Written During Illness
Beams of the daybreak faint! I hailYour dubious hues, as on the robeOf night, which wraps the slumbering globe,I mark your traces pale.Tired with the taper's sickly light,And with the wearying, number'd night,I hail the streaks of morn divine:And lo! they break between the dewy wreathsThat round my rural casement twine;The fresh gale o'er the green lawn breathes,It fans my feverish brow,--it calms the mental strife,And cheerily re-illumes the lambent flame of life.
The lark has her gay song begun,She leaves her grassy nest,And soars till the unrisen sunGleams on her speckled breast.
Now let me leave my restless bed,And o'er the spangled uplands tread;Now through the custom'd wood walk wend;By many a green lane lies my way,Where high o'er head the wild briers bend,Till on the mountain's summit gray,I sit me down, and mark the glorious dawn of day.
Oh Heaven! the soft refreshing galeIt breathes into my breast!My sunk eye gleams; my cheek, so pale,Is with new colours dress'd.
Blithe Health! thou soul of life and ease!Come thou, too, on the balmy breeze,Invigorate my frame:I'll join with thee the buskin'd chase,With thee the distant clime will traceBeyond those clouds of flame.
Above, below, what charms unfoldIn all the varied view!Before me all is burnish'd gold,Behind the twilight's hue.The mists which on old Night await,Far to the west they hold their state,They shun the clear blue face of Morn;Along the fine cerulean skyThe fleecy clouds successive fly,While bright prismatic beams their shadowy folds adorn.
And hark! the thatcher has begunHis whistle on the eaves,And oft the hedger's bill is heardAmong the rustling leaves.The slow team creaks upon the road,The noisy whip resounds,The driver's voice, his carol blithe,The mower's stroke, his whetting scytheMix with the morning's sounds.
Who would not rather take his seatBeneath these clumps of trees,The early dawn of day to greet,And catch the healthy breeze,Than on the silken couch of SlothLuxurious to lie;Who would not from life's dreary wasteSnatch, when he could, with eager haste,An interval of joy!
To him who simply thus recountsThe morning's pleasures o'er,Fate dooms, ere long, the scene must closeTo ope on him no more.Yet Morning! unrepining still,He'll greet thy beams awhile;And surely thou, when o'er his graveSolemn the whispering willows wave,Wilt sweetly on him smile:And the pale glowworm's pensive lightWill guide his ghostly walks in the drear moonless night.
Words in this poem 22
- daybreak n.
- The time of the first appearance of light in the morning.
- dubious a.
- Doubtful or not settled in opinion; being in doubt; wavering or fluctuating; undetermined. [L. dubius, dubiosus, fr. duo two. See Two, and cf. Doubt.]
- 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.]
- 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.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- cheerily adv.
- In a cheery manner.
- lambent a.
- Playing on the surface; touching lightly; gliding over. [L. lambens, -enlis, p. pr. of lambere to lick; akin to lap. See Lap to drink by licking.]
- wend n.
- A large extent of ground; a perambulation; a circuit.
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- blithe a.
- Gay; merry; sprightly; joyous; glad; cheerful; as, a blithe spirit. [AS. bli blithe, kind; akin to Goth. blei kind, Icel. bli mild, gentle, Dan. & Sw. blid gentle, D. blijd blithe, OHG. blidi kind, blithe.]
- balmy a.
- Having the qualities of balm; odoriferous; aromatic; assuaging; soothing; refreshing; mild.
- clime n.
- A climate; a tract or region of the earth. See Climate. [L. clima. See Climate.]
- await v. t.
- To watch for; to look out for. [OF. awaitier, agaitier; (L. ad) + waitier, gaitier to watch, F. guetter. See Wait.]
- cerulean a.
- Sky-colored; blue; azure. [L. caeruleus.]
- fleecy a.
- Covered with, made of, or resembling, a fleece.
- thatcher n.
- One who thatches.
- carol v. t.
- To praise or celebrate in song.
- 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.]
- awhile adv.
- For a while; for some time; for a short time. [Adj. a + while time, interval.]
- ghostly a.
- Relating to the soul; not carnal or secular; spiritual; as, a ghostly confessor. [OE. gastlich, gostlich, AS. gastlic. See Ghost.]
- drear n.
- Sadness; dismalness.
- moonless a.
- Being without a moon or moonlight.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Written During Illness 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, Written During Illness, in The Poetical Works of Henry Kirke White (1803–1806), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7149, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kirke-white-poems/written-during-illness.html, id L10113.
