Study
SOMEWHERE the long mellow note of the blackbirdQuickens the unclasping hands of hazel,Somewhere the wind-flowers fling their heads back,Stirred by an impetuous wind. Some ways'llAll be sweet with white and blue violet.(Hush now, hush. Where am I?--Biuret--)
On the green wood's edge a shy girl hoversFrom out of the hazel-screen on to the grass,Where wheeling and screaming the petulant ploversWave frighted. Who comes? A labourer, alas!Oh the sunset swims in her eyes' swift pool.(Work, work, you fool--!)
Somewhere the lamp hanging low from the ceilingLights the soft hair of a girl as she reads,And the red firelight steadily wheelingWeaves the hard hands of my friend in sleep.And the white dog snuffs the warmth, appealingFor the man to heed lest the girl shall weep.
(Tears and dreams for them; for meBitter science--the exams. are near.I wish I bore it more patiently.I wish you did not wait, my dear,For me to come: since work I must:Though it's all the same when we are dead.--I wish I was only a bust,All head.)
Words in this poem
- somewhere adv.
- In some place unknown or not specified; in one place or another.
- biuret n.
- A white, crystalline, nitrogenous substance, C2O2N3H5, formed by heating urea. It is intermediate between urea and cyanuric acid. [Pref. bi- + urea.]
- wheeling n.
- The act of conveying anything, or traveling, on wheels, or in a wheeled vehicle.
- screaming a.
- Uttering screams; shrieking.
- petulant a.
- Forward; pert; insolent; wanton. Burton. [L. petulans, -antis, prop., making slight attacks upon, from a lost dim. of petere to fall upon, to attack: cf. F. pétulant. See Petition.]
- appealing a.
- That appeals; imploring.
- 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,]
- patiently adv.
- In a patient manner.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Study is in the public domain. This text is taken from Amores: Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #22531; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: D. H. Lawrence, Study, in Amores (1916), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22531, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lawrence-amores/study.html, id L13545.
Form and metre
Study is 26 lines in 4 stanzas. The metre is trochaic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 74%). 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.2 syllables. 10 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 31% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic 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.
- 2 ABABCC hoversA · grassB · ploversA · alasB · poolC · foolC
- 3 A-ABAB ceilingA · reads · wheelingA · sleepB · appealingA · weepB
- 4 -A-ABCBC me · nearA · patiently · dearA · mustB · deadC · bustB · headC
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| SOMEWHERE the long mellow note of the blackbird | 11 | /···/˘···/˘ |
| Quickens the unclasping hands of hazel, | 10 | /˘······/˘ |
| Somewhere the wind-flowers fling their heads back, | 10 | /···/˘···· |
| Stirred by an impetuous wind. Some ways'll | 10 | ·˘··˘/˘··· |
| All be sweet with white and blue violet. | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| (Hush now, hush. Where am I?--Biuret--) | 9 | ······/˘˘ |
| On the green wood's edge a shy girl hovers | 10 | ········/˘ |
| From out of the hazel-screen on to the grass, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| Where wheeling and screaming the petulant plovers | 11 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘/˘ |
| Wave frighted. Who comes? A labourer, alas! | 11 | ·/˘······˘/ |
| Oh the sunset swims in her eyes' swift pool. | 10 | ··/······· |
| (Work, work, you fool--!) | 4 | ···· |
| Somewhere the lamp hanging low from the ceiling | 11 | /···/˘···/˘ |
| Lights the soft hair of a girl as she reads, | 10 | ·········· |
| And the red firelight steadily wheeling | 11 | ······/˘˘/˘ |
| Weaves the hard hands of my friend in sleep. | 9 | ········· |
| And the white dog snuffs the warmth, appealing | 10 | ·······˘/˘ |
| For the man to heed lest the girl shall weep. | 10 | ·········· |
| (Tears and dreams for them; for me | 7 | ······· |
| Bitter science--the exams. are near. | 9 | /˘/˘·˘/·· |
| I wish I bore it more patiently. | 9 | ······/˘˘ |
| I wish you did not wait, my dear, | 8 | ········ |
| For me to come: since work I must: | 8 | ········ |
| Though it's all the same when we are dead.-- | 9 | ········· |
| I wish I was only a bust, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| All head.) | 2 | ·· |
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