Song of the Fay
My life is a dream, a dream,In the moon’s cool beam;Some day I shall wake and desireA touch of the infinite fire.But now ‘tis enough that I beIn the light on the sea;Enough that I climb with the cloudWhen the winds of the morning are loud;Enough that I fade with my starWhen the doors of the East unbar.
My life is a long delightIn the wonder of night.I quiet the heart of the roseWhen she quakes at the thought of the snows;I count the blown leaves of the Fall,And I comfort them all.Sometimes I awake with a startIn the song of a poet’s heart.Some day I shall know life whole—Shall suffer and find me a soul.
Words in this poem
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- unbar v. t.
- To remove a bar or bars from; to unbolt; to open; as, to unbar a gate. Heber. [1st pref. un- + bar.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Song of the Fay is in the public domain. This text is taken from Lincoln & other poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #54527; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Edwin Markham, Song of the Fay, in Lincoln and Other Poems (1901), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #54527, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/markham-lincoln/song-of-the-fay.html, id L10816.
Form and metre
Song of the Fay is 20 lines in 2 stanzas of 10 lines each. The metre is anapaestic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.6 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 35% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in anapaestic trimeter.
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 AABBCCDD-- dreamA · beamA · desireB · fireB · beC · seaC · cloudD · loudD · star · unbar
- 2 AABBCCDDEE delightA · nightA · roseB · snowsB · fallC · allC · startD · heartD · wholeE · soulE
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 anapaestic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| My life is a dream, a dream, | 7 | ······· |
| In the moon’s cool beam; | 5 | ····· |
| Some day I shall wake and desire | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| A touch of the infinite fire. | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| But now ‘tis enough that I be | 8 | ···˘/··· |
| In the light on the sea; | 6 | ······ |
| Enough that I climb with the cloud | 8 | ˘/······ |
| When the winds of the morning are loud; | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Enough that I fade with my star | 8 | ˘/······ |
| When the doors of the East unbar. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| My life is a long delight | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| In the wonder of night. | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| I quiet the heart of the rose | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| When she quakes at the thought of the snows; | 9 | ········· |
| I count the blown leaves of the Fall, | 8 | ········ |
| And I comfort them all. | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Sometimes I awake with a start | 8 | /··˘/··· |
| In the song of a poet’s heart. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Some day I shall know life whole— | 7 | ······· |
| Shall suffer and find me a soul. | 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.