The Valley of Unrest
Once it smiled a silent dellWhere the people did not dwell;They had gone unto the wars,Trusting to the mild-eyed stars,Nightly, from their azure towers,To keep watch above the flowers,In the midst of which all dayThe red sun-light lazily lay.Now each visitor shall confessThe sad valley’s restlessness.Nothing there is motionless—Nothing save the airs that broodOver the magic solitude.Ah, by no wind are stirred those treesThat palpitate like the chill seasAround the misty Hebrides!Ah, by no wind those clouds are drivenThat rustle through the unquiet heavenUneasily, from morn till even,Over the violets there that lieIn myriad types of the human eye—Over the lilies there that waveAnd weep above a nameless grave!They wave:—from out their fragrant topsEternal dews come down in drops.They weep:—from off their delicate stemsPerennial tears descend in gems.
Words in this poem
- dell n.
- A small, retired valley; a ravine. [AS. del, akin to E. dale; cf. D. delle, del, low ground. See Dale.]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- nightly a.
- Of or pertaining to the night, or to every night; happening or done by night, or every night; as, nightly shades; he kept nightly vigils.
- 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,]
- rustle v. i.
- To make a quick succession of small sounds, like the rubbing or moving of silk cloth or dry leaves. [AS. hristlan to rustle; or cf. Sw. rusta to stir, make a riot, or E. rush, v.]
- unquiet v. t.
- To disquiet. Ld. Herbert. [1st pref. un- + quiet.]
- uneasily adv.
- In an uneasy manner.
- 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.]
- myriad n.
- The number of ten thousand; ten thousand persons or things. [Gr. myriade.]
- nameless a.
- Without a name; not having been given a name; as, a nameless star.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Valley of Unrest 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 Valley of Unrest, in The Complete Poetical Works (1827–1849), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #79019, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poe-poems/the-valley-of-unrest.html, id L04159.
Form and metre
The Valley of Unrest is 27 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 52% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.9 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 44% 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 AA--BBCCDDDEEFFF---GGHHIIJJ dellA · dwellA · wars · stars · towersB · flowersB · dayC · layC · confessD · restlessnessD · motionlessD · broodE · solitudeE · treesF · seasF · hebridesF · driven · heaven · even · lieG · eyeG · waveH · graveH · topsI · dropsI · stemsJ · gemsJ
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Once it smiled a silent dell | 8 | ···˘·/˘· |
| Where the people did not dwell; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| They had gone unto the wars, | 7 | ······· |
| Trusting to the mild-eyed stars, | 7 | /˘····· |
| Nightly, from their azure towers, | 8 | /˘··/˘/˘ |
| To keep watch above the flowers, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| In the midst of which all day | 7 | ······· |
| The red sun-light lazily lay. | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| Now each visitor shall confess | 8 | ··/˘˘·˘/ |
| The sad valley’s restlessness. | 7 | ··/˘/˘˘ |
| Nothing there is motionless— | 7 | /˘··/˘˘ |
| Nothing save the airs that brood | 7 | /˘····· |
| Over the magic solitude. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Ah, by no wind are stirred those trees | 8 | ········ |
| That palpitate like the chill seas | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Around the misty Hebrides! | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| Ah, by no wind those clouds are driven | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| That rustle through the unquiet heaven | 9 | ·/˘··˘/˘/ |
| Uneasily, from morn till even, | 9 | ˘/˘˘···/˘ |
| Over the violets there that lie | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| In myriad types of the human eye— | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| Over the lilies there that wave | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And weep above a nameless grave! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| They wave:—from out their fragrant tops | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Eternal dews come down in drops. | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| They weep:—from off their delicate stems | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Perennial tears descend in gems. | 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.