Cambridge in the Long
Where drowsy sound of college-chimesAcross the air is blown,And drowsy fragrance of the limes,I lie and dream alone.
A dazzling radiance reigns o’er all--O’er gardens densely green,O’er old grey bridges and the small,Slow flood which slides between.
This is the place; it is not strange,But known of old and dear.--What went I forth to seek? The changeIs mine; why am I here?
Alas, in vain I turned away,I fled the town in vain;The strenuous life of yesterdayCalleth me back again.
And was it peace I came to seek?Yet here, where memories throng,Ev’n here, I know the past is weak,I know the present strong.
This drowsy fragrance, silent heat,Suit not my present mind,Whose eager thought goes out to meetThe life it left behind.
Spirit with sky to change; such hope,An idle one we know;Unship the oars, make loose the rope,Push off the boat and go....
Ah, would what binds me could have beenThus loosened at a touch!This pain of living is too keen,Of loving, is too much.
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- strenuous a.
- Eagerly pressing or urgent; zealous; ardent; earnest; bold; valiant; intrepid; as, a strenuous advocate for national rights; a strenuous reformer; a strenuous defender of his country.
- unship v. t.
- To take out of a ship or vessel; as, to unship goods. [1st pref. un- + ship.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Cambridge in the Long is in the public domain. This text is taken from A London Plane-Tree, and Other Verse, Project Gutenberg ebook #56974; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Amy Levy, Cambridge in the Long, in A London Plane-Tree, and Other Verse (1889), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56974, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/levy-london-plane-tree/cambridge-in-the-long.html, id L21558.
Form and metre
Cambridge in the Long is 32 lines in 8 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 7 of its 8 stanzas. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other poems in common measure.
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 ABAB chimesA · blownB · limesA · aloneB
- 2 ABAB allA · greenB · smallA · betweenB
- 3 ABAB strangeA · dearB · changeA · hereB
- 4 ABAB awayA · vainB · yesterdayA · againB
- 5 ABAB seekA · throngB · weakA · strongB
- 6 ABAB heatA · mindB · meetA · behindB
- 7 ABAB hopeA · knowB · ropeA · goB
- 8 -A-A been · touchA · keen · muchA
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Where drowsy sound of college-chimes | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Across the air is blown, | 6 | ˘/···· |
| And drowsy fragrance of the limes, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| I lie and dream alone. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| A dazzling radiance reigns o’er all-- | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| O’er gardens densely green, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| O’er old grey bridges and the small, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Slow flood which slides between. | 6 | ······ |
| This is the place; it is not strange, | 8 | ········ |
| But known of old and dear.-- | 6 | ······ |
| What went I forth to seek? The change | 8 | ········ |
| Is mine; why am I here? | 6 | ······ |
| Alas, in vain I turned away, | 8 | ˘/····˘/ |
| I fled the town in vain; | 6 | ······ |
| The strenuous life of yesterday | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Calleth me back again. | 6 | /˘··˘/ |
| And was it peace I came to seek? | 8 | ········ |
| Yet here, where memories throng, | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Ev’n here, I know the past is weak, | 8 | ········ |
| I know the present strong. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| This drowsy fragrance, silent heat, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Suit not my present mind, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Whose eager thought goes out to meet | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The life it left behind. | 6 | ······ |
| Spirit with sky to change; such hope, | 8 | /˘······ |
| An idle one we know; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Unship the oars, make loose the rope, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Push off the boat and go.... | 6 | ······ |
| Ah, would what binds me could have been | 8 | ········ |
| Thus loosened at a touch! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| This pain of living is too keen, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Of loving, is too much. | 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.