To Jane: 'The Keen Stars Were Twinkling'
The keen stars were twinkling,And the fair moon was rising among them,Dear Jane!The guitar was tinkling,But the notes were not sweet till you sung themAgain.
As the moon's soft splendourO'er the faint cold starlight of HeavenIs thrown,So your voice most tenderTo the strings without soul had then givenIts own.
The stars will awaken,Though the moon sleep a full hour later,To-night;No leaf will be shakenWhilst the dews of your melody scatterDelight.
Though the sound overpowers,Sing again, with your dear voice revealingA toneOf some world far from ours,Where music and moonlight and feelingAre one.
Words in this poem
- twinkling n.
- The act of one who, or of that which, twinkles; a quick movement of the eye; a wink; a twinkle. Holland.
- jane n.
- A coin of Genoa; any small coin. [LL. Janua Genoa; L. Genua, also OE. Jean.]
- splendour n.
- Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
- starlight n.
- The light given by the stars.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To Jane: 'The Keen Stars Were Twinkling' is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley — Volume 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #4798; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Percy Bysshe Shelley, To Jane: 'The Keen Stars Were Twinkling', in The Complete Poetical Works, Volume II (1816–1819), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #4798, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/shelley-later-poems/to-jane-the-keen-stars-were-twinkling.html, id L16484.
Form and metre
To Jane: 'The Keen Stars Were Twinkling' is 24 lines in 4 stanzas of 6 lines each. 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.1 syllables. 14 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 42% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABCABC twinklingA · themB · janeC · tinklingA · themB · againC
- 2 ABBABB splendourA · heavenB · thrownB · tenderA · givenB · ownB
- 3 A-BA-B awakenA · later · nightB · shakenA · scatter · delightB
- 4 AB-AB- overpowersA · revealingB · tone · oursA · feelingB · one
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The keen stars were twinkling, | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| And the fair moon was rising among them, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Dear Jane! | 2 | ·· |
| The guitar was tinkling, | 7 | ·˘/·/˘˘ |
| But the notes were not sweet till you sung them | 10 | ·········· |
| Again. | 2 | ˘/ |
| As the moon's soft splendour | 6 | ····/˘ |
| O'er the faint cold starlight of Heaven | 9 | ····/··/˘ |
| Is thrown, | 2 | ·· |
| So your voice most tender | 6 | ····/˘ |
| To the strings without soul had then given | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Its own. | 2 | ·· |
| The stars will awaken, | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| Though the moon sleep a full hour later, | 10 | ······/˘/˘ |
| To-night; | 2 | ·· |
| No leaf will be shaken | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Whilst the dews of your melody scatter | 10 | ·····/˘˘/˘ |
| Delight. | 2 | ˘/ |
| Though the sound overpowers, | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Sing again, with your dear voice revealing | 10 | ·˘/····˘/˘ |
| A tone | 2 | ·· |
| Of some world far from ours, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Where music and moonlight and feeling | 9 | ·/˘·/··/˘ |
| Are one. | 2 | ·· |
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.