Laurel · George MacDonald · A Microcosm in Terza Rima, and Other Poems

The Wind and the Moon

George MacDonald (1824–1905) · 1893

iambic tetrameter · ABBBAA · 66 lines · from A Microcosm in Terza Rima, and Other Poems

Said the Wind to the Moon, "I will blow you out!You stareIn the airAs if crying Beware,Always looking what I am about:I hate to be watched; I will blow you out!"

The Wind blew hard, and out went the Moon.So, deepOn a heapOf clouds, to sleepDown lay the Wind, and slumbered soon,Muttering low, "I've done for that Moon!"

He turned in his bed: she was there again!On highIn the skyWith her one ghost-eyeThe Moon shone white and alive and plain:Said the Wind, "I will blow you out again!"

The Wind blew hard, and the Moon grew slim."With my sledgeAnd my wedgeI have knocked off her edge!I will blow," said the Wind, "right fierce and grim,And the creature will soon be slimmer than slim!"

He blew and he blew, and she thinned to a thread."One puffMore's enoughTo blow her to snuff!One good puff more where the last was bred,And glimmer, glimmer, glum will go that thread!"

He blew a great blast, and the thread was gone.In the airNowhereWas a moonbeam bare;Larger and nearer the shy stars shone:Sure and certain the Moon was gone!

The Wind he took to his revels once more;On downAnd in town,A merry-mad clown,He leaped and holloed with whistle and roar--When there was that glimmering thread once more!

He flew in a rage--he danced and blew;But in vainWas the painOf his bursting brain,For still the Moon-scrap the broader grewThe more that he swelled his big cheeks and blew.

Slowly she grew--till she filled the night,And shoneOn her throneIn the sky aloneA matchless, wonderful, silvery light,Radiant and lovely, the queen of the night.

Said the Wind, "What a marvel of power am I!With my breath,In good faith,I blew her to death!--First blew her away right out of the sky,Then blew her in: what a strength am I!"

But the Moon she knew nought of the silly affair;For, highIn the skyWith her one white eye,Motionless miles above the air,She never had heard the great Wind blare.

Words in this poem

beware v. t.: To avoid; to take care of; to have a care for.
went n.: Course; way; path; journey; direction.
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.]
glum n.: Sullenness. Skelton. [See Gloom.]
nowhere adv.: Not anywhere; not in any place or state; as, the book is nowhere to be found. [AS. nahwær. See No, and Where.]
moonbeam n.: A ray of light from the moon.
blare v. i.: To sound loudly and somewhat harshly. [OE. blaren, bloren, to cry, woop; cf. G. plärren to bleat, D. blaren to bleat, cry, weep. Prob. an imitative word, but cf. also E. blast. Cf. Blore.]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

The Wind and the Moon 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 Wind and the Moon, in A Microcosm in Terza Rima, and Other Poems (1893), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9984, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/macdonald-poems/the-wind-and-the-moon.html, id L22518.

Form and metre

The Wind and the Moon is 66 lines in 11 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABBBAA, complete in 9 of its 11 stanzas. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter.

See 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 ABBBAA out^A · stare^B · air^B · beware^B · about^A · out^A
2 ABBBAA moon^A · deep^B · heap^B · sleep^B · soon^A · moon^A
3 ABBBAA again^A · high^B · sky^B · eye^B · plain^A · again^A
4 ABBBAA slim^A · sledge^B · wedge^B · edge^B · grim^A · slim^A
5 ABBBAA thread^A · puff^B · enough^B · snuff^B · bred^A · thread^A
6 ABBB-A gone^A · air^B · nowhere^B · bare^B · shone · gone^A
7 ABBBAA more^A · down^B · town^B · clown^B · roar^A · more^A
8 ABBBAA blew^A · vain^B · pain^B · brain^B · grew^A · blew^A
9 ABBBAA night^A · shone^B · throne^B · alone^B · light^A · night^A
10 AB-BAA i^A · breath^B · faith · death^B · sky^A · i^A
11 ABBBAA affair^A · high^B · sky^B · eye^B · air^A · blare^A

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
Said the Wind to the Moon, "I will blow you out!	11	···········
You stare	2	··
In the air	3	···
As if crying Beware,	6	··/˘˘/
Always looking what I am about:	9	/·/˘·····
I hate to be watched; I will blow you out!"	10	··········
The Wind blew hard, and out went the Moon.	9	·········
So, deep	2	··
On a heap	3	···
Of clouds, to sleep	4	····
Down lay the Wind, and slumbered soon,	9	·····/˘˘·
Muttering low, "I've done for that Moon!"	9	/˘˘······
He turned in his bed: she was there again!	10	········˘/
On high	2	··
In the sky	3	···
With her one ghost-eye	5	·····
The Moon shone white and alive and plain:	9	·····˘/··
Said the Wind, "I will blow you out again!"	10	········˘/
The Wind blew hard, and the Moon grew slim.	9	·········
"With my sledge	3	···
And my wedge	3	···
I have knocked off her edge!	6	······
I will blow," said the Wind, "right fierce and grim,	10	··········
And the creature will soon be slimmer than slim!"	11	··/˘···/˘··
He blew and he blew, and she thinned to a thread.	11	···········
"One puff	2	··
More's enough	4	/·˘/
To blow her to snuff!	5	·····
One good puff more where the last was bred,	9	·········
And glimmer, glimmer, glum will go that thread!"	10	·/˘/˘·····
He blew a great blast, and the thread was gone.	10	··········
In the air	3	···
Nowhere	2	/·
Was a moonbeam bare;	5	··/··
Larger and nearer the shy stars shone:	9	/˘·/˘····
Sure and certain the Moon was gone!	8	··/˘····
The Wind he took to his revels once more;	10	······/˘··
On down	2	··
And in town,	3	···
A merry-mad clown,	5	·/˘··
He leaped and holloed with whistle and roar--	10	···/··/˘··
When there was that glimmering thread once more!	10	····/˘˘···
He flew in a rage--he danced and blew;	10	·······˘··
But in vain	3	···
Was the pain	3	···
Of his bursting brain,	5	··/˘·
For still the Moon-scrap the broader grew	9	······/˘·
The more that he swelled his big cheeks and blew.	10	··········
Slowly she grew--till she filled the night,	10	/˘·····˘··
And shone	2	··
On her throne	3	···
In the sky alone	5	···˘/
A matchless, wonderful, silvery light,	10	·/˘/˘˘/˘˘·
Radiant and lovely, the queen of the night.	10	/˘·/˘·····
Said the Wind, "What a marvel of power am I!	11	·····/˘·/··
With my breath,	3	···
In good faith,	3	···
I blew her to death!--	5	·····
First blew her away right out of the sky,	10	···˘/·····
Then blew her in: what a strength am I!"	9	·········
But the Moon she knew nought of the silly affair;	12	········/˘˘/
For, high	2	··
In the sky	3	···
With her one white eye,	5	·····
Motionless miles above the air,	8	/˘˘·····
She never had heard the great Wind blare.	9	·/˘······

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.

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