeant, "Work is work, but any ye might make me, | 14 | ··/˘····/˘···· |
| If I worked for you, dear lass, I'd count my holiday. | 13 | ··········/˘· |
| I'm your slave for good and all, an' if ye will but take me, | 14 | ·············· |
| So sweetly as ye carol upon this morn of May." | 13 | ·/˘··/˘······ |
| "Medals count for worth," quoth she, "and scars are worn for honor; | 14 | /˘··········/˘ |
| But a slave an' if ye be, kind wooer, go your way." | 13 | ········/˘··· |
| All the nodding daffodils woke up and laughed upon her. | 14 | ··/˘/˘········ |
| O! sweetly did she carol, all on that morn of May. | 13 | ·/˘··/˘······ |
| Gladsome leaves upon the bough, they fluttered fast and faster, | 14 | /˘······/˘··/˘ |
| Fretting brook, till he would speak, did chide the dull delay: | 13 | /˘·········˘/ |
| "Beauty! when I said a slave, I think I meant a master; | 14 | /˘··········/˘ |
| So sweetly as ye carol all on this morn of May. | 13 | ·/˘··/˘······ |
| "Lass, I love you! Love is strong, and some men's hearts are tender." | 14 | ············/˘ |
| Far she sought o'er wood and wold, but found not aught to say; | 13 | ············· |
| Mounting lark nor mantling cloud would any counsel render, | 14 | /˘··/˘··/˘/˘/˘ |
| Though sweetly she had carolled upon that morn of May. | 13 | ·/˘··/˘······ |
| Shy, she sought the wooer's face, and deemed the wooing mended; | 13 | ·········/˘/˘ |
| Proper man he was, good sooth, and one would have his way: | 13 | /˘··········· |
| So the lass was made a wife, and so the song was ended. | 14 | ············/˘ |
| O! sweetly she did carol all on that morn of May. | 13 | ·/˘··/˘······ |
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