Boston
St. Bototlph's Town! Hither across the plainsAnd fens of Lincolnshire, in garb austere,There came a Saxon monk, and founded hereA Priory, pillaged by marauding Danes,So that thereof no vestige now remains;Only a name, that, spoken loud and clear,And echoed in another hemisphere,Survives the sculptured walls and painted panes.St. Botolph's Town! Far over leagues of landAnd leagues of sea looks forth its noble tower,And far around the chiming bells are heard;So may that sacred name forever standA landmark, and a symbol of the power,That lies concentred in a single word.
I stand beneath the tree, whose branches shadeThy western window, Chapel of St. John!And hear its leaves repeat their benisonOn him, whose hand if thy stones memorial laid;Then I remember one of whom was saidIn the world's darkest hour, "Behold thy son!"And see him living still, and wandering onAnd waiting for the advent long delayed.Not only tongues of the apostles teachLessons of love and light, but these expandingAnd sheltering boughs with all their leaves implore,And say in language clear as human speech,"The peace of God, that passeth understanding,Be and abide with you forevermore!"
Words in this poem
- garb n.
- External appearance, as expressive of the feelings or character; looks; fashion or manner, as of speech. [OF. garbe looks, countenance, grace, ornament, fr. OHG. garawi, garwi, ornament, dress. akin to E. gear. See Gear, n.]
- priory n.
- A religious house presided over by a prior or prioress; -- sometimes an offshoot of, an subordinate to, an abbey, and called also cell, and obedience. See Cell, 2. [Cf. LL. prioria. See Prior, n.]
- benison n.
- Blessing; beatitude; benediction. [OE. beneysun, benesoun, OF. beneï, beneïson, fr. L. benedictio, fr. benedicere to bless; bene (adv. of bonus good) + dicere to say. See Bounty, and Diction, and]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Boston is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Project Gutenberg ebook #1365; 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 Wadsworth Longfellow, Boston, in The Complete Poetical Works (1839–1882), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-poems/boston.html, id L17764.
Form and metre
Boston is 28 lines in 2 stanzas of 14 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 36% 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 ABBAABBACDECDE plainsA · austereB · hereB · danesA · remainsA · clearB · hemisphereB · panesA · landC · towerD · heardE · standC · powerD · wordE
- 2 AB-A--BACDECDE shadeA · johnB · benison · laidA · said · son · onB · delayedA · teachC · expandingD · imploreE · speechC · understandingD · forevermoreE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| St. Bototlph's Town! Hither across the plains | 10 | ····/˘˘/·· |
| And fens of Lincolnshire, in garb austere, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| There came a Saxon monk, and founded here | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| A Priory, pillaged by marauding Danes, | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| So that thereof no vestige now remains; | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Only a name, that, spoken loud and clear, | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| And echoed in another hemisphere, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘/˘· |
| Survives the sculptured walls and painted panes. | 10 | ˘/·/˘··/˘· |
| St. Botolph's Town! Far over leagues of land | 10 | ·········· |
| And leagues of sea looks forth its noble tower, | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| And far around the chiming bells are heard; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| So may that sacred name forever stand | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| A landmark, and a symbol of the power, | 11 | ·/···/˘··/˘ |
| That lies concentred in a single word. | 10 | ····˘··/˘· |
| I stand beneath the tree, whose branches shade | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Thy western window, Chapel of St. John! | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| And hear its leaves repeat their benison | 10 | ····˘/·/˘˘ |
| On him, whose hand if thy stones memorial laid; | 11 | ·······˘/˘· |
| Then I remember one of whom was said | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| In the world's darkest hour, "Behold thy son!" | 10 | ···/˘/˘/·· |
| And see him living still, and wandering on | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And waiting for the advent long delayed. | 10 | ·/˘··/··˘/ |
| Not only tongues of the apostles teach | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| Lessons of love and light, but these expanding | 11 | /˘······˘/˘ |
| And sheltering boughs with all their leaves implore, | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| And say in language clear as human speech, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| "The peace of God, that passeth understanding, | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| Be and abide with you forevermore!" | 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.