To an Early Primrose
Mild offspring of a dark and sullen sire!Whose modest form, so delicately fine,Was nursed in whirling storms,And cradled in the winds.
Thee when young spring first question'd winter's sway,And dared the sturdy blusterer to the fight,Thee on this bank he threwTo mark his victory.
In this low vale, the promise of the year,Serene thou openest to the nipping gale,Unnoticed and alone,Thy tender elegance.
So virtue blooms, brought forth amid the stormsOf chill adversity, in some lone walkOf life she rears her head,Obscure and unobserved;
While every bleaching breeze that on her blowsChastens her spotless purity of breast,And hardens her to bearSerene the ills of life.
Words in this poem
- sullen a.
- Lonely; solitary; desolate. Wyclif (Job iii. 14). [OE. solein, solain, lonely, sullen; through Old French fr. (assumed) LL. solanus solitary, fr. L. solus alone. See Sole, a.]
- sire n.
- A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.]
- vale n.
- A tract of low ground, or of land between hills; a valley. [OE. val, F. val, L. vallis; perhaps akin to Gr. Avalanche, Vail to lower, Valley.]
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- adversity n.
- Opposition; contrariety. Wyclif. [OE. adversite, F. adversité, fr. L. adversitas.]
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To an Early Primrose is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Henry Kirk White : With a Memoir by Sir Harris Nicolas, Project Gutenberg ebook #7149; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Henry Kirke White, To an Early Primrose, in The Poetical Works of Henry Kirke White (1803–1806), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7149, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kirke-white-poems/to-an-early-primrose.html, id L10088.
Form and metre
To an Early Primrose is 20 lines in 5 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter, other poems in blank verse.
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Mild offspring of a dark and sullen sire! | 11 | ·/·····/˘/˘ |
| Whose modest form, so delicately fine, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘˘· |
| Was nursed in whirling storms, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And cradled in the winds. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Thee when young spring first question'd winter's sway, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| And dared the sturdy blusterer to the fight, | 11 | ···/˘/˘˘··· |
| Thee on this bank he threw | 6 | ······ |
| To mark his victory. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| In this low vale, the promise of the year, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Serene thou openest to the nipping gale, | 10 | ˘/·/˘··/˘· |
| Unnoticed and alone, | 6 | ˘/˘·˘/ |
| Thy tender elegance. | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| So virtue blooms, brought forth amid the storms | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| Of chill adversity, in some lone walk | 10 | ··˘/˘˘···· |
| Of life she rears her head, | 6 | ······ |
| Obscure and unobserved; | 6 | ˘/···· |
| While every bleaching breeze that on her blows | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Chastens her spotless purity of breast, | 10 | /˘·/˘/˘˘·· |
| And hardens her to bear | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Serene the ills of life. | 6 | ˘/···· |
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.