Time
A lang-backit, spilgie, fuistit auld carlGangs a' nicht rakin athort the warlWi' a pock on his back, luikin hungry an' lean,His crook-fingert han' aye followin his e'en:He gathers up a'thing that canna but fa'--Intil his bag wi' 't, an' on, an' awa!Soot an' snaw! soot an' snaw!--Intil his bag wi' 't, an' on, an' awa!
But whan he comes to the wa' o' the warl,Spangs up it, like lang-leggit spidder, the carl;Up gangs his pock wi' him, humpit ahin,For naething fa's oot 'at ance he pat in;Syne he warstles doon ootside the flamin wa',His bag 'maist the deith o' him, pangt like a ba';Soot an' snaw! soot an' snaw!His bag 'maist throttlin him, pangt like a ba'!
Doon he draps weary upon a laigh rock,Flingin aside him his muckle-mou'd pock:An' there he sits, his heid in his han',Like a broken-hertit, despairin man;Him air his pock no bonny, na, na!Him an' his pock an ugsome twa!Soot an' snaw! soot an' snaw!Him an' his pock an ugsome twa!
But sune 's the first ray o' the sunshine bareLichts on the carl, what see ye there?An angel set on eternity's brink,Wi' e'en to gar the sun himsel blink;By his side a glintin, glimmerin urn,Furth frae wha's mou rins a liltin burn:--Soot an' snaw! soot an' snaw!The dirt o' the warl rins in glory awa!
Words in this poem
- auld a.
- Old; as, Auld Reekie (old smoky), i. e., Edinburgh. [See Old.]
- carl n.
- A rude, rustic man; a churl. [Icel, karl a male, a man; akin to AS. ceorl, OHG. charal, G. kerl fellow. See Churl.]
- pock n.
- A pustule raised on the surface of the body in variolous and vaccine diseases. [OE. pokke, AS. pocc, poc; akin to D. pok, G. pocke, and perh. to E. poke a pocket. Cf. Pox.]
- canna n.
- A measure of length in Italy, varying from six to seven feet. [It.]
- syne adv.
- Afterwards; since; ago. R. of Brunne. [See Since.]
- bonny a.
- Handsome; beautiful; pretty; attractively lively and graceful. [OE. boni, prob. fr. F. bon, fem. bonne, good, fr. L. bonus good. See Bounty, and cf. Bonus, Boon.]
- ugsome a.
- Ugly; offensive; loathsome. -- Ug"some*ness, n.
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- 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.]
- blink v. i.
- To wink; to twinkle with, or as with, the eye. [OE. blenken; akin to dan. blinke, Sw. blinka, G. blinken to shine, glance, wink, twinkle, D. blinken to shine; and prob. to D. blikken to glance, twinkle, G. bl]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Time 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, Time, in A Microcosm in Terza Rima, and Other Poems (1893), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9984, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/macdonald-poems/time.html, id L22564.
Form and metre
Time is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 50% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 74%).
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 AABB-C-C carlA · warlA · leanB · e'enB · fa · awaC · snaw · awaC
- 2 AA---B-B warlA · carlA · ahin · in · wa · baB · snaw · baB
- 3 AABB-C-C rockA · pockA · hanB · manB · na · twaC · snaw · twaC
- 4 AABBCC-- bareA · thereA · brinkB · blinkB · urnC · burnC · snaw · awa
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A lang-backit, spilgie, fuistit auld carl | 10 | ·········· |
| Gangs a' nicht rakin athort the warl | 9 | ········· |
| Wi' a pock on his back, luikin hungry an' lean, | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| His crook-fingert han' aye followin his e'en: | 11 | ··········· |
| He gathers up a'thing that canna but fa'-- | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| Intil his bag wi' 't, an' on, an' awa! | 11 | ··········· |
| Soot an' snaw! soot an' snaw!-- | 6 | ······ |
| Intil his bag wi' 't, an' on, an' awa! | 11 | ··········· |
| But whan he comes to the wa' o' the warl, | 10 | ·········· |
| Spangs up it, like lang-leggit spidder, the carl; | 11 | ··········· |
| Up gangs his pock wi' him, humpit ahin, | 10 | ·········· |
| For naething fa's oot 'at ance he pat in; | 10 | ·········· |
| Syne he warstles doon ootside the flamin wa', | 10 | ·········· |
| His bag 'maist the deith o' him, pangt like a ba'; | 11 | ··········· |
| Soot an' snaw! soot an' snaw! | 6 | ······ |
| His bag 'maist throttlin him, pangt like a ba'! | 10 | ·········· |
| Doon he draps weary upon a laigh rock, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Flingin aside him his muckle-mou'd pock: | 10 | ··˘/··/˘·· |
| An' there he sits, his heid in his han', | 9 | ········· |
| Like a broken-hertit, despairin man; | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| Him air his pock no bonny, na, na! | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Him an' his pock an ugsome twa! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Soot an' snaw! soot an' snaw! | 6 | ······ |
| Him an' his pock an ugsome twa! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But sune 's the first ray o' the sunshine bare | 11 | ········/·· |
| Lichts on the carl, what see ye there? | 8 | ········ |
| An angel set on eternity's brink, | 10 | ·/˘··˘/˘˘· |
| Wi' e'en to gar the sun himsel blink; | 9 | ········· |
| By his side a glintin, glimmerin urn, | 10 | ·········· |
| Furth frae wha's mou rins a liltin burn:-- | 9 | ········· |
| Soot an' snaw! soot an' snaw! | 6 | ······ |
| The dirt o' the warl rins in glory awa! | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
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.