To Midnight
Season of general rest, whose solemn stillStrikes to the trembling heart a fearful chill,But speaks to philosophic souls delight;Thee do I hail, as at my casement high,My candle waning melancholy by,I sit and taste the holy calm of night.
Yon pensive orb, that through the ether sails,And gilds the misty shadows of the vales,Hanging in thy dull rear her vestal flame;To her, while all around in sleep recline,Wakeful I raise my orisons divine,And sing the gentle honours of her name;
While Fancy lone o'er me, her votary, bends,To lift my soul her fairy visions sends,And pours upon my ear her thrilling song,And Superstition's gentle terrors come,--See, see yon dim ghost gliding through the gloom!See round yon churchyard elm what spectres throng!
Meanwhile I tune, to some romantic lay,My flageolet--and as I pensive play,The sweet notes echo o'er the mountain scene:The traveller late journeying o'er the moors,Hears them aghast,--(while still the dull owl poursHer hollow screams each dreary pause between).
Till in the lonely tower he spies the light,Now faintly flashing on the glooms of night,Where I, poor muser, my lone vigils keep,And, 'mid the dreary solitude serene,Cast a much-meaning glance upon the scene,And raise my mournful eye to Heaven, and weep.
Words in this poem
- philosophic a.
- Of or pertaining to philosophy; versed in, or imbued with, the principles of philosophy; hence, characterizing a philosopher; rational; wise; temperate; calm; cool. [L. philosophicus: cf. F. philosophique.]
- casement n.
- A window sash opening on hinges affixed to the upright side of the frame into which it is fitted. (Poetically) A window. [Shortened fr. encasement. See Incase 1st Case, and cf. Incasement.]
- waning n.
- The act or process of waning, or decreasing.
- vestal a.
- Of or pertaining to Vesta, the virgin goddess of the hearth; hence, pure; chaste. [L. Vestalis belonging to Vesta, vestal. See Vesta.]
- wakeful a.
- Not sleeping; indisposed to sleep; watchful; vigilant.
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- thrilling a.
- Causing a thrill; causing tremulous excitement; deeply moving; as, a thrilling romance.
- ghost n.
- The spirit; the soul of man. [OE. gast, gost, soul, spirit, AS. gast breath, spirit, soul; akin to OS. g spirit, soul, D. geest, G. geist, and prob. to E. gaze, ghastly.]
- churchyard n.
- The ground adjoining a church, in which the dead are buried; a cemetery.
- meanwhile n.
- The intervening time; as, in the meantime (or mean time).
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To Midnight 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 Midnight, 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-midnight.html, id L10098.
Form and metre
To Midnight is 30 lines in 5 stanzas of 6 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABCCB. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 7% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 stillA · chillA · delightB · highC · byC · nightB
- 2 AABCCB sailsA · valesA · flameB · reclineC · divineC · nameB
- 3 AABCCB bendsA · sendsA · songB · comeC · gloomC · throngB
- 4 AABCCB layA · playA · sceneB · moorsC · poursC · betweenB
- 5 AABCCB lightA · nightA · keepB · sereneC · sceneC · weepB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Season of general rest, whose solemn still | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| Strikes to the trembling heart a fearful chill, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| But speaks to philosophic souls delight; | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| Thee do I hail, as at my casement high, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| My candle waning melancholy by, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘·˘· |
| I sit and taste the holy calm of night. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Yon pensive orb, that through the ether sails, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And gilds the misty shadows of the vales, | 10 | ···/˘/···· |
| Hanging in thy dull rear her vestal flame; | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| To her, while all around in sleep recline, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Wakeful I raise my orisons divine, | 10 | /˘······˘/ |
| And sing the gentle honours of her name; | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| While Fancy lone o'er me, her votary, bends, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘˘· |
| To lift my soul her fairy visions sends, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| And pours upon my ear her thrilling song, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And Superstition's gentle terrors come,-- | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| See, see yon dim ghost gliding through the gloom! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| See round yon churchyard elm what spectres throng! | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| Meanwhile I tune, to some romantic lay, | 10 | /·····˘/˘· |
| My flageolet--and as I pensive play, | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| The sweet notes echo o'er the mountain scene: | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| The traveller late journeying o'er the moors, | 10 | ·/˘·/˘˘··· |
| Hears them aghast,--(while still the dull owl pours | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Her hollow screams each dreary pause between). | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Till in the lonely tower he spies the light, | 10 | ···/˘/···· |
| Now faintly flashing on the glooms of night, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Where I, poor muser, my lone vigils keep, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And, 'mid the dreary solitude serene, | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Cast a much-meaning glance upon the scene, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And raise my mournful eye to Heaven, and weep. | 10 | ···/˘··/·· |
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.