The Sleeper
At midnight, in the month of June,I stand beneath the mystic moon.An opiate vapour, dewy, dim,Exhales from out her golden rim,And, softly dripping, drop by drop,Upon the quiet mountain top,Steals drowsily and musicallyInto the universal valley.The rosemary nods upon the grave;The lily lolls upon the wave;Wrapping the fog about its breast,The ruin moulders into rest;Looking like Lethe, see! the lakeA conscious slumber seems to take,And would not, for the world, awake.All Beauty sleeps!—and lo! where lies(Her casement open to the skies)Irene, with her Destinies!
Oh, lady bright! can it be right—This window open to the night?The wanton airs, from the tree-top,Laughingly through the lattice drop—The bodiless airs, a wizard rout,Flit through thy chamber in and out,And wave the curtain canopySo fitfully—so fearfully—Above the close and fringed lid’Neath which thy slumb’ring soul lies hid,That, o’er the floor and down the wall,Like ghosts the shadows rise and fall!Oh, lady dear, hast thou no fear?Why and what art thou dreaming here?Sure thou art come o’er far-off seas,A wonder to these garden trees!Strange is thy pallor! strange thy dress!Strange, above all, thy length of tress,And this all solemn silentness!
The lady sleeps. Oh, may her sleep,Which is enduring, so be deep!Heaven have her in its sacred keep!This chamber changed for one more holy,This bed for one more melancholy,I pray to God that she may lieFor ever with unopened eye,While the dim sheeted ghosts go by!
My love, she sleeps! Oh, may her sleepAs it is lasting, so be deep!Soft may the worms about her creep!Far in the forest, dim and old,For her may some tall vault unfold—Some vault that oft hath flung its blackAnd winged panels fluttering back,Triumphant, o’er the crested palls,Of her grand family funerals—Some sepulchre, remote, alone,Against whose portal she hath thrown,In childhood, many an idle stone—Some tomb from out whose sounding doorShe ne’er shall force an echo more,Thrilling to think, poor child of sin!It was the dead who groaned within.
Words in this poem 19
- opiate n.
- Originally, a medicine of a thicker consistence than sirup, prepared with opium. Parr. [From Opium: cf.F. opiat.]
- vapour n.
- Any substance in the gaseous, or aëriform, state, the condition of which is ordinarily that of a liquid or solid. [OE. vapour, OF. vapour, vapor, vapeur, F. vapeur, L. vapor; probably for cvapor, and akin to Gr. kvepti to breathe, smell, Russ. kopote fine soot. Cf. Vapid.]
- dripping n.
- A falling in drops, or the sound so made.
- drowsily adv.
- In a drowsy manner.
- musically adv.
- In a musical manner.
- lethe n.
- A river of Hades whose waters when drunk caused forgetfulness of the past.
- casement n.
- A window sash opening on hinges affixed to the upright side of the frame into which it is fitted. (Poetically) A window. [Shortened fr. encasement. See Incase 1st Case, and cf. Incasement.]
- laughingly adv.
- With laughter or merriment.
- bodiless a.
- Having no body.
- flit a.
- Nimble; quick; swift. See Fleet.
- fearfully adv.
- In a fearful manner.
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- pallor n.
- Paleness; want of color; pallidity; as, pallor of the complexion. Jer. Taylor. [L., fr. pallere to be or look pale. See Pale, a.]
- 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]
- silentness n.
- State of being silent; silence.
- sepulchre n.
- The place in which the dead body of a human being is interred, or a place set apart for that purpose; a grave; a tomb. [OE. sepulcre, OF. sepulcre, F. sépulcre, fr. L. sepulcrum, sepulchrum, fr. sepelire to bury.]
- childhood n.
- The state of being a child; the time in which persons are children; the condition or time from infancy to puberty. [AS. cildhad; cild child + -had. See Child, and hood.]
- 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,]
- thrilling a.
- Causing a thrill; causing tremulous excitement; deeply moving; as, a thrilling romance.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Sleeper is in the public domain. This text is taken from The poetical works of Edgar Allan Poe, Project Gutenberg ebook #79019; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Edgar Allan Poe, The Sleeper, in The Complete Poetical Works (1827–1849), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #79019, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poe-poems/the-sleeper.html, id L04171.
