The Ivy Green
O, a dainty plant is the ivy green,That creepeth o’er ruins old!Of right choice food are his meals, I ween,In his cell so lone and cold.The walls must be crumbled, the stones decayed.To pleasure his dainty whim;And the mouldering dust that years have madeIs a merry meal for him.Creeping where no life is seen,A rare old plant is the ivy green.
Fast he stealeth on, though he wears no wings,And a staunch old heart has he!How closely he twineth, how tight he clingsTo his friend, the huge oak tree!And slyly he traileth along the ground,And his leaves he gently waves,And he joyously twines and hugs aroundThe rich mould of dead men’s graves.Creeping where no life is seen,A rare old plant is the ivy green.
Whole ages have fled, and their works decayed,And nations have scattered been;But the stout old ivy shall never fadeFrom its hale and hearty green.The brave old plant in its lonely daysShall fatten upon the past;For the stateliest building man can raiseIs the ivy’s food at last.Creeping where no life is seen,A rare old plant is the ivy green.
Words in this poem
- dainty n.
- Value; estimation; the gratification or pleasure taken in anything. [OE. deinie, dainte, deintie, deyntee, OF. deintié delicacy, orig., dignity, honor, fr. L. dignitas, fr. dignus worthy. See Deign, and cf. Dignity.]
- ween v. i.
- To think; to imagine; to fancy. [OE. wenen, AS. w, fr. w hope, expectation, opinion; akin to D. waan, OFries. w, OS. & OHG. wan, G. wahn delusion, Icel. van hope, expectation, Goth. w, and D. w]
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- mould n.
- Crumbling, soft, friable earth; esp., earth containing the remains or constituents of organic matter, and suited to the growth of plants; soil. [OE. molde, AS. molde; akin to D. mul, G. mull, mulm, OHG. molt, molta, Icel. mold, Dan. muld, Sw. mull, Goth. mulda, and E. meal flour. See Meal, and cf. Mole a]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Ivy Green 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 Ivy Green, in Poems Every Child Should Know (1904), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16436, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poems-every-child/the-ivy-green.html, id L25200.
Form and metre
The Ivy Green is 30 lines in 3 stanzas of 10 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 81%).
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 ABABCDCDAA greenA · oldB · weenA · coldB · decayedC · whimD · madeC · himD · seenA · greenA
- 2 ABABCDCDEE wingsA · heB · clingsA · treeB · groundC · wavesD · aroundC · gravesD · seenE · greenE
- 3 A-ABCDCDBB decayedA · been · fadeA · greenB · daysC · pastD · raiseC · lastD · seenB · greenB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| O, a dainty plant is the ivy green, | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| That creepeth o’er ruins old! | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| Of right choice food are his meals, I ween, | 9 | ········· |
| In his cell so lone and cold. | 7 | ······· |
| The walls must be crumbled, the stones decayed. | 10 | ····/˘··˘/ |
| To pleasure his dainty whim; | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| And the mouldering dust that years have made | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Is a merry meal for him. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Creeping where no life is seen, | 7 | /˘····· |
| A rare old plant is the ivy green. | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Fast he stealeth on, though he wears no wings, | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| And a staunch old heart has he! | 7 | ······· |
| How closely he twineth, how tight he clings | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···· |
| To his friend, the huge oak tree! | 7 | ······· |
| And slyly he traileth along the ground, | 10 | ·/˘·/˘˘/·· |
| And his leaves he gently waves, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And he joyously twines and hugs around | 9 | ········· |
| The rich mould of dead men’s graves. | 7 | ······· |
| Creeping where no life is seen, | 7 | /˘····· |
| A rare old plant is the ivy green. | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Whole ages have fled, and their works decayed, | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| And nations have scattered been; | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| But the stout old ivy shall never fade | 9 | ····/˘·/· |
| From its hale and hearty green. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| The brave old plant in its lonely days | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Shall fatten upon the past; | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| For the stateliest building man can raise | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Is the ivy’s food at last. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Creeping where no life is seen, | 7 | /˘····· |
| A rare old plant is the ivy green. | 9 | ······/˘· |
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