A Song of Hope
I dinna ken what's come ower me!There's a how whaur ance was a hert!I never luik oot afore me,An' a cry winna gar me stert;There's naething nae mair to come ower me,Blaw the win' frae ony airt!
For i' yon kirkyard there's a hillock,A hert whaur ance was a how;An' o' joy there's no left a mealock--Deid aiss whaur ance was a low!For i' yon kirkyard, i' the hillock,Lies a seed 'at winna grow.
It's my hert 'at hauds up the wee hillie--That's hoo there's a how i' my breist;It's awa doon there wi' my Willie--Gaed wi' him whan he was releast;It's doon i' the green-grown hillie,But I s' be efter it neist!
Come awa, nicht an' mornin,Come ooks, years, a' Time's clan:Ye're welcome: I'm no a bit scornin!Tak me til him as fest as ye can.Come awa, nicht an' mornin,Ye are wings o' a michty span!
For I ken he's luikin an' waitin,Luikin aye doon as I clim;An' I'll no hae him see me sit greitinI'stead o' gaein to him!I'll step oot like ane sure o' a meetin,I'll travel an' rin to him.
Words in this poem
- afore prep.
- Before (in all its senses).
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Song of Hope is in the public domain. This text is taken from The poetical works of George MacDonald in two volumes — Volume 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #9984; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: George MacDonald, A Song of Hope, in A Microcosm in Terza Rima, and Other Poems (1893), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9984, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/macdonald-poems/a-song-of-hope.html, id L22558.
Form and metre
A Song of Hope is 30 lines in 5 stanzas of 6 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABABAB, in 2 of the 5 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 74%).
See other poems in trochaic tetrameter.
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 ABABA- meA · hertB · meA · stertB · meA · airt
- 2 A-ABAB hillockA · how · mealockA · lowB · hillockA · growB
- 3 ABA-AB hillieA · breistB · willieA · releast · hillieA · neistB
- 4 ABABAB morninA · clanB · scorninA · canB · morninA · spanB
- 5 ABABAB waitinA · climB · greitinA · himB · meetinA · himB
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I dinna ken what's come ower me! | 9 | ········· |
| There's a how whaur ance was a hert! | 8 | ········ |
| I never luik oot afore me, | 8 | ·/˘··˘/· |
| An' a cry winna gar me stert; | 8 | ········ |
| There's naething nae mair to come ower me, | 10 | ·········· |
| Blaw the win' frae ony airt! | 7 | ····/˘· |
| For i' yon kirkyard there's a hillock, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| A hert whaur ance was a how; | 7 | ······· |
| An' o' joy there's no left a mealock-- | 9 | ········· |
| Deid aiss whaur ance was a low! | 7 | ······· |
| For i' yon kirkyard, i' the hillock, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Lies a seed 'at winna grow. | 7 | ······· |
| It's my hert 'at hauds up the wee hillie-- | 10 | ·········· |
| That's hoo there's a how i' my breist; | 8 | ········ |
| It's awa doon there wi' my Willie-- | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Gaed wi' him whan he was releast; | 8 | ········ |
| It's doon i' the green-grown hillie, | 8 | ········ |
| But I s' be efter it neist! | 8 | ········ |
| Come awa, nicht an' mornin, | 7 | ······· |
| Come ooks, years, a' Time's clan: | 6 | ······ |
| Ye're welcome: I'm no a bit scornin! | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Tak me til him as fest as ye can. | 9 | ········· |
| Come awa, nicht an' mornin, | 7 | ······· |
| Ye are wings o' a michty span! | 8 | ········ |
| For I ken he's luikin an' waitin, | 9 | ········· |
| Luikin aye doon as I clim; | 7 | ······· |
| An' I'll no hae him see me sit greitin | 10 | ·········· |
| I'stead o' gaein to him! | 6 | ······ |
| I'll step oot like ane sure o' a meetin, | 10 | ·········· |
| I'll travel an' rin to him. | 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.