Alice of Monmouth VI
On river and height and salty moors the haze of autumn fell,And the cloud of a troubled joy enwrapt the face of Hugh as well,—The spell of a secret haunt that far from home his footsteps drew;A love which over the brow of youth the mask of manhood threw.
Birds of the air to the father, at length, the common rumor brought:“Your son,” they sang, “in the cunning toils of a rustic lass is caught!”“A fit betrothal,” the lawyer said, “must make these follies cease;Which shall it be?—the banker’s ward?—Edith, the judge’s niece?”
“Father, I pray”—said Hugh. “O yes!” out-leapt the other’s mood,“I hear of your wanton loiterings; they ill become your blood!If you hold our name at such light worth, forbear to darken the lifeOf this Alice Dale”—“No, Alice Van Ghelt! father, she is my wife.”
Worldlings, who say the eagle should mate with eagle, after his kind,Nor have learned from what far and diverse cliffs the twain each otherfind,Yours is the old, old story, of age forgetting its wiser youth;Of eyes which are keen for others’ good and blind to an inward truth.
But the pride which closed the father’s doors swelled in the young man’sveins,And he led his bride, in the sight of all, through the pleasant Monmouthlanes,To the little farm his grandsire gave, years since, for a birthday gift:Unto such havens unforeseen the barks of our fortune drift!
There, for a happy pastoral year, he tilled the teeming field,Scattered the marl above his land, and gathered the orchard’s yield;And Alice, in fair and simple guise, kissed him at even-fall;And her face was to him an angel’s face, and love was all in all.
—What is this light in the southern sky, painting a red alarm?What is this trumpet call, which sounds through peaceful village andfarm,—Jarring the sweet idyllic rest, stilling the children’s throng,Hushing the cricket on the hearth, and the lovers’ evening song?
Words in this poem
- salty a.
- Somewhat salt; saltish.
- lass n.
- A youth woman; a girl; a sweetheart. [OE. lasse; prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. llodes girl, fem. of llawd lad. (Lad a youth.]
- betrothal n.
- The act of betrothing, or the fact of being betrothed; a mutual promise, engagement, or contract for a future marriage between the persons betrothed; betrothment; affiance.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- niece n.
- A relative, in general; especially, a descendant, whether male or female; a granddaughter or a grandson. B. Jonson. Wyclif. [OE. nece, F. nièce, LL. neptia, for L. neptis a granddaughter, niece, akin to nepos. See Nephew.]
- twain a.
- Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
- grandsire n.
- Specifically, a grandfather; more generally, any ancestor. [OF. grantsire. See Grand, and Sire.]
- teeming a.
- Prolific; productive.
- jarring a.
- Shaking; disturbing; discordant. [See Jar.]
- idyllic a.
- Of or belonging to idyls.
- hushing n.
- The process of washing ore, or of uncovering mineral veins, by a heavy discharge of water from a reservoir; flushing; -- also called booming.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Alice of Monmouth VI is in the public domain. This text is taken from The poetical works of Edmund Clarence Stedman, Project Gutenberg ebook #70763; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Edmund Clarence Stedman, Alice of Monmouth VI, in The Poetical Works of Edmund Clarence Stedman (1860–1897), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #70763, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/stedman-poems/alice-of-monmouth-vi.html, id L10664.
Form and metre
Alice of Monmouth VI is 32 lines in 7 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 62% of the lines. The metre is iambic octameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 75%). 78% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.2 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 16% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, 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 fellA · wellA · drewB · threwB
- 2 AABB broughtA · caughtA · ceaseB · nieceB
- 3 --AA mood · blood · lifeA · wifeA
- 4 A-ABB kindA · other · findA · youthB · truthB
- 5 -A-ABB man's · veinsA · monmouth · lanesA · giftB · driftB
- 6 AABB fieldA · yieldA · fallB · allB
- 7 A-ABB alarmA · and · farmA · throngB · songB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| On river and height and salty moors the haze of autumn fell, | 15 | ·/˘···/˘····/˘· |
| And the cloud of a troubled joy enwrapt the face of Hugh as well,— | 16 | ·····/˘········· |
| The spell of a secret haunt that far from home his footsteps drew; | 15 | ····/˘······/·· |
| A love which over the brow of youth the mask of manhood threw. | 14 | ···········/·· |
| Birds of the air to the father, at length, the common rumor brought: | 16 | ······/˘···/˘/˘· |
| “Your son,” they sang, “in the cunning toils of a rustic lass is caught!” | 16 | ······/˘···/˘··· |
| “A fit betrothal,” the lawyer said, “must make these follies cease; | 15 | ··˘/˘·/˘····/˘· |
| Which shall it be?—the banker’s ward?—Edith, the judge’s niece?” | 14 | ·····/˘·/˘·/˘· |
| “Father, I pray”—said Hugh. “O yes!” out-leapt the other’s mood, | 14 | /˘·········/˘· |
| “I hear of your wanton loiterings; they ill become your blood! | 14 | ····/˘/˘··˘/·· |
| If you hold our name at such light worth, forbear to darken the life | 16 | ···/·····˘/·/˘·· |
| Of this Alice Dale”—“No, Alice Van Ghelt! father, she is my wife.” | 16 | ··/˘··/˘··/˘···· |
| Worldlings, who say the eagle should mate with eagle, after his kind, | 16 | ·····/˘···/˘···· |
| Nor have learned from what far and diverse cliffs the twain each other | 14 | ·······/····/˘ |
| find, | 1 | · |
| Yours is the old, old story, of age forgetting its wiser youth; | 15 | ·····/˘··˘/˘·/· |
| Of eyes which are keen for others’ good and blind to an inward truth. | 16 | ······/˘·····/˘· |
| But the pride which closed the father’s doors swelled in the young man’s | 14 | ······/˘······ |
| veins, | 1 | · |
| And he led his bride, in the sight of all, through the pleasant Monmouth | 16 | ············/˘/˘ |
| lanes, | 1 | · |
| To the little farm his grandsire gave, years since, for a birthday gift: | 16 | ··/˘··/˘·····/·· |
| Unto such havens unforeseen the barks of our fortune drift! | 15 | ···/˘·˘/···//˘· |
| There, for a happy pastoral year, he tilled the teeming field, | 14 | ···/˘/˘····/˘· |
| Scattered the marl above his land, and gathered the orchard’s yield; | 15 | /˘·······/˘·/˘· |
| And Alice, in fair and simple guise, kissed him at even-fall; | 14 | ·/˘···/˘····/· |
| And her face was to him an angel’s face, and love was all in all. | 16 | ·······/˘······· |
| —What is this light in the southern sky, painting a red alarm? | 15 | ······/˘·/˘··˘/ |
| What is this trumpet call, which sounds through peaceful village and | 14 | ···/˘····/˘/˘· |
| farm,— | 1 | · |
| Jarring the sweet idyllic rest, stilling the children’s throng, | 14 | /˘··˘/˘·/˘·/˘· |
| Hushing the cricket on the hearth, and the lovers’ evening song? | 15 | /˘·/˘·····/˘/˘· |
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