Seasons
Oh the cheerful Budding-time!When thorn-hedges turn to green,When new leaves of elm and limeCleave and shed their winter screen;Tender lambs are born and 'baa,'North wind finds no snow to bring,Vigorous Nature laughs 'Ha, ha,'In the miracle of spring.
Oh the gorgeous Blossom-days!When broad flag-flowers drink and blow,In and out in summer-blazeDragon-flies flash to and fro;Ashen branches hang out keys,Oaks put forth the rosy shoot,Wandering herds wax sleek at ease,Lovely blossoms end in fruit.
Oh the shouting Harvest-weeks!Mother earth grown fat with sheavesThrifty gleaner finds who seeks;Russet-golden pomp of leavesCrowns the woods, to fall at length;Bracing winds are felt to stir,Ocean gathers up her strength,Beasts renew their dwindled fur.
Oh the starving Winter-lapse!Ice-bound, hunger-pinched and dim;Dormant roots recall their saps,Empty nests show black and grim,Short-lived sunshine gives no heat,Undue buds are nipped by frost,Snow sets forth a winding-sheet,And all hope of life seems lost.
Words in this poem
- gorgeous a.
- Imposing through splendid or various colors; showy; fine; magnificent. [OF. gorgias beautiful, glorious, vain, luxurious; cf. OF. gorgias ruff, neck handkerchief, and F. gorge throat, and se pengorger to assume airs. Cf. Gorge, n.]
- ashen a.
- Of or pertaining to the ash tree. [See Ash, the tree.]
- gleaner n.
- One who gathers after reapers.
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Seasons 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, Seasons, in Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16950, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/rossetti-goblin-market/seasons.html, id L04351.
Form and metre
Seasons is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.2 syllables. 12% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic 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 ABAB-C-C timeA · greenB · limeA · screenB · baa · bringC · ha · springC
- 2 ABABCDCD daysA · blowB · blazeA · froB · keysC · shootD · easeC · fruitD
- 3 ABABCDCD weeksA · sheavesB · seeksA · leavesB · lengthC · stirD · strengthC · furD
- 4 ABABCDCD lapseA · dimB · sapsA · grimB · heatC · frostD · sheetC · lostD
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Oh the cheerful Budding-time! | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| When thorn-hedges turn to green, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| When new leaves of elm and lime | 7 | ······· |
| Cleave and shed their winter screen; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Tender lambs are born and 'baa,' | 7 | /˘····· |
| North wind finds no snow to bring, | 7 | ······· |
| Vigorous Nature laughs 'Ha, ha,' | 8 | /˘˘/˘··· |
| In the miracle of spring. | 7 | ··/˘˘·· |
| Oh the gorgeous Blossom-days! | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| When broad flag-flowers drink and blow, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| In and out in summer-blaze | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Dragon-flies flash to and fro; | 7 | /˘····· |
| Ashen branches hang out keys, | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| Oaks put forth the rosy shoot, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Wandering herds wax sleek at ease, | 8 | /˘˘····· |
| Lovely blossoms end in fruit. | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| Oh the shouting Harvest-weeks! | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Mother earth grown fat with sheaves | 7 | /˘····· |
| Thrifty gleaner finds who seeks; | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| Russet-golden pomp of leaves | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| Crowns the woods, to fall at length; | 7 | ······· |
| Bracing winds are felt to stir, | 7 | /˘····· |
| Ocean gathers up her strength, | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| Beasts renew their dwindled fur. | 8 | ·˘/·/˘˘· |
| Oh the starving Winter-lapse! | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Ice-bound, hunger-pinched and dim; | 8 | ··/˘·˘·· |
| Dormant roots recall their saps, | 7 | /˘·˘/·· |
| Empty nests show black and grim, | 7 | /˘····· |
| Short-lived sunshine gives no heat, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Undue buds are nipped by frost, | 8 | ˘/···˘·· |
| Snow sets forth a winding-sheet, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And all hope of life seems lost. | 7 | ······· |
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.