The Little Land
When at home alone I sitAnd am very tired of it,I have just to shut my eyesTo go sailing through the skies--To go sailing far awayTo the pleasant Land of Play;To the fairy land afarWhere the Little People are;Where the clover-tops are trees,And the rain-pools are the seas,And the leaves, like little ships,Sail about on tiny trips;And above the Daisy treeThrough the grasses,High o'erhead the Bumble BeeHums and passes.
In that forest to and froI can wander, I can go;See the spider and the fly,And the ants go marching by,Carrying parcels with their feetDown the green and grassy street.I can in the sorrel sitWhere the ladybird alit.I can climb the jointed grassAnd on highSee the greater swallows passIn the sky,And the round sun rolling byHeeding no such things as I.
Through that forest I can passTill, as in a looking-glass,Humming fly and daisy treeAnd my tiny self I see,Painted very clear and neatOn the rain-pool at my feet.Should a leaflet come to landDrifting near to where I stand,Straight I'll board that tiny boatRound the rain-pool sea to float.
Little thoughtful creatures sitOn the grassy coasts of it;Little things with lovely eyesSee me sailing with surprise.Some are clad in armour green--(These have sure to battle been!)--Some are pied with ev'ry hue,Black and crimson, gold and blue;Some have wings and swift are gone;--But they all look kindly on.
When my eyes I once againOpen, and see all things plain:High bare walls, great bare floor;Great big knobs on drawer and door;Great big people perched on chairs,Stitching tucks and mending tears,Each a hill that I could climb,And talking nonsense all the time--O dear me,That I could beA sailor on a the rain-pool sea,A climber in the clover tree,And just come back a sleepy-head,Late at night to go to bed.
Words in this poem
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
- bumble n.
- The bittern. [Local, Eng.] [See Bump to boom.]
- clad v.
- To clothe. Holland.
- armour n.
- Defensive arms for the body; any clothing or covering worn to protect one's person in battle. [OE. armure, fr. F. armure, OF. armeure, fr. L. armatura. See Armature.]
- climber v. i.
- To climb; to mount with effort; to clamber. Tusser. [From Climb; cf. Clamber.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Little Land is in the public domain. This text is taken from A Child's Garden of Verses, Project Gutenberg ebook #136; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Louis Stevenson, The Little Land, in A Child's Garden of Verses (1885), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #136, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/stevenson-childs-garden/the-little-land.html, id L07221.
Form and metre
The Little Land is 64 lines in 5 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 81% of the lines. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.8 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 34% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGHGH sitA · itA · eyesB · skiesB · awayC · playC · afarD · areD · treesE · seasE · shipsF · tripsF · treeG · grassesH · beeG · passesH
- 2 AABBCC--DBDBBB froA · goA · flyB · byB · feetC · streetC · sit · alit · grassD · highB · passD · skyB · byB · iB
- 3 AABBCCDDEE passA · glassA · treeB · seeB · neatC · feetC · landD · standD · boatE · floatE
- 4 AABB--CCDD sitA · itA · eyesB · surpriseB · green · been · hueC · blueC · goneD · onD
- 5 AABBCCDDEEEEFF againA · plainA · floorB · doorB · chairsC · tearsC · climbD · timeD · meE · beE · seaE · treeE · headF · bedF
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When at home alone I sit | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| And am very tired of it, | 8 | ··/˘/˘·· |
| I have just to shut my eyes | 7 | ······· |
| To go sailing through the skies-- | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| To go sailing far away | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| To the pleasant Land of Play; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| To the fairy land afar | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Where the Little People are; | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Where the clover-tops are trees, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And the rain-pools are the seas, | 7 | ······· |
| And the leaves, like little ships, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Sail about on tiny trips; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And above the Daisy tree | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Through the grasses, | 4 | ··/˘ |
| High o'erhead the Bumble Bee | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Hums and passes. | 4 | ··/˘ |
| In that forest to and fro | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| I can wander, I can go; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| See the spider and the fly, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And the ants go marching by, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Carrying parcels with their feet | 8 | /˘˘/˘··· |
| Down the green and grassy street. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| I can in the sorrel sit | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Where the ladybird alit. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| I can climb the jointed grass | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And on high | 3 | ··· |
| See the greater swallows pass | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| In the sky, | 3 | ··· |
| And the round sun rolling by | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Heeding no such things as I. | 7 | /˘····· |
| Through that forest I can pass | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Till, as in a looking-glass, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Humming fly and daisy tree | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| And my tiny self I see, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Painted very clear and neat | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| On the rain-pool at my feet. | 7 | ······· |
| Should a leaflet come to land | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Drifting near to where I stand, | 7 | /˘····· |
| Straight I'll board that tiny boat | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Round the rain-pool sea to float. | 7 | ······· |
| Little thoughtful creatures sit | 7 | /˘/˘/˘· |
| On the grassy coasts of it; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Little things with lovely eyes | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| See me sailing with surprise. | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Some are clad in armour green-- | 7 | ····/˘· |
| (These have sure to battle been!)-- | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Some are pied with ev'ry hue, | 7 | ······· |
| Black and crimson, gold and blue; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Some have wings and swift are gone;-- | 7 | ······· |
| But they all look kindly on. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| When my eyes I once again | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Open, and see all things plain: | 7 | /˘····· |
| High bare walls, great bare floor; | 6 | ······ |
| Great big knobs on drawer and door; | 7 | ······· |
| Great big people perched on chairs, | 8 | ··/˘·˘·· |
| Stitching tucks and mending tears, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Each a hill that I could climb, | 7 | ······· |
| And talking nonsense all the time-- | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| O dear me, | 3 | ··· |
| That I could be | 4 | ···· |
| A sailor on a the rain-pool sea, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| A climber in the clover tree, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And just come back a sleepy-head, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Late at night to go to bed. | 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.