The Old Garden IV
Then I knew that, up a staircaseWhich untrod will yet creak and shake,Deep in a distant chamberA ghost was coming awake--
In the growing darkness growing,Growing till her eyes appearLike spots of a deeper twilight,But more transparent clear:
Thin as hot air up-trembling,Thin as sun-molten crape,An ethereal shadow of somethingIs taking a certain shape;
A shape whose hands hang listless,Let hang its disordered hair;A shape whose bosom is heavingBut draws not in the air.
And I know, what time the moonlightOn her nest of shadows will sit,Out on the dim lawn glidingThat shadowy shadow will flit.
Words in this poem
- creak v. i.
- To make a prolonged sharp grating or ssqueaking sound, as by the friction of hard substances; as, shoes creak. [OE. creken, prob. of imitative origin; cf. E. crack, and. D. kreiken to crackle, chirp.]
- ghost n.
- The spirit; the soul of man. [OE. gast, gost, soul, spirit, AS. gast breath, spirit, soul; akin to OS. g spirit, soul, D. geest, G. geist, and prob. to E. gaze, ghastly.]
- listless a.
- Having no desire or inclination; indifferent; heedless; spiritless. [OE. listles, lustles. See Lust.]
- flit a.
- Nimble; quick; swift. See Fleet.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Old Garden IV 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, The Old Garden IV, in A Microcosm in Terza Rima, and Other Poems (1893), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9984, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/macdonald-poems/the-old-garden-iv.html, id L22391.
Form and metre
The Old Garden IV is 20 lines in 5 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 79%).
See other poems in common measure.
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 staircase · shakeA · chamber · awakeA
- 2 -A-A growing · appearA · twilight · clearA
- 3 -A-A trembling · crapeA · something · shapeA
- 4 -A-A listless · hairA · heaving · airA
- 5 -A-A moonlight · sitA · gliding · flitA
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Then I knew that, up a staircase | 8 | ······/· |
| Which untrod will yet creak and shake, | 8 | ········ |
| Deep in a distant chamber | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| A ghost was coming awake-- | 7 | ···/˘˘/ |
| In the growing darkness growing, | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| Growing till her eyes appear | 7 | /˘···˘/ |
| Like spots of a deeper twilight, | 8 | ····/˘/· |
| But more transparent clear: | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Thin as hot air up-trembling, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Thin as sun-molten crape, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| An ethereal shadow of something | 9 | ·˘/˘/··/˘ |
| Is taking a certain shape; | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| A shape whose hands hang listless, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Let hang its disordered hair; | 8 | ···˘/˘˘· |
| A shape whose bosom is heaving | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| But draws not in the air. | 6 | ······ |
| And I know, what time the moonlight | 8 | ······/· |
| On her nest of shadows will sit, | 8 | ····/··· |
| Out on the dim lawn gliding | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| That shadowy shadow will flit. | 8 | ·/˘˘/··· |
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.