The Little Ghost
I knew her for a little ghostThat in my garden walked;The wall is high--higher than most--And the green gate was locked.
And yet I did not think of thatTill after she was gone--I knew her by the broad white hat,All ruffled, she had on.
By the dear ruffles round her feet,By her small hands that hungIn their lace mitts, austere and sweet,Her gown's white folds among.
I watched to see if she would stay,What she would do--and oh!She looked as if she liked the wayI let my garden grow!
She bent above my favourite mintWith conscious garden grace,She smiled and smiled--there was no hintOf sadness in her face.
She held her gown on either sideTo let her slippers show,And up the walk she went with pride,The way great ladies go.
And where the wall is built in newAnd is of ivy bareShe paused--then opened and passed throughA gate that once was there.
Words in this poem
- ghost n.
- The spirit; the soul of man. [OE. gast, gost, soul, spirit, AS. gast breath, spirit, soul; akin to OS. g spirit, soul, D. geest, G. geist, and prob. to E. gaze, ghastly.]
- sadness n.
- Heaviness; firmness.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Little Ghost is in the public domain. This text is taken from Renascence, and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #109; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Edna St. Vincent Millay, The Little Ghost, in Renascence and Other Poems (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #109, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/millay-renascence/the-little-ghost.html, id L07729.
Form and metre
The Little Ghost is 28 lines in 7 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 6 of its 7 stanzas. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.3 syllables. 36% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in common measure.
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- ghostA · walked · mostA · locked
- 2 ABAB thatA · goneB · hatA · onB
- 3 ABAB feetA · hungB · sweetA · amongB
- 4 ABAB stayA · ohB · wayA · growB
- 5 ABAB mintA · graceB · hintA · faceB
- 6 ABAB sideA · showB · prideA · goB
- 7 ABAB newA · bareB · throughA · thereB
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I knew her for a little ghost | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That in my garden walked; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The wall is high--higher than most-- | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| And the green gate was locked. | 6 | ······ |
| And yet I did not think of that | 8 | ········ |
| Till after she was gone-- | 6 | ······ |
| I knew her by the broad white hat, | 8 | ········ |
| All ruffled, she had on. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| By the dear ruffles round her feet, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| By her small hands that hung | 6 | ······ |
| In their lace mitts, austere and sweet, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Her gown's white folds among. | 6 | ······ |
| I watched to see if she would stay, | 9 | ··˘······ |
| What she would do--and oh! | 6 | ······ |
| She looked as if she liked the way | 10 | ··˘····˘·· |
| I let my garden grow! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| She bent above my favourite mint | 9 | ········· |
| With conscious garden grace, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| She smiled and smiled--there was no hint | 10 | ··˘··˘···· |
| Of sadness in her face. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| She held her gown on either side | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To let her slippers show, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And up the walk she went with pride, | 8 | ········ |
| The way great ladies go. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And where the wall is built in new | 8 | ········ |
| And is of ivy bare | 6 | ···/˘· |
| She paused--then opened and passed through | 10 | ··˘·/˘˘··· |
| A gate that once was there. | 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.