Lessons for a Child II
The bird on the leafy tree,The bird in the cloudy sky,The hart in the forest free,The stag on the mountain high,The fish inside the sea,The albatross asleepOn the outside of the deep,The bee through the summer sunnyHunting for wells of honey--What is the thought in the breastOf the little bird in its nest?What is the thought in the songsThe lark in the sky prolongs?What mean the dolphin's rays,Winding his watery ways?What is the thought of the stag,Stately on yonder crag?What does the albatross think,Dreaming upon the brinkOf the mountain billow, and thenDreaming down in its glen?What is the thought of the beeFleeting so silently,Or flitting--with busy hum,But a careless go-and-come--From flower-chalice to chalice,Like a prince from palace to palace?What makes them alive, so very--Some of them, surely, merry.And others so stately calmThey might be singing a psalm?
I cannot tell what they think---Only know they eat and drink,And on all that lies aboutWith a quiet heart look out,Each after its kind, stately or coy,Solemn like man, gamesome like boy,Glad with its own mysterious joy.
And God, who knows their thoughts and waysThough his the creatures do not know,From his full heart fills each of theirs:Into them all his breath doth go;Good and better with them he shares;Content with their bliss while they have no prayers,He takes their joy for praise.
If thou wouldst be like him, little one, goAnd be kind with a kindness undefiled;Who gives for the pleasure of thanks, my child,God's gladness cannot know.
Words in this poem
- sunny a.
- Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; hence, shining; bright; brilliant; radiant.
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- crag n.
- The neck or throat [A form of craw: cf. D. kraag neck, collar, G. kragen. See Craw.]
- brink n.
- The edge, margin, or border of a steep place, as of a precipice; a bank or edge, as of a river or pit; a verge; a border; as, the brink of a chasm. Also Fig. [Dan. brink edge, verge; akin to Sw. brink declivity, hill, Icel. brekka; cf. LG. brink a grassy hill, W. bryn hill, bryncyn hillock.]
- billow n.
- A great wave or surge of the sea or other water, caused usually by violent wind. [Cf. Icel. bylgja billow, Dan. bölge, Sw. bölja; akin to MHG. bulge billow, bag, and to E. bulge. See Bulge.]
- flitting n.
- A flying with lightness and celerity; a fluttering.
- chalice n.
- A cup or bowl; especially, the cup used in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. [OR. chalis, calice, OF. chalice, calice, F. calice, fr. L. calix, akin to Gr. helmet. Cf. Calice, Calyx.]
- gamesome a.
- Gay; sportive; playful; frolicsome; merry.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Lessons for a Child II 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, Lessons for a Child II, in A Microcosm in Terza Rima, and Other Poems (1893), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9984, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/macdonald-poems/lessons-for-a-child-ii.html, id L22331.
Form and metre
Lessons for a Child II is 49 lines in 4 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 69% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%).
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, other poems in iambic 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 AAAAABBCCDDEEFFGGHHII--JJ--KK-- treeA · skyA · freeA · highA · seaA · asleepB · deepB · sunnyC · honeyC · breastD · nestD · songsE · prolongsE · raysF · waysF · stagG · cragG · thinkH · brinkH · thenI · glenI · bee · silently · humJ · comeJ · chalice · palace · veryK · merryK · calm · psalm
- 2 AABBCCC thinkA · drinkA · aboutB · outB · coyC · boyC · joyC
- 3 ABCBCCA waysA · knowB · theirsC · goB · sharesC · prayersC · praiseA
- 4 ABBA goA · undefiledB · childB · knowA
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The bird on the leafy tree, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| The bird in the cloudy sky, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| The hart in the forest free, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| The stag on the mountain high, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| The fish inside the sea, | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| The albatross asleep | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| On the outside of the deep, | 7 | ··//··· |
| The bee through the summer sunny | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Hunting for wells of honey-- | 7 | /˘···/˘ |
| What is the thought in the breast | 7 | ······· |
| Of the little bird in its nest? | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| What is the thought in the songs | 7 | ······· |
| The lark in the sky prolongs? | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| What mean the dolphin's rays, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Winding his watery ways? | 7 | /˘·/˘˘· |
| What is the thought of the stag, | 7 | ······· |
| Stately on yonder crag? | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| What does the albatross think, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Dreaming upon the brink | 6 | /˘···· |
| Of the mountain billow, and then | 8 | ··/˘/˘·· |
| Dreaming down in its glen? | 6 | /˘···· |
| What is the thought of the bee | 7 | ······· |
| Fleeting so silently, | 6 | /˘·/˘˘ |
| Or flitting--with busy hum, | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| But a careless go-and-come-- | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| From flower-chalice to chalice, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·/˘ |
| Like a prince from palace to palace? | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| What makes them alive, so very-- | 8 | ···˘/·/˘ |
| Some of them, surely, merry. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| And others so stately calm | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| They might be singing a psalm? | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| I cannot tell what they think--- | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Only know they eat and drink, | 7 | /˘····· |
| And on all that lies about | 7 | ······· |
| With a quiet heart look out, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Each after its kind, stately or coy, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Solemn like man, gamesome like boy, | 8 | /˘··/˘·· |
| Glad with its own mysterious joy. | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| And God, who knows their thoughts and ways | 8 | ········ |
| Though his the creatures do not know, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| From his full heart fills each of theirs: | 8 | ········ |
| Into them all his breath doth go; | 8 | ········ |
| Good and better with them he shares; | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Content with their bliss while they have no prayers, | 10 | /˘········ |
| He takes their joy for praise. | 6 | ······ |
| If thou wouldst be like him, little one, go | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| And be kind with a kindness undefiled; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Who gives for the pleasure of thanks, my child, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| God's gladness cannot know. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
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