Form and metre
The Sleeper is 61 lines in 4 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 72% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 9 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 15% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, 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 AABBCC--DDEEFFFGGG juneA · moonA · dimB · rimB · dropC · topC · musically · valley · graveD · waveD · breastE · restE · lakeF · takeF · awakeF · liesG · skiesG · destiniesG
- 2 AABBCC--DDEEFFGGHHH rightA · nightA · topB · dropB · routC · outC · canopy · fearfully · lidD · hidD · wallE · fallE · fearF · hereF · seasG · treesG · dressH · tressH · silentnessH
- 3 AAA--BBB sleepA · deepA · keepA · holy · melancholy · lieB · eyeB · byB
- 4 AAABBCCDDEEEFFGG sleepA · deepA · creepA · oldB · unfoldB · blackC · backC · pallsD · funeralsD · aloneE · thrownE · stoneE · doorF · moreF · sinG · withinG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| At midnight, in the month of June, | 8 | ·/······ |
| I stand beneath the mystic moon. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An opiate vapour, dewy, dim, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Exhales from out her golden rim, | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| And, softly dripping, drop by drop, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Upon the quiet mountain top, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Steals drowsily and musically | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘˘ |
| Into the universal valley. | 9 | ····˘/˘/˘ |
| The rosemary nods upon the grave; | 9 | ·/·˘····· |
| The lily lolls upon the wave; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Wrapping the fog about its breast, | 8 | /˘······ |
| The ruin moulders into rest; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Looking like Lethe, see! the lake | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| A conscious slumber seems to take, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And would not, for the world, awake. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| All Beauty sleeps!—and lo! where lies | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| (Her casement open to the skies) | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Irene, with her Destinies! | 7 | ˘/··/˘˘ |
| Oh, lady bright! can it be right— | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| This window open to the night? | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| The wanton airs, from the tree-top, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Laughingly through the lattice drop— | 8 | /˘˘··/˘· |
| The bodiless airs, a wizard rout, | 9 | ·/˘˘··/˘· |
| Flit through thy chamber in and out, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And wave the curtain canopy | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| So fitfully—so fearfully— | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘˘ |
| Above the close and fringed lid | 8 | ······˘· |
| ’Neath which thy slumb’ring soul lies hid, | 8 | ········ |
| That, o’er the floor and down the wall, | 8 | ········ |
| Like ghosts the shadows rise and fall! | 8 | ···/···· |
| Oh, lady dear, hast thou no fear? | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Why and what art thou dreaming here? | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Sure thou art come o’er far-off seas, | 8 | ········ |
| A wonder to these garden trees! | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Strange is thy pallor! strange thy dress! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Strange, above all, thy length of tress, | 8 | ········ |
| And this all solemn silentness! | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| The lady sleeps. Oh, may her sleep, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Which is enduring, so be deep! | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Heaven have her in its sacred keep! | 8 | /····/˘· |
| This chamber changed for one more holy, | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| This bed for one more melancholy, | 9 | ·····/˘·˘ |
| I pray to God that she may lie | 8 | ········ |
| For ever with unopened eye, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| While the dim sheeted ghosts go by! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| My love, she sleeps! Oh, may her sleep | 8 | ········ |
| As it is lasting, so be deep! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Soft may the worms about her creep! | 8 | ········ |
| Far in the forest, dim and old, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| For her may some tall vault unfold— | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Some vault that oft hath flung its black | 8 | ········ |
| And winged panels fluttering back, | 8 | ··/˘/˘˘· |
| Triumphant, o’er the crested palls, | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| Of her grand family funerals— | 9 | ···/˘˘/˘˘ |
| Some sepulchre, remote, alone, | 7 | ···˘/˘/ |
| Against whose portal she hath thrown, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| In childhood, many an idle stone— | 8 | ·/·/·/˘· |
| Some tomb from out whose sounding door | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| She ne’er shall force an echo more, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Thrilling to think, poor child of sin! | 8 | /˘······ |
| It was the dead who groaned within. | 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.