Winter: An Ode
No more tire morn, with tepid rays,Unfolds the flow'r of various hue;Noon spreads no more the genial blaze,Nor gentle eve distils the dew.The ling'ring hours prolong the night,Usurping darkness shares the day;Her mists restrain the force of light,And Phoebus holds a doubtful sway.By gloomy twilight, half reveal'd,With sighs we view the hoary hill,The leafless wood, the naked field,The snow-topp'd cot, the frozen rill.No musick warbles through the grove,No vivid colours paint the plain;No more, with devious steps, I roveThrough verdant paths, now sought in vain.Aloud the driving tempest roars,Congeal'd, impetuous show'rs descend;Haste, close the window, bar the doors,Fate leaves me Stella, and a friend.In nature's aid, let art supplyWith light and heat my little sphere;Rouse, rouse the fire, and pile it high,Light up a constellation here.Let musick sound the voice of joy,Or mirth repeat the jocund tale;Let love his wanton wiles employ,And o'er the season wine prevail.Yet time life's dreary winter brings,When mirth's gay tale shall please no moreNor musick charm--though Stella sings;Nor love, nor wine, the spring restore.Catch, then, Oh! catch the transient hour,Improve each moment as it flies;Life's a short summer--man a flow'r:He dies--alas! how soon he dies!
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.]
- genial a.
- Contributing to, or concerned in, propagation or production; generative; procreative; productive. [L. genialis: cf. OF. genial. See Genius.]
- phoebus n.
- Apollo; the sun god.
- hoary a.
- White or whitish."The hoary willows."
- rill n.
- A very small brook; a streamlet. [Cf. LG. rille a small channel or brook, a furrow, a chamfer, OE. rigol a small brook, F. rigole a trench or furrow for water, W. rhill a row, rhigol a little di]
- devious a.
- Out of a straight line; winding; varying from directness; as, a devious path or way. [L. devius; de + via way. See Viaduct.]
- aloud adv.
- With a loud voice, or great noise; loudly; audibly. [Pref. a- + loud.]
- jocund
- Merry; cheerful; gay; airy; lively; sportive. [L. jocundus, jucundus, orig., helpful, fr. juvare to help. See Aid.]
- dreary a.
- Sorrowful; distressful. [OE. dreori, dreri, AS. dreórig, sad; akin to G. traurig, and prob. to AS. dreósan to fall, Goth. driusan. Cf. Dross, Drear, Drizzle, Drowse.]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Winter: An Ode is in the public domain. This text is taken from Dr. Johnson's Works: Life, Poems, and Tales, Volume 1 (The Works of Samuel Johnson in Nine Volumes, 1825), Project Gutenberg ebook #10835; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Samuel Johnson, Winter: An Ode, in Poems (1825), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #10835, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/johnson-poems/winter-an-ode.html, id L27137.
Form and metre
Winter: An Ode is 36 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 96%).
See other poems in iambic 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 ABABCDCDEFEFGHGHIJIJKLKLMNMNOPOP-Q-Q raysA · hueB · blazeA · dewB · nightC · dayD · lightC · swayD · reveal'dE · hillF · fieldE · rillF · groveG · plainH · roveG · vainH · roarsI · descendJ · doorsI · friendJ · supplyK · sphereL · highK · hereL · joyM · taleN · employM · prevailN · bringsO · moreP · singsO · restoreP · hour · fliesQ · flow'r · diesQ
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| No more tire morn, with tepid rays, | 8 | ··/··/˘· |
| Unfolds the flow'r of various hue; | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| Noon spreads no more the genial blaze, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Nor gentle eve distils the dew. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| The ling'ring hours prolong the night, | 8 | ···/˘/·· |
| Usurping darkness shares the day; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Her mists restrain the force of light, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| And Phoebus holds a doubtful sway. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| By gloomy twilight, half reveal'd, | 8 | ·/˘/··˘/ |
| With sighs we view the hoary hill, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The leafless wood, the naked field, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The snow-topp'd cot, the frozen rill. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| No musick warbles through the grove, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| No vivid colours paint the plain; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| No more, with devious steps, I rove | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Through verdant paths, now sought in vain. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Aloud the driving tempest roars, | 8 | ˘/·/˘/˘· |
| Congeal'd, impetuous show'rs descend; | 8 | ˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Haste, close the window, bar the doors, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Fate leaves me Stella, and a friend. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| In nature's aid, let art supply | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| With light and heat my little sphere; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Rouse, rouse the fire, and pile it high, | 8 | ···/···· |
| Light up a constellation here. | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Let musick sound the voice of joy, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Or mirth repeat the jocund tale; | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Let love his wanton wiles employ, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| And o'er the season wine prevail. | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Yet time life's dreary winter brings, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| When mirth's gay tale shall please no more | 8 | ········ |
| Nor musick charm--though Stella sings; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Nor love, nor wine, the spring restore. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Catch, then, Oh! catch the transient hour, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Improve each moment as it flies; | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| Life's a short summer--man a flow'r: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| He dies--alas! how soon he dies! | 8 | ··˘/···· |
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.