The Gates of Dreamland
It's a lonely road through bogland to the lake at Carrowmore,And a sleeper there lies dreaming where the water laps the shore;Though the moth-wings of the twilight in their purples are unfurled,Yet his sleep is filled with music by the masters of the world.
There's a hand is white as silver that is fondling with his hair:There are glimmering feet of sunshine that are dancing by him there:And half-open lips of faery that were dyed a faery redIn their revels where the Hazel Tree its holy clusters shed.
"Come away," the red lips whisper, "all the world is weary now;'Tis the twilight of the ages and it's time to quit the plough.Oh, the very sunlight's weary ere it lightens up the dew,And its gold is changed and faded before it falls to you.
"Though your colleen's heart be tender, a tenderer heart is near.What's the starlight in her glances when the stars are shining clear?Who would kiss the fading shadow when the flower-face glows above?'Tis the Beauty of all Beauty that is calling for your love."
Oh, the great gates of the mountain have opened once again,And the sound of song and dancing falls upon the ears of men,And the Land of Youth lies gleaming flushed with rainbow light and mirth,And the old enchantment lingers in the honey-heart of earth.
Words in this poem
- sleeper n.
- One who sleeps; a slumberer; hence, a drone, or lazy person.
- 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.
- starlight n.
- The light given by the stars.
- fading n.
- An Irish dance; also, the burden of a song.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Gates of Dreamland is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Divine Vision, and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #36913; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: George William Russell, The Gates of Dreamland, in The Divine Vision and Other Poems (1904), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36913, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/russell-divine-vision/the-gates-of-dreamland.html, id L11519.
Form and metre
The Gates of Dreamland is 20 lines in 5 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABB. The metre is iambic octameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 14.9 syllables. 5% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic octameter.
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 AABB carrowmoreA · shoreA · unfurledB · worldB
- 2 AABB hairA · thereA · redB · shedB
- 3 AABB nowA · ploughA · dewB · youB
- 4 AABB nearA · clearA · aboveB · loveB
- 5 AABB againA · menA · mirthB · earthB
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 octameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| It's a lonely road through bogland to the lake at Carrowmore, | 15 | ··/˘··········· |
| And a sleeper there lies dreaming where the water laps the shore; | 15 | ··/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| Though the moth-wings of the twilight in their purples are unfurled, | 15 | ······/···/˘·˘/ |
| Yet his sleep is filled with music by the masters of the world. | 15 | ······/˘··/˘··· |
| There's a hand is white as silver that is fondling with his hair: | 15 | ······/˘··/˘··· |
| There are glimmering feet of sunshine that are dancing by him there: | 15 | ··/˘··/···/˘··· |
| And half-open lips of faery that were dyed a faery red | 15 | ··/˘··········· |
| In their revels where the Hazel Tree its holy clusters shed. | 15 | ··/˘··/˘··/˘/˘· |
| "Come away," the red lips whisper, "all the world is weary now; | 15 | ·˘/···/˘····/˘· |
| 'Tis the twilight of the ages and it's time to quit the plough. | 15 | ··/···/˘······· |
| Oh, the very sunlight's weary ere it lightens up the dew, | 15 | ··/˘/·/˘··/˘··· |
| And its gold is changed and faded before it falls to you. | 14 | ······/˘······ |
| "Though your colleen's heart be tender, a tenderer heart is near. | 15 | ···/··/˘······· |
| What's the starlight in her glances when the stars are shining clear? | 15 | ··/···/˘····/˘· |
| Who would kiss the fading shadow when the flower-face glows above? | 15 | ····/˘/···/···· |
| 'Tis the Beauty of all Beauty that is calling for your love." | 15 | ··/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| Oh, the great gates of the mountain have opened once again, | 14 | ······/˘·/˘·˘/ |
| And the sound of song and dancing falls upon the ears of men, | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| And the Land of Youth lies gleaming flushed with rainbow light and mirth, | 15 | ······/˘··/···· |
| And the old enchantment lingers in the honey-heart of earth. | 15 | ···˘/˘/˘··/˘··· |
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.