In the Train
As we rush, as we rush in the Train,The trees and the houses go wheeling back,But the starry heavens above the plainCome flying on our track.
All the beautiful stars of the sky,The silver doves of the forest of Night,Over the dull earth swarm and fly,Companions of our flight.
We will rush ever on without fear;Let the goal be far, the flight be fleet!For we carry the Heavens with us, dear,While the Earth slips from our feet!
Words in this poem
- wheeling n.
- The act of conveying anything, or traveling, on wheels, or in a wheeled vehicle.
- starry a.
- Abounding with stars; adorned with stars.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
In the Train is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250-1900, Project Gutenberg ebook #66619; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: James Thomson, In the Train, in Poems (1700–1748), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/obev-james-thomson/in-the-train.html, id L16157.
Form and metre
In the Train is 12 lines in 3 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 74%). 77% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.8 syllables. 8% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 trainA · backB · plainA · trackB
- 2 ABAB skyA · nightB · flyA · flightB
- 3 ABAB fearA · fleetB · dearA · feetB
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| As we rush, as we rush in the Train, | 9 | ········· |
| The trees and the houses go wheeling back, | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| But the starry heavens above the plain | 10 | ··/˘/˘···· |
| Come flying on our track. | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| All the beautiful stars of the sky, | 9 | ··/˘˘···· |
| The silver doves of the forest of Night, | 10 | ·/˘···/˘·· |
| Over the dull earth swarm and fly, | 8 | ········ |
| Companions of our flight. | 7 | ˘/˘·/˘· |
| We will rush ever on without fear; | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Let the goal be far, the flight be fleet! | 9 | ········· |
| For we carry the Heavens with us, dear, | 10 | ··/˘·/˘··· |
| While the Earth slips from our feet! | 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.