On a December Day II
Yet the free heart will not be captive long;And if she changes often, she is free.But if she changes: One has masteryWho makes the joy the last in every song.And so to-day I blessed the breezes strongThat swept the blue; I blessed the breezes freeThat rolled wet leaves like rivers shiningly;I blessed the purple woods I stood among.
"And yet the spring is better!" BitternessCame with the words, but did not stay with them."Accomplishment and promise! field and stemNew green fresh growing in a fragrant dress!And we behind with death and memory!"--Nay, prophet-spring! but I will follow thee.
About this text
On a December Day 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, On a December Day II, in A Microcosm in Terza Rima, and Other Poems (1893), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9984, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/macdonald-poems/on-a-december-day-ii.html, id L22399.
Form and metre
On a December Day II is 14 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
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 AB-AAB-- longA · freeB · mastery · songA · strongA · freeB · shiningly · among
- 2 ABBA-- bitternessA · themB · stemB · dressA · memory · thee
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Yet the free heart will not be captive long; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And if she changes often, she is free. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| But if she changes: One has mastery | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| Who makes the joy the last in every song. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And so to-day I blessed the breezes strong | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| That swept the blue; I blessed the breezes free | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| That rolled wet leaves like rivers shiningly; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| I blessed the purple woods I stood among. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| "And yet the spring is better!" Bitterness | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| Came with the words, but did not stay with them. | 10 | ·········· |
| "Accomplishment and promise! field and stem | 10 | ˘/˘˘·/˘··· |
| New green fresh growing in a fragrant dress! | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And we behind with death and memory!" | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| --Nay, prophet-spring! but I will follow thee. | 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.