To a Sister
A fresh young voice that sings to meSo often many a simple thing,Should surely not unanswered beBy all that I can sing.
Dear voice, be happy every wayA thousand changing tones among,From little child's unfinished layTo angel's perfect song.
In dewy woods--fair, soft, and greenLike morning woods are childhood's bower--Be like the voice of brook unseenAmong the stones and flowers;
A joyful voice though born so low,And making all its neighbours glad;Sweet, hidden, constant in its flowEven when the winds are sad.
So, strengthen in a peaceful home,And daily deeper meanings bear;And when life's wildernesses comeBe brave and faithful there.
Try all the glorious magic range,Worship, forgive, console, rejoice,Until the last and sweetest change--So live and grow, dear voice.
Words in this poem
- unanswered a.
- Not answered; not replied; as, an unanswered letter.
- unseen a.
- Not seen or discovered.
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To a Sister 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, To a Sister, in A Microcosm in Terza Rima, and Other Poems (1893), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9984, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/macdonald-poems/to-a-sister.html, id L22527.
Form and metre
To a Sister is 24 lines in 6 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 4 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
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 ABAB meA · thingB · beA · singB
- 2 A-A- wayA · among · layA · song
- 3 A-A- greenA · bower · unseenA · flowers
- 4 ABAB lowA · gladB · flowA · sadB
- 5 ABAB homeA · bearB · comeA · thereB
- 6 ABAB rangeA · rejoiceB · changeA · voiceB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A fresh young voice that sings to me | 8 | ········ |
| So often many a simple thing, | 8 | ·/˘/·/˘· |
| Should surely not unanswered be | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| By all that I can sing. | 6 | ······ |
| Dear voice, be happy every way | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| A thousand changing tones among, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| From little child's unfinished lay | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| To angel's perfect song. | 6 | ·/˘/·· |
| In dewy woods--fair, soft, and green | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Like morning woods are childhood's bower-- | 9 | ·/˘··/·/˘ |
| Be like the voice of brook unseen | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Among the stones and flowers; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| A joyful voice though born so low, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And making all its neighbours glad; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Sweet, hidden, constant in its flow | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Even when the winds are sad. | 7 | /˘····· |
| So, strengthen in a peaceful home, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And daily deeper meanings bear; | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| And when life's wildernesses come | 8 | ···/˘˘˘· |
| Be brave and faithful there. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Try all the glorious magic range, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Worship, forgive, console, rejoice, | 8 | /˘˘/˘/˘/ |
| Until the last and sweetest change-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| So live and grow, dear voice. | 6 | ······ |
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.