Paradise: In a Symbol
Golden-winged, silver-winged,Winged with flashing flame,Such a flight of birds I saw,Birds without a name:Singing songs in their own tongue(Song of songs) they came.
One to another calling,Each answering each,One to another callingIn their proper speech:High above my head they wheeled,Far out of reach.
On wings of flame they went and cameWith a cadenced clang,Their silver wings tinkled,Their golden wings rang,The wind it whistled through their wingsWhere in Heaven they sang.
They flashed and they dartedAwhile before mine eyes,Mounting, mounting, mounting stillIn haste to scale the skies--Birds without a nest on earth,Birds of Paradise.
Where the moon riseth not,Nor sun seeks the west,There to sing their gloryWhich they sing at rest,There to sing their love-songWhen they sing their best:
Not in any gardenThat mortal foot hath trod,Not in any flowering treeThat springs from earthly sod,But in the garden where they dwell,The Paradise of God.
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- clang v. t.
- To strike together so as to produce a ringing metallic sound. [L. clangere; akin to Gr. clank.]
- awhile adv.
- For a while; for some time; for a short time. [Adj. a + while time, interval.]
- 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]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Paradise: In a Symbol is in the public domain. This text is taken from Goblin Market, The Prince's Progress, and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #16950; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Christina Rossetti, Paradise: In a Symbol, in Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16950, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/rossetti-goblin-market/paradise-in-a-symbol.html, id L04366.
Form and metre
Paradise: In a Symbol is 36 lines in 6 stanzas of 6 lines each. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.2 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 28% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 -A-A-A winged · flameA · saw · nameA · tongue · cameA
- 2 ABAB-B callingA · eachB · callingA · speechB · wheeled · reachB
- 3 -A-A-A came · clangA · tinkled · rangA · wings · sangA
- 4 -A-A-- darted · eyesA · still · skiesA · earth · paradise
- 5 -A-A-A not · westA · glory · restA · song · bestA
- 6 -A-A-A garden · trodA · tree · sodA · dwell · godA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Golden-winged, silver-winged, | 8 | /˘·˘/˘·˘ |
| Winged with flashing flame, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Such a flight of birds I saw, | 7 | ······· |
| Birds without a name: | 5 | ····· |
| Singing songs in their own tongue | 7 | /˘····· |
| (Song of songs) they came. | 5 | ····· |
| One to another calling, | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| Each answering each, | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| One to another calling | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| In their proper speech: | 5 | ··/˘· |
| High above my head they wheeled, | 8 | ·······˘ |
| Far out of reach. | 4 | ···· |
| On wings of flame they went and came | 8 | ········ |
| With a cadenced clang, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Their silver wings tinkled, | 7 | ·/˘·/˘˘ |
| Their golden wings rang, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| The wind it whistled through their wings | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Where in Heaven they sang. | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| They flashed and they darted | 7 | ··˘··/˘ |
| Awhile before mine eyes, | 6 | ˘/···· |
| Mounting, mounting, mounting still | 7 | /˘/˘/˘· |
| In haste to scale the skies-- | 6 | ······ |
| Birds without a nest on earth, | 7 | ······· |
| Birds of Paradise. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Where the moon riseth not, | 6 | ······ |
| Nor sun seeks the west, | 5 | ····· |
| There to sing their glory | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Which they sing at rest, | 5 | ····· |
| There to sing their love-song | 6 | ······ |
| When they sing their best: | 5 | ····· |
| Not in any garden | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| That mortal foot hath trod, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Not in any flowering tree | 8 | ··/˘/˘˘· |
| That springs from earthly sod, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| But in the garden where they dwell, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The Paradise of God. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
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.