The Homes of England
The stately homes of England!How beautiful they stand,Amidst their tall ancestral trees,O’er all the pleasant land!The deer across their greensward boundThrough shade and sunny gleam,And the swan glides past them with the soundOf some rejoicing stream.
The merry homes of England!Around their hearths by nightWhat gladsome looks of household loveMeet in the ruddy light!There woman’s voice flows forth in song,Or childish tale is told,Or lips move tunefully alongSome glorious page of old.
The blessèd homes of England!How softly on their bowersIs laid the holy quietnessThat breathes from Sabbath hours!Solemn, yet sweet, the church-bell’s chimeFloats through their woods at morn;All other sounds, in that still time,Of breeze and leaf are born.
The cottage homes of England!By thousands on her plains,They are smiling o’er the silvery brooks,And round the hamlets’ fanes.Through glowing orchards forth they peep,Each from its nook of leaves;And fearless there the lowly sleep,As the bird beneath their eaves.
The free, fair homes of England!Long, long, in hut and hallMay hearts of native proof be rearedTo guard each hallowed wall!And green forever be the groves,And bright the flowery sod,Where first the child’s glad spirit lovesIts country and its God!
Words in this poem
- amidst prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- greensward n.
- Turf green with grass.
- sunny a.
- Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; hence, shining; bright; brilliant; radiant.
- gladsome a.
- Pleased; joyful; cheerful.
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- chime n.
- The harmonious sound of bells, or of musical instruments. [OE. chimbe, prop., cymbal, OF. cymbe, cymble, in a dialectic form, chymble, F. cymbale, L. cymbalum, fr. Gr. Cymbal.]
- 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.]
- nook n.
- A narrow place formed by an angle in bodies or between bodies; a corner; a recess; a secluded retreat. [OE. nok; cf. Gael. & Ir. niuc.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Homes of England 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 Homes of England, in Poems Every Child Should Know (1904), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16436, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poems-every-child/the-homes-of-england.html, id L25269.
Form and metre
The Homes of England is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
See 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-ABCBC englandA · standA · trees · landA · boundB · gleamC · soundB · streamC
- 2 -A-ABCBC england · nightA · love · lightA · songB · toldC · alongB · oldC
- 3 -A-ABCBC england · bowersA · quietness · hoursA · chimeB · mornC · timeB · bornC
- 4 -A-ABCBC england · plainsA · brooks · fanesA · peepB · leavesC · sleepB · eavesC
- 5 -A-A-B-B england · hallA · reared · wallA · groves · sodB · loves · godB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The stately homes of England! | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| How beautiful they stand, | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| Amidst their tall ancestral trees, | 8 | ˘/··˘/˘· |
| O’er all the pleasant land! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The deer across their greensward bound | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Through shade and sunny gleam, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And the swan glides past them with the sound | 9 | ········· |
| Of some rejoicing stream. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| The merry homes of England! | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Around their hearths by night | 6 | ······ |
| What gladsome looks of household love | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| Meet in the ruddy light! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| There woman’s voice flows forth in song, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Or childish tale is told, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Or lips move tunefully along | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Some glorious page of old. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The blessèd homes of England! | 6 | ····/˘ |
| How softly on their bowers | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Is laid the holy quietness | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| That breathes from Sabbath hours! | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Solemn, yet sweet, the church-bell’s chime | 8 | /˘······ |
| Floats through their woods at morn; | 6 | ······ |
| All other sounds, in that still time, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Of breeze and leaf are born. | 6 | ······ |
| The cottage homes of England! | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| By thousands on her plains, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| They are smiling o’er the silvery brooks, | 9 | ··/˘··/˘· |
| And round the hamlets’ fanes. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Through glowing orchards forth they peep, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Each from its nook of leaves; | 6 | ······ |
| And fearless there the lowly sleep, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| As the bird beneath their eaves. | 7 | ······· |
| The free, fair homes of England! | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Long, long, in hut and hall | 6 | ······ |
| May hearts of native proof be reared | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To guard each hallowed wall! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And green forever be the groves, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| And bright the flowery sod, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Where first the child’s glad spirit loves | 7 | ·····/· |
| Its country and its God! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
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