The Serenade to Flower-O'-The-Thorn
The blithe young year is upward steering.Wild winter dwindles, disappearing;The short, short days are growing longer,Rough weather yields and warmth is stronger.Since January dawned, my mindWaves hither, thither, love-inclinedFor one whose will can loose or bind.
Prudent and very fair the maiden,Than rose or lily more love-laden;Stately of stature, lithe and slender,There's naught so exquisite and tender.The Queen of France is not so dear;Death to my life comes very nearIf Flower-o'-the-thorn be not my cheer.
The Queen of Love my heart is killingWith her gold arrow pain-distilling;The God of Love with torches burningLights pyre on pyre of ardent yearning.She is the girl for whom I'd die;I want none dearer, far or nigh,Though grief on grief upon me lie.
I with her love am thralled and taken,Whose flower doth flower, bud, bloom, and waken;Sweet were the labour, light the burden,Could mouth kiss mouth for wage and guerdon.No touch of lips my wound can still,Unless two hearts grow one, one will,One longing! Flower of flowers, farewell!
Words in this poem
- blithe a.
- Gay; merry; sprightly; joyous; glad; cheerful; as, a blithe spirit. [AS. bli blithe, kind; akin to Goth. blei kind, Icel. bli mild, gentle, Dan. & Sw. blid gentle, D. blijd blithe, OHG. blidi kind, blithe.]
- january n.
- The first month of the year, containing thirty-one days. [L. Januarius, fr. Janus an old Latin deity, the god of the sun and the year, to whom the month of January was sacred; cf. janua a door, Skr. ya to go.]
- lithe v. i.
- To listen or listen to; to hearken to. P. Plowman. [Icel Listen.]
- pyre n.
- A funeral pile; a combustible heap on which the dead are burned; hence, any pile to be burnt. [L. pure, Gr. Fire.]
- waken v. i.
- To wake; to cease to sleep; to be awakened. [OE. waknen, AS. wæcnan; akin to Goth. gawaknan. See Wake, v. i.]
- wage v. i.
- To bind one's self; to engage.
- guerdon n.
- A reward; requital; recompense; -- used in both a good and a bad sense. [OF. guerdon, guerredon, LL. widerdonum (influenced by L. donum gift, cf. Donation ), fr. OHG. widarl; widar again, against (G. wider wieder) + lon reward, G. lo]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Serenade to Flower-O'-The-Thorn is in the public domain. This text is taken from Wine, Women, and Song Mediaeval Latin Students' songs; Now first translated into English verse, Project Gutenberg ebook #18044; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Addington Symonds, The Serenade to Flower-O'-The-Thorn, in Wine, Women and Song (1884), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18044, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/symonds-wine-women/the-serenade-to-flower-o-the-thorn.html, id L11822.
Form and metre
The Serenade to Flower-O'-The-Thorn