The Fountain
Into the sunshine,Full of the light,Leaping and flashingFrom morn till night!
Into the moonlight,Whiter than snow,Waving so flower-likeWhen the winds blow!
Into the starlight,Rushing in spray,Happy at midnight,Happy by day!
Ever in motion,Blithesome and cheery.Still climbing heavenward,Never aweary;--
Glad of all weathers,Still seeming best,Upward or downward,Motion thy rest;--
Full of a natureNothing can tame,Changed every moment,Ever the same;--
Ceaseless aspiring,Ceaseless content,Darkness or sunshineThy element;--
Glorious fountain!Let my heart beFresh, changeful, constant,Upward, like thee!
Words in this poem
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- starlight n.
- The light given by the stars.
- blithesome a.
- Cheery; gay; merry.
- ceaseless a.
- Without pause or end; incessant.
- aspiring a.
- That aspires; as, an Aspiring mind.
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- changeful a.
- Full of change; mutable; inconstant; fickle; uncertain.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Fountain is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems of James Russell Lowell With biographical sketch by Nathan Haskell Dole, Project Gutenberg ebook #38520; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: James Russell Lowell, The Fountain, in Poems (1844–1888), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #38520, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lowell-james-russell-poems/the-fountain.html, id L13669.
Form and metre
The Fountain is 32 lines in 8 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is dactylic dimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%). 84% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 4.7 syllables. 14 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 16% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in dactylic dimeter.
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 -A-A sunshine · lightA · flashing · nightA
- 2 -A-A moonlight · snowA · like · blowA
- 3 ABAB starlightA · sprayB · midnightA · dayB
- 4 -A-A motion · cheeryA · heavenward · awearyA
- 5 -A-A weathers · bestA · downward · restA
- 6 -A-A nature · tameA · moment · sameA
- 8 -A-A fountain · beA · constant · theeA
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 dactylic dimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Into the sunshine, | 5 | ···/· |
| Full of the light, | 4 | ···· |
| Leaping and flashing | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| From morn till night! | 4 | ···· |
| Into the moonlight, | 5 | ···/· |
| Whiter than snow, | 4 | /˘·· |
| Waving so flower-like | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| When the winds blow! | 4 | ···· |
| Into the starlight, | 5 | ···/· |
| Rushing in spray, | 4 | /˘·· |
| Happy at midnight, | 5 | /˘·/· |
| Happy by day! | 4 | /˘·· |
| Ever in motion, | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| Blithesome and cheery. | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| Still climbing heavenward, | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| Never aweary;-- | 5 | /˘˘/˘ |
| Glad of all weathers, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Still seeming best, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Upward or downward, | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| Motion thy rest;-- | 4 | /˘·· |
| Full of a nature | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Nothing can tame, | 4 | /˘·· |
| Changed every moment, | 6 | ·/˘˘/˘ |
| Ever the same;-- | 4 | /˘·· |
| Ceaseless aspiring, | 5 | /˘˘/˘ |
| Ceaseless content, | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| Darkness or sunshine | 5 | /˘·/· |
| Thy element;-- | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| Glorious fountain! | 5 | /˘˘/˘ |
| Let my heart be | 4 | ···· |
| Fresh, changeful, constant, | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| Upward, like thee! | 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.