May 23, 1864
How beautiful it was, that one bright dayIn the long week of rain!Though all its splendor could not chase awayThe omnipresent pain.
The lovely town was white with apple-blooms,And the great elms o'erheadDark shadows wove on their aerial loomsShot through with golden thread.
Across the meadows, by the gray old manse,The historic river flowed:I was as one who wanders in a trance,Unconscious of his road.
The faces of familiar friends seemed strange;Their voices I could hear,And yet the words they uttered seemed to changeTheir meaning to my ear.
For the one face I looked for was not there,The one low voice was mute;Only an unseen presence filled the air,And baffled my pursuit.
Now I look back, and meadow, manse, and streamDimly my thought defines;I only see--a dream within a dream--The hill-top hearsed with pines.
I only hear above his place of restTheir tender undertone,The infinite longings of a troubled breast,The voice so like his own.
There in seclusion and remote from menThe wizard hand lies cold,Which at its topmost speed let fall the pen,And left the tale half told.
Ah! who shall lift that wand of magic power,And the lost clew regain?The unfinished window in Aladdin's towerUnfinished must remain!
Words in this poem
- omnipresent a.
- Present in all places at the same time; ubiquitous; as, the omnipresent Jehovah. Prior. [Omni- + present: cf.F. omniprésent.]
- wove
- p. pr. & rare vb. n. of Weave.
- manse n.
- A dwelling house, generally with land attached. [LL. mansa, mansus, mansum, a farm, fr. L. manere, mansum, to stay, dwell. See Mansion, Manor.]
- historic a.
- Of or pertaining to history, or the record of past events; as, an historical poem; the historic page. [L. historicus, Gr. historique. See History.]
- unseen a.
- Not seen or discovered.
- dimly adv.
- In a dim or obscure manner; not brightly or clearly; with imperfect sight.
- undertone n.
- A low or subdued tone or utterance; a tone less loud than usual.
- 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,]
- clew v. t.
- To direct; to guide, as by a thread. [Cf. D. kluwenen. See Clew, n.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
May 23, 1864 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, May 23, 1864, in The Complete Poetical Works (1839–1882), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-poems/may-23-1864.html, id L17709.
Form and metre
May 23, 1864 is 36 lines in 9 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% 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 ABAB dayA · rainB · awayA · painB
- 2 ABAB bloomsA · o'erheadB · loomsA · threadB
- 3 ABAB manseA · flowedB · tranceA · roadB
- 4 ABAB strangeA · hearB · changeA · earB
- 5 ABAB thereA · muteB · airA · pursuitB
- 6 ABAB streamA · definesB · dreamA · pinesB
- 7 ABAB restA · undertoneB · breastA · ownB
- 8 ABAB menA · coldB · penA · toldB
- 9 ABAB powerA · regainB · towerA · remainB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| How beautiful it was, that one bright day | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| In the long week of rain! | 6 | ······ |
| Though all its splendor could not chase away | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| The omnipresent pain. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| The lovely town was white with apple-blooms, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And the great elms o'erhead | 6 | ······ |
| Dark shadows wove on their aerial looms | 9 | ·/····/˘· |
| Shot through with golden thread. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Across the meadows, by the gray old manse, | 10 | ˘/·/······ |
| The historic river flowed: | 8 | ·˘/˘/˘·˘ |
| I was as one who wanders in a trance, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Unconscious of his road. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The faces of familiar friends seemed strange; | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| Their voices I could hear, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And yet the words they uttered seemed to change | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Their meaning to my ear. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| For the one face I looked for was not there, | 10 | ·········· |
| The one low voice was mute; | 6 | ······ |
| Only an unseen presence filled the air, | 10 | /˘·˘//˘··· |
| And baffled my pursuit. | 7 | ·/˘˘·˘/ |
| Now I look back, and meadow, manse, and stream | 10 | ·····/···· |
| Dimly my thought defines; | 6 | /˘··˘/ |
| I only see--a dream within a dream-- | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| The hill-top hearsed with pines. | 7 | ····˘·· |
| I only hear above his place of rest | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Their tender undertone, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| The infinite longings of a troubled breast, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| The voice so like his own. | 6 | ······ |
| There in seclusion and remote from men | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/·· |
| The wizard hand lies cold, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Which at its topmost speed let fall the pen, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And left the tale half told. | 6 | ······ |
| Ah! who shall lift that wand of magic power, | 10 | ·······/˘/ |
| And the lost clew regain? | 6 | ····˘/ |
| The unfinished window in Aladdin's tower | 11 | ·˘/˘/˘·˘/˘/ |
| Unfinished must remain! | 7 | ˘/˘˘·˘/ |
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.