The Two Blackbirds
A BLACKBIRD in a wicker cage,That hung and swung ’mid fruits and flowers,Had learnt the song-charm, to assuageThe drearness of its wingless hours.
And ever when the song was heard,From trees that shade the grassy plotWarbled another glossy bird,Whose mate not long ago was shot.
Strange anguish in that creature’s breast,Unwept like human grief, unsaid,Has quickened in its lonely nestA living impulse from the dead.
Not to console its own wild smart,—But with a kindling instinct strong,The novel feeling of its heartBeats for the captive bird of song.
And when those mellow notes are still,It hops from off its choral perch,O’er path and sward, with busy bill,All grateful gifts to peck and search.
Store of ouzel dainties choiceTo those white swinging bars it brings;And with a low consoling voiceIt talks between its fluttering wings.
Deeply in their bitter griefThose sufferers reciprocate,The one sings for its woodland life,The other for its murdered mate.
But deeper doth the secret prove,Uniting those sad creatures so;Humanity’s great link of love,The common sympathy of woe.
Well divined from day to dayIs the swift speech between them twain;For when the bird is scared away,The captive bursts to song again.
Yet daily with its flattering voice,Talking amid its fluttering wings,Store of ouzel dainties choiceWith busy bill the poor bird brings.
And shall I say, till weak with ageDown from its drowsy branch it drops,It will not leave that captive cage,Nor cease those busy searching hops?
Ah, no! the moral will not strain;Another sense will make it range,Another mate will soothe its pain,Another season work a change.
But thro’ the live-long summer, tried,A pure devotion we may see;The ebb and flow of Nature’s tide;A self-forgetful sympathy.
Words in this poem
- choral a.
- Of or pertaining to a choir or chorus; singing, sung, or adapted to be sung, in chorus or harmony. Choral service, a service of song. [LL. choralis, fr. L. chorus. See Chorus.]
- consoling a.
- Adapted to console or comfort; cheering; as, this is consoling news.
- reciprocate v. i.
- To move forward and backward alternately; to recur in vicissitude; to act interchangeably; to alternate. [L. reciprocatus, p. p. of reciprocare. See Reciprocal.]
- twain a.
- Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- 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,]
- soothe v. t.
- To assent to as true. Testament of Love. [Originally, to assent to as true; OE. so to verify, AS. ges to prove the truth of, to bear witness. See Sooth, a.]
- forgetful a.
- Apt to forget; easily losing remembrance; as, a forgetful man should use helps to strengthen his memory.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Two Blackbirds 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, The Two Blackbirds, in Modern Love, and Other Poems (1851–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1381, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/meredith-poems/the-two-blackbirds.html, id L13162.
Form and metre
The Two Blackbirds is 52 lines in 13 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 11 of its 13 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 19% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 cageA · flowersB · assuageA · hoursB
- 2 ABAB heardA · plotB · birdA · shotB
- 3 ABAB breastA · unsaidB · nestA · deadB
- 4 ABAB smartA · strongB · heartA · songB
- 5 ABAB stillA · perchB · billA · searchB
- 6 ABAB choiceA · bringsB · voiceA · wingsB
- 7 -A-A grief · reciprocateA · life · mateA
- 8 ABAB proveA · soB · loveA · woeB
- 9 ABAB dayA · twainB · awayA · againB
- 10 ABAB voiceA · wingsB · choiceA · bringsB
- 11 ABAB ageA · dropsB · cageA · hopsB
- 12 ABAB strainA · rangeB · painA · changeB
- 13 A-A- triedA · see · tideA · sympathy
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 BLACKBIRD in a wicker cage, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| That hung and swung ’mid fruits and flowers, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Had learnt the song-charm, to assuage | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The drearness of its wingless hours. | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| And ever when the song was heard, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| From trees that shade the grassy plot | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Warbled another glossy bird, | 8 | /˘˘/˘/˘· |
| Whose mate not long ago was shot. | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Strange anguish in that creature’s breast, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Unwept like human grief, unsaid, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Has quickened in its lonely nest | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| A living impulse from the dead. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Not to console its own wild smart,— | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| But with a kindling instinct strong, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The novel feeling of its heart | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Beats for the captive bird of song. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And when those mellow notes are still, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| It hops from off its choral perch, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| O’er path and sward, with busy bill, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| All grateful gifts to peck and search. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Store of ouzel dainties choice | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| To those white swinging bars it brings; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And with a low consoling voice | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| It talks between its fluttering wings. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Deeply in their bitter grief | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Those sufferers reciprocate, | 8 | ·/˘˘˘/˘· |
| The one sings for its woodland life, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| The other for its murdered mate. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| But deeper doth the secret prove, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Uniting those sad creatures so; | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| Humanity’s great link of love, | 8 | ˘/˘˘···· |
| The common sympathy of woe. | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| Well divined from day to day | 8 | ·˘/˘···· |
| Is the swift speech between them twain; | 8 | ········ |
| For when the bird is scared away, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The captive bursts to song again. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Yet daily with its flattering voice, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Talking amid its fluttering wings, | 8 | /˘˘/·/˘· |
| Store of ouzel dainties choice | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| With busy bill the poor bird brings. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And shall I say, till weak with age | 8 | ········ |
| Down from its drowsy branch it drops, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| It will not leave that captive cage, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Nor cease those busy searching hops? | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Ah, no! the moral will not strain; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Another sense will make it range, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| Another mate will soothe its pain, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| Another season work a change. | 8 | ˘/˘/˘··· |
| But thro’ the live-long summer, tried, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A pure devotion we may see; | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| The ebb and flow of Nature’s tide; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A self-forgetful sympathy. | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘˘ |
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