The Warbling of Blackbirds
When I hear the waters fretting,When I see the chestnut lettingAll her lovely blossom falter down, I think, "Alas the day!"Once with magical sweet singing,Blackbirds set the woodland ringing,That awakes no more while April hours wear themselves away.
In our hearts fair hope lay smiling,Sweet as air, and all beguiling;And there hung a mist of bluebells on the slope and down the dell;And we talked of joy and splendorThat the years unborn would render,And the blackbirds helped us with the story, for they knew it well.
Piping, fluting, "Bees are humming,April's here, and summer's coming;Don't forget us when you walk, a man with men, in pride and joy;Think on us in alleys shady,When you step a graceful lady;For no fairer day have we to hope for, little girl and boy.
"Laugh and play, O lisping waters,Lull our downy sons and daughters;Come, O wind, and rock their leafy cradle in thy wanderings coy;When they wake we'll end the measureWith a wild sweet cry of pleasure,And a 'Hey down derry, let's be merry! little girl and boy!'"
Words in this poem
- falter v. t.
- To thrash in the chaff; also, to cleanse or sift, as barley.
- beguiling a.
- Alluring by guile; deluding; misleading; diverting.
- dell n.
- A small, retired valley; a ravine. [AS. del, akin to E. dale; cf. D. delle, del, low ground. See Dale.]
- unborn a.
- Not born; no yet brought into life; being still to appear; future.
- piping a.
- Playing on a musical pipe. [From Pipe, v.]
- lull v. t.
- To cause to rest by soothing influences; to compose; to calm; to soothe; to quiet. [Akin to OD. lullen to sing to sleep, G. lullen, Dan. lulle, Sw. lulla; all of imitative origin. Cf. Loll, Lollard.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Warbling of Blackbirds 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, The Warbling of Blackbirds, in Poems, Volume I (1863), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13223, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/ingelow-poems/the-warbling-of-blackbirds.html, id L12820.
Form and metre
The Warbling of Blackbirds is 24 lines in 4 stanzas of 6 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABCCB. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.4 syllables. 16 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 12% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic 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 AABCCB frettingA · lettingA · dayB · singingC · ringingC · awayB
- 2 AABCCB smilingA · beguilingA · dellB · splendorC · renderC · wellB
- 3 AABCCB hummingA · comingA · joyB · shadyC · ladyC · boyB
- 4 AABCCB watersA · daughtersA · coyB · measureC · pleasureC · boyB
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| When I hear the waters fretting, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| When I see the chestnut letting | 8 | ····/·/˘ |
| All her lovely blossom falter down, I think, "Alas the day!" | 15 | ··/˘/˘/˘···˘/·· |
| Once with magical sweet singing, | 8 | ··/˘˘·/˘ |
| Blackbirds set the woodland ringing, | 8 | /˘··/·/˘ |
| That awakes no more while April hours wear themselves away. | 14 | ·˘/···/˘/·˘/˘/ |
| In our hearts fair hope lay smiling, | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Sweet as air, and all beguiling; | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| And there hung a mist of bluebells on the slope and down the dell; | 15 | ······/········ |
| And we talked of joy and splendor | 9 | ···˘···/˘ |
| That the years unborn would render, | 8 | ···//·/˘ |
| And the blackbirds helped us with the story, for they knew it well. | 15 | ··/˘····/˘····· |
| Piping, fluting, "Bees are humming, | 8 | /˘/˘··/˘ |
| April's here, and summer's coming; | 8 | /˘··/˘/˘ |
| Don't forget us when you walk, a man with men, in pride and joy; | 15 | ·˘/············ |
| Think on us in alleys shady, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| When you step a graceful lady; | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| For no fairer day have we to hope for, little girl and boy. | 15 | ··/˘······/˘··· |
| "Laugh and play, O lisping waters, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Lull our downy sons and daughters; | 9 | ·/˘/˘··/˘ |
| Come, O wind, and rock their leafy cradle in thy wanderings coy; | 15 | ······/˘/˘··/˘· |
| When they wake we'll end the measure | 8 | ······/˘ |
| With a wild sweet cry of pleasure, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And a 'Hey down derry, let's be merry! little girl and boy!'" | 15 | ····/˘··/˘/˘··· |
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.