Spring Star I
Over the lamp-lit street,Trodden by hurrying feet,Where mostly pulse and beatLife's throbbing veins,See where the April star,Blue-bright as sapphires are,Hangs in deep heavens far,Waxes and wanes.
Strangely alive it seems,Darting keen, dazzling gleams,Veiling anon its beams,Large, clear, and pure.In the broad western skyNo orb may shine anigh,No lesser radiancyMay there endure.
Spring airs are blowing sweet:Low in the dusky streetStar-beams and eye-beams meet.Rapt in his dreams,All through the crowded martPoet with swift-stirred heart,Passing beneath, must start,Thrilled by those gleams.
Naught doth he note anear,Fain through Night's veil to peer,Reach that resplendent sphere,Reading her sign.Where point those sharp, thin rays,Guiding his weary maze,Blesseth she or betrays,Who may divine?
"Guard me, celestial light,Lofty, serenely bright:Lead my halt feet aright,"Prayerful he speaks."For a new ray hath shoneOver my spirit lone.Be this new soul the onewhom my soul seeks."
Words in this poem
- strangely adv.
- As something foreign, or not one's own; in a manner adapted to something foreign and strange.
- veiling n.
- A veil; a thin covering; also, material for making veils.
- anon adv.
- Straightway; at once. [OE. anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), fr. AS. on in + an one. See On and One.]
- radiancy n.
- The quality of being radiant; brilliancy; effulgence; vivid brightness; as, the radiance of the sun.
- rapt n.
- An ecstasy; a trance. Bp. Morton. [From F. rapt abduction, rape, L. raptus, fr. rapere to seize and carry off, to transport; or fr. E. rapt, a. See Rapt, a., and Rapid.]
- mart v. t.
- To buy or sell in, or as in, a mart.
- anear v. t.
- To near; to approach.
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- maze n.
- A wild fancy; a confused notion. [OE. mase; cf. OE. masen to confuse, puzzle, Norweg. masast to fall into a slumber, masa to be continually busy, prate, chatter, Icel. masa to chatter, dial. Sw.]
- serenely adv.
- In a serene manner; clearly.
- aright adv.
- Rightly; correctly; in a right way or form; without mistake or crime; as, to worship God aright. [Pref. a- + right.]
- prayerful a.
- Given to prayer; praying much or often; devotional.
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Spring Star I is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Emma Lazarus, Volume 1, Project Gutenberg ebook #3295; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Emma Lazarus, Spring Star I, in Poems, Volume I (1867–1887), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3295, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lazarus-poems/spring-star-i.html, id L01908.
Form and metre
Spring Star I is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AAABCCCB, complete in 3 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 5.6 syllables. 18% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
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 AAABCCCB streetA · feetA · beatA · veinsB · starC · areC · farC · wanesB
- 2 AAABCC-B seemsA · gleamsA · beamsA · pureB · skyC · anighC · radiancy · endureB
- 3 AAABCCCB sweetA · streetA · meetA · dreamsB · martC · heartC · startC · gleamsB
- 4 AAABCCCB anearA · peerA · sphereA · signB · raysC · mazeC · betraysC · divineB
- 5 AAABCC-B lightA · brightA · arightA · speaksB · shoneC · loneC · one · seeksB
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Over the lamp-lit street, | 6 | ······ |
| Trodden by hurrying feet, | 7 | /˘·/˘˘· |
| Where mostly pulse and beat | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Life's throbbing veins, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| See where the April star, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Blue-bright as sapphires are, | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Hangs in deep heavens far, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Waxes and wanes. | 4 | /˘·· |
| Strangely alive it seems, | 6 | /˘˘/·· |
| Darting keen, dazzling gleams, | 7 | /˘·/˘˘· |
| Veiling anon its beams, | 6 | /˘˘/·· |
| Large, clear, and pure. | 4 | ···· |
| In the broad western sky | 6 | ···/˘· |
| No orb may shine anigh, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| No lesser radiancy | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| May there endure. | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Spring airs are blowing sweet: | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Low in the dusky street | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Star-beams and eye-beams meet. | 6 | ······ |
| Rapt in his dreams, | 4 | ···· |
| All through the crowded mart | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Poet with swift-stirred heart, | 6 | /˘···· |
| Passing beneath, must start, | 6 | /˘···· |
| Thrilled by those gleams. | 4 | ···· |
| Naught doth he note anear, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Fain through Night's veil to peer, | 6 | ······ |
| Reach that resplendent sphere, | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Reading her sign. | 4 | /˘·· |
| Where point those sharp, thin rays, | 6 | ······ |
| Guiding his weary maze, | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| Blesseth she or betrays, | 6 | /˘··˘/ |
| Who may divine? | 4 | ··˘/ |
| "Guard me, celestial light, | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Lofty, serenely bright: | 7 | /˘˘/˘˘· |
| Lead my halt feet aright," | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Prayerful he speaks. | 4 | /˘·· |
| "For a new ray hath shone | 6 | ······ |
| Over my spirit lone. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Be this new soul the one | 6 | ······ |
| whom my soul seeks." | 4 | ···· |
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.