To a Voice Heard in Mount Auburn
Like the low warblings of a leaf-hid bird,Thy voice came to me through the screening trees,Singing the simplest, long-known melodies;I had no glimpse of thee, and yet I heardAnd blest thee for each clearly-carolled word;I longed to thank thee, and my heart would frameMary or Ruth, some sisterly, sweet nameFor thee, yet could I not my lips have stirred;I knew that thou wert lovely, that thine eyesWere blue and downcast, and methought large tears,Unknown to thee, up to their lids must riseWith half-sad memories of other years,As to thyself alone thou sangest o'erWords that to childhood seemed to say "No More!"
Words in this poem
- thank n.
- A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural. [AS. Þanc, Þonc, thanks, favor, thought; akin to OS. thank favor, pleasure, thanks, D. & G. dank thanks, Icel. Þ\'94kk, Dan. tak, Sw. tack, Goth. Þagks thanks; -]
- ruth n.
- Sorrow for the misery of another; pity; tenderness. [From Rue, v.: cf. Icel. hryggedh, hrygedh.]
- childhood n.
- The state of being a child; the time in which persons are children; the condition or time from infancy to puberty. [AS. cildhad; cild child + -had. See Child, and hood.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To a Voice Heard in Mount Auburn 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, To a Voice Heard in Mount Auburn, in Poems (1844–1888), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #38520, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lowell-james-russell-poems/to-a-voice-heard-in-mount-auburn.html, id L13645.
Form and metre
To a Voice Heard in Mount Auburn is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 43% 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 ABBAACCADEDE-- birdA · treesB · melodiesB · heardA · wordA · frameC · nameC · stirredA · eyesD · tearsE · riseD · yearsE · o'er · more
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Like the low warblings of a leaf-hid bird, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Thy voice came to me through the screening trees, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Singing the simplest, long-known melodies; | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘˘ |
| I had no glimpse of thee, and yet I heard | 10 | ·········· |
| And blest thee for each clearly-carolled word; | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| I longed to thank thee, and my heart would frame | 10 | ·········· |
| Mary or Ruth, some sisterly, sweet name | 10 | /˘···/˘˘·· |
| For thee, yet could I not my lips have stirred; | 10 | ·········· |
| I knew that thou wert lovely, that thine eyes | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Were blue and downcast, and methought large tears, | 10 | ···/··˘/·· |
| Unknown to thee, up to their lids must rise | 10 | ˘/········ |
| With half-sad memories of other years, | 10 | ···/˘˘·/˘· |
| As to thyself alone thou sangest o'er | 10 | ··˘/˘/·/˘· |
| Words that to childhood seemed to say "No More!" | 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.