Margaret’s Bridal Eve II
O mother, my mother, this thing I must say:There is a rose in the garden;Ere he lies on the breast where that other lay:And the bird sings over the roses.
Now, folly, my daughter, for men are men:There is a rose in the garden;You marry them blindfold, I tell you again:And the bird sings over the roses.
O mother, but when he kisses me!There is a rose in the garden;My child, ’tis which shall sweetest be!And the bird sings over the roses.
O mother, but when I awake in the morn!There is a rose in the garden;My child, you are his, and the ring is worn:And the bird sings over the roses.
Tall Margaret sighed and loosened a tress:There is a rose in the garden;Poor comfort she had of her comelinessAnd the bird sings over the roses.
My mother will sink if this thing be said:There is a rose in the garden;That my first betrothed came thrice to my bed;And the bird sings over the roses.
He died on my shoulder the third cold night:There is a rose in the garden;I dragged his body all through the moonlight:And the bird sings over the roses.
But when I came by my father’s door:There is a rose in the garden;I fell in a lump on the stiff dead floor:And the bird sings over the roses.
O neither to heaven, nor yet to hell:There is a rose in the garden;Could I follow the lover I loved so well!And the bird sings over the roses.
Words in this poem
- blindfold v. t.
- To cover the eyes of, as with a bandage; to hinder from seeing. [OE. blindfolden, blindfelden, blindfellen; AS. blind blind + prob. fellan, fyllan, to fell, strike down.]
- 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,]
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- tress n.
- A braid, knot, or curl, of hair; a ringlet. [OE. tresse, OF. trece, F. tresse, LL. tricia, fr. Gr. tri`cha threefold, because a tress is usually formed by interlacing three pieces; akin to trei^s three. Se]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Margaret’s Bridal Eve II is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems — Volume 1, Project Gutenberg ebook #1381; 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 Meredith, Margaret’s Bridal Eve II, in Poems, Volume I (1851–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1381, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/meredith-poems/margaret-s-bridal-eve-ii.html, id L13198.
Form and metre
Margaret’s Bridal Eve II is 36 lines in 9 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 73%). 89% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.3 syllables. 19 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
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 A-A- sayA · garden · layA · roses
- 2 AAA- menA · gardenA · againA · roses
- 3 A-A- meA · garden · beA · roses
- 4 A-A- mornA · garden · wornA · roses
- 5 A-A- tressA · garden · comelinessA · roses
- 6 A-A- saidA · garden · bedA · roses
- 7 A-A- nightA · garden · moonlightA · roses
- 8 A-A- doorA · garden · floorA · roses
- 9 A-A- hellA · garden · wellA · roses
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 |
|---|---|---|
| O mother, my mother, this thing I must say: | 11 | ·/˘·/˘····· |
| There is a rose in the garden; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Ere he lies on the breast where that other lay: | 11 | ········/˘· |
| And the bird sings over the roses. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Now, folly, my daughter, for men are men: | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···· |
| There is a rose in the garden; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| You marry them blindfold, I tell you again: | 11 | ·/˘·/····˘/ |
| And the bird sings over the roses. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| O mother, but when he kisses me! | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| There is a rose in the garden; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| My child, ’tis which shall sweetest be! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And the bird sings over the roses. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| O mother, but when I awake in the morn! | 11 | ·/˘···˘/··· |
| There is a rose in the garden; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| My child, you are his, and the ring is worn: | 10 | ·········· |
| And the bird sings over the roses. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Tall Margaret sighed and loosened a tress: | 10 | ·/˘˘··/˘·· |
| There is a rose in the garden; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Poor comfort she had of her comeliness | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| And the bird sings over the roses. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| My mother will sink if this thing be said: | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| There is a rose in the garden; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| That my first betrothed came thrice to my bed; | 10 | ·········· |
| And the bird sings over the roses. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| He died on my shoulder the third cold night: | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| There is a rose in the garden; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| I dragged his body all through the moonlight: | 10 | ···/˘···/· |
| And the bird sings over the roses. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| But when I came by my father’s door: | 9 | ······/˘· |
| There is a rose in the garden; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| I fell in a lump on the stiff dead floor: | 10 | ·········· |
| And the bird sings over the roses. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| O neither to heaven, nor yet to hell: | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···· |
| There is a rose in the garden; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Could I follow the lover I loved so well! | 11 | ··/˘·/˘···· |
| And the bird sings over the roses. | 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.