Form and metre
Written During Illness is 72 lines in 9 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.9 syllables. 25% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABBACCDEDEFF hailA · robeB · globeB · paleA · lightC · nightC · divineD · wreathsE · twineD · breathesE · strifeF · lifeF
- 2 ABAB begunA · nestB · sunA · breastB
- 3 AABCBCC bedA · treadA · wendB · wayC · bendB · grayC · dayC
- 4 ABAB galeA · breastB · paleA · dress'dB
- 5 AABCCB easeA · breezeA · frameB · chaseC · traceC · flameB
- 6 ABABCCDEED unfoldA · viewB · goldA · hueB · awaitC · stateC · mornD · skyE · flyE · adornD
- 7 -A-A-B--B begun · eavesA · heard · leavesA · road · resoundsB · blithe · scythe · soundsB
- 8 ABAB--CC- seatA · treesB · greetA · breezeB · sloth · lie · wasteC · hasteC · joy
- 9 -----ABBACC recounts · o'er · close · more · still · awhileA · graveB · waveB · smileA · lightC · nightC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Beams of the daybreak faint! I hail | 8 | ···/···· |
| Your dubious hues, as on the robe | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Of night, which wraps the slumbering globe, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I mark your traces pale. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Tired with the taper's sickly light, | 8 | /··/˘/˘· |
| And with the wearying, number'd night, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| I hail the streaks of morn divine: | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And lo! they break between the dewy wreaths | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| That round my rural casement twine; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The fresh gale o'er the green lawn breathes, | 8 | ········ |
| It fans my feverish brow,--it calms the mental strife, | 12 | ···/˘····/˘· |
| And cheerily re-illumes the lambent flame of life. | 13 | ·/˘˘····/˘··· |
| The lark has her gay song begun, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| She leaves her grassy nest, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And soars till the unrisen sun | 8 | ········ |
| Gleams on her speckled breast. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Now let me leave my restless bed, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And o'er the spangled uplands tread; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Now through the custom'd wood walk wend; | 8 | ········ |
| By many a green lane lies my way, | 8 | ·/······ |
| Where high o'er head the wild briers bend, | 8 | ······/· |
| Till on the mountain's summit gray, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| I sit me down, and mark the glorious dawn of day. | 12 | ·······/˘··· |
| Oh Heaven! the soft refreshing gale | 8 | ·/··˘/˘· |
| It breathes into my breast! | 6 | ······ |
| My sunk eye gleams; my cheek, so pale, | 8 | ········ |
| Is with new colours dress'd. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Blithe Health! thou soul of life and ease! | 8 | ········ |
| Come thou, too, on the balmy breeze, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Invigorate my frame: | 6 | ˘/˘˘·· |
| I'll join with thee the buskin'd chase, | 8 | ········ |
| With thee the distant clime will trace | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Beyond those clouds of flame. | 6 | ······ |
| Above, below, what charms unfold | 8 | ······˘/ |
| In all the varied view! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Before me all is burnish'd gold, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Behind the twilight's hue. | 6 | ···/·· |
| The mists which on old Night await, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Far to the west they hold their state, | 8 | ········ |
| They shun the clear blue face of Morn; | 8 | ········ |
| Along the fine cerulean sky | 9 | ˘/··˘/˘˘· |
| The fleecy clouds successive fly, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| While bright prismatic beams their shadowy folds adorn. | 12 | ··˘/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| And hark! the thatcher has begun | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| His whistle on the eaves, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And oft the hedger's bill is heard | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Among the rustling leaves. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The slow team creaks upon the road, | 8 | ········ |
| The noisy whip resounds, | 6 | ·/˘··/ |
| The driver's voice, his carol blithe, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The mower's stroke, his whetting scythe | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Mix with the morning's sounds. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Who would not rather take his seat | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Beneath these clumps of trees, | 6 | ······ |
| The early dawn of day to greet, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And catch the healthy breeze, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Than on the silken couch of Sloth | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Luxurious to lie; | 6 | ˘/˘˘·· |
| Who would not from life's dreary waste | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Snatch, when he could, with eager haste, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An interval of joy! | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| To him who simply thus recounts | 8 | ···/˘··/ |
| The morning's pleasures o'er, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Fate dooms, ere long, the scene must close | 8 | ········ |
| To ope on him no more. | 6 | ······ |
| Yet Morning! unrepining still, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| He'll greet thy beams awhile; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| And surely thou, when o'er his grave | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Solemn the whispering willows wave, | 8 | /˘·/˘/·· |
| Wilt sweetly on him smile: | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And the pale glowworm's pensive light | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Will guide his ghostly walks in the drear moonless night. | 12 | ···/˘····/˘· |
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.