The Bride's Dream
The stars are gleaming;The maiden sleeps--What is she dreaming?For see--she weeps.By her side is an AngelWith folded wings;While the Maiden slumbersThe Angel sings:He sings of a Bridal,Of Love, of Pain,Of a heart to be given,--And all in vain;(See, her cheek is flushing,As if with pain;)He telleth of sorrow,Regrets and fears,And the few vain pleasuresWe buy with tears;And the bitter lessonWe learn from years.
The stars are gleamingUpon her brow:What is she dreamingSo calmly now?By her side is the AngelWith folded wings;She smiles in her slumberThe while he sings.He sings of a Bridal,Of Love divine;Of a heart to be laidOn a sacred shrine;Of a crown of glory,Where seraphs shine;Of the deep, long raptureThe chosen knowWho forsake for HeavenVain joys below,Who desire no pleasure,And fear no woe.
The Bells are ringing,The sun shines clear,The Choir is singing,The guests are here.Before the High AltarBehold the Bride;And a mournful AngelIs by her side.She smiles, all contentWith her chosen lot,--(Is her last night's dreamingSo soon forgot?)And oh, may the AngelForsake her not!For on her small handThere glitters plainThe first sad linkOf a life-long chain;--And she needs his guidingThrough paths of pain.
Words in this poem
- needs adv.
- Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need. [Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. - wards.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Bride's Dream is in the public domain. This text is taken from Legends and Lyrics. Part 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #2304; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Adelaide Anne Procter, The Bride's Dream, in Legends and Lyrics: Second Series (1861), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2304, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/procter-legends-lyrics/the-bride-s-dream.html, id L21805.
Form and metre
The Bride's Dream is 60 lines in 3 stanzas of 20 lines each. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
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 ABAB-C-C-DDD-D-E-E-E gleamingA · sleepsB · dreamingA · weepsB · angel · wingsC · slumbers · singsC · bridal · painD · givenD · vainD · flushing · painD · sorrow · fearsE · pleasures · tearsE · lesson · yearsE
- 2 ABAB-C-C-D-D-D-EDE-E gleamingA · browB · dreamingA · nowB · angel · wingsC · slumber · singsC · bridal · divineD · laid · shrineD · glory · shineD · rapture · knowE · heavenD · belowE · pleasure · woeE
- 3 ABAB-CDC-E-EDE-F-F-F ringingA · clearB · singingA · hereB · altar · brideC · angelD · sideC · content · lotE · dreaming · forgotE · angelD · notE · hand · plainF · link · chainF · guiding · painF
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The stars are gleaming; | 5 | ···/˘ |
| The maiden sleeps-- | 4 | ·/˘· |
| What is she dreaming? | 5 | ···/˘ |
| For see--she weeps. | 4 | ···· |
| By her side is an Angel | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| With folded wings; | 4 | ·/˘· |
| While the Maiden slumbers | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| The Angel sings: | 4 | ·/˘· |
| He sings of a Bridal, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Of Love, of Pain, | 4 | ···· |
| Of a heart to be given,-- | 6 | ·····/ |
| And all in vain; | 4 | ···· |
| (See, her cheek is flushing, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| As if with pain;) | 4 | ···· |
| He telleth of sorrow, | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| Regrets and fears, | 4 | ˘/·· |
| And the few vain pleasures | 6 | ····/˘ |
| We buy with tears; | 4 | ···· |
| And the bitter lesson | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| We learn from years. | 4 | ···· |
| The stars are gleaming | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Upon her brow: | 4 | ···· |
| What is she dreaming | 5 | ···/˘ |
| So calmly now? | 4 | ·/˘· |
| By her side is the Angel | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| With folded wings; | 4 | ·/˘· |
| She smiles in her slumber | 6 | ····/˘ |
| The while he sings. | 4 | ···· |
| He sings of a Bridal, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Of Love divine; | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Of a heart to be laid | 6 | ······ |
| On a sacred shrine; | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Of a crown of glory, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Where seraphs shine; | 4 | ···· |
| Of the deep, long rapture | 6 | ····/˘ |
| The chosen know | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Who forsake for Heaven | 5 | ·˘/·/ |
| Vain joys below, | 4 | ···· |
| Who desire no pleasure, | 6 | ·˘/·/˘ |
| And fear no woe. | 4 | ···· |
| The Bells are ringing, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| The sun shines clear, | 4 | ···· |
| The Choir is singing, | 5 | ·/·/˘ |
| The guests are here. | 4 | ···· |
| Before the High Altar | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Behold the Bride; | 4 | ˘/·· |
| And a mournful Angel | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| Is by her side. | 4 | ···· |
| She smiles, all content | 5 | ···/˘ |
| With her chosen lot,-- | 5 | ··/˘· |
| (Is her last night's dreaming | 6 | ····/˘ |
| So soon forgot?) | 4 | ··˘/ |
| And oh, may the Angel | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Forsake her not! | 4 | ˘/·· |
| For on her small hand | 5 | ····· |
| There glitters plain | 4 | ·/˘· |
| The first sad link | 4 | ···· |
| Of a life-long chain;-- | 5 | ····· |
| And she needs his guiding | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Through paths of pain. | 4 | ···· |
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.