Bellinglise II
Here, where in happier times the huntsman's hornEchoing from far made sweet midsummer eves,Now serried cannon thunder night and morn,Tearing with iron the greenwood's tender leaves.Yet has sweet Spring no particle withdrawnOf her old bounty; still the song-birds hail,Even through our fusillade, delightful Dawn;Even in our wire bloom lilies of the vale.You who love flowers, take these; their fragile bellsHave trembled with the shock of volleyed shells,And in black nights when stealthy foes advanceThey have been lit by the pale rockets' glowThat o'er scarred fields and ancient towns laid lowTrace in white fire the brave frontiers of France.
Words in this poem
- midsummer n.
- The middle of summer. Shak. Midsummer daisy (Bot.), the oxeye daisy. [AS. midsumor.]
- serried a.
- Crowded; compact; dense; pressed together. [See Serry.]
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- bounty n.
- Goodness, kindness; virtue; worth. [OE. bounte goodness, kindness, F. bonté, fr. L. bonitas, fr. bonus good, for older duonus; cf. Skr. duvas honor, respect.]
- fusillade n.
- A simultaneous discharge of firearms. [F. fusillade, cf. It. fucilata. See Fusil a firelock.]
- vale n.
- A tract of low ground, or of land between hills; a valley. [OE. val, F. val, L. vallis; perhaps akin to Gr. Avalanche, Vail to lower, Valley.]
- volleyed a.
- Discharged with a sudden burst, or as if in a volley; as, volleyed thunder.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Bellinglise II is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #617; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Alan Seeger, Bellinglise II, in Poems (1916), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #617, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/seeger-poems/bellinglise-ii.html, id L12980.
Form and metre
Bellinglise II is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABABCDCDEEFGGF. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 43% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 ABABCDCDEEFGGF hornA · evesB · mornA · leavesB · withdrawnC · hailD · dawnC · valeD · bellsE · shellsE · advanceF · glowG · lowG · franceF
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Here, where in happier times the huntsman's horn | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Echoing from far made sweet midsummer eves, | 10 | /˘····//˘· |
| Now serried cannon thunder night and morn, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| Tearing with iron the greenwood's tender leaves. | 10 | /˘·/·/·/˘· |
| Yet has sweet Spring no particle withdrawn | 10 | ·····/˘˘˘/ |
| Of her old bounty; still the song-birds hail, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Even through our fusillade, delightful Dawn; | 10 | /·//˘·˘/˘· |
| Even in our wire bloom lilies of the vale. | 10 | /·//·/˘··· |
| You who love flowers, take these; their fragile bells | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| Have trembled with the shock of volleyed shells, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And in black nights when stealthy foes advance | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| They have been lit by the pale rockets' glow | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| That o'er scarred fields and ancient towns laid low | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Trace in white fire the brave frontiers of France. | 10 | ···/··˘/·· |
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.