The Frost
The Frost looked forth, one still, clear night,And whispered, “Now I shall be out of sight;So through the valley and over the height,In silence I’ll take my way:I will not go on with that blustering train,The wind and the snow, the hail and the rain,Who make so much bustle and noise in vain,But I’ll be as busy as they.”
Then he flew to the mountain and powdered its crest;He lit on the trees, and their boughs he dressedIn diamond beads--and over the breastOf the quivering lake he spreadA coat of mail, that it need not fearThe downward point of many a spearThat hung on its margin far and near,Where a rock could rear its head.
He went to the windows of those who slept,And over each pane, like a fairy, crept;Wherever he breathed, wherever he slept,By the light of the moon were seenMost beautiful things--there were flowers and trees;There were bevies of birds and swarms of bees;There were cities with temples and towers, and theseAll pictured in silver sheen!
But he did one thing that was hardly fair;He peeped in the cupboard, and finding thereThat all had forgotten for him to prepare--“Now just to set them a-thinking,I’ll bite this basket of fruit,” said he,“This costly pitcher I’ll burst in three,And the glass of water they’ve left for meShall ‘tchich!’ to tell them I’m drinking.”
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- pane n.
- The narrow edge of a hammer head. See Peen. [F. panne.]
- wherever adv.
- At or in whatever place; wheresoever.
- pictured a.
- Furnished with pictures; represented by a picture or pictures; as, a pictured scene.
- sheen v. i.
- To shine; to glisten.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Frost is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems Every Child Should Know The What-Every-Child-Should-Know-Library, Project Gutenberg ebook #16436; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Mary E. Burt, The Frost, in Poems Every Child Should Know (1904), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16436, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poems-every-child/the-frost.html, id L25184.
Form and metre
The Frost is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AAABCCCB. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 74%).
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 AAABCCCB nightA · sightA · heightA · wayB · trainC · rainC · vainC · theyB
- 2 AAABCCCB crestA · dressedA · breastA · spreadB · fearC · spearC · nearC · headB
- 3 AAABCCCB sleptA · creptA · sleptA · seenB · treesC · beesC · theseC · sheenB
- 4 AAABCCCB fairA · thereA · prepareA · thinkingB · heC · threeC · meC · drinkingB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The Frost looked forth, one still, clear night, | 8 | ········ |
| And whispered, “Now I shall be out of sight; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| So through the valley and over the height, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| In silence I’ll take my way: | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| I will not go on with that blustering train, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The wind and the snow, the hail and the rain, | 10 | ·········· |
| Who make so much bustle and noise in vain, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| But I’ll be as busy as they.” | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Then he flew to the mountain and powdered its crest; | 11 | ·····/˘·/·· |
| He lit on the trees, and their boughs he dressed | 10 | ·········· |
| In diamond beads--and over the breast | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Of the quivering lake he spread | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| A coat of mail, that it need not fear | 9 | ········· |
| The downward point of many a spear | 8 | ·/··/˘·· |
| That hung on its margin far and near, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Where a rock could rear its head. | 7 | ······· |
| He went to the windows of those who slept, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| And over each pane, like a fairy, crept; | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Wherever he breathed, wherever he slept, | 10 | ˘/˘··˘/˘·· |
| By the light of the moon were seen | 8 | ········ |
| Most beautiful things--there were flowers and trees; | 9 | ·/˘···/·· |
| There were bevies of birds and swarms of bees; | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| There were cities with temples and towers, and these | 11 | ··/˘·/˘·/·· |
| All pictured in silver sheen! | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| But he did one thing that was hardly fair; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| He peeped in the cupboard, and finding there | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| That all had forgotten for him to prepare-- | 11 | ···˘/˘···˘/ |
| “Now just to set them a-thinking, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| I’ll bite this basket of fruit,” said he, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| “This costly pitcher I’ll burst in three, | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| And the glass of water they’ve left for me | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Shall ‘tchich!’ to tell them I’m drinking.” | 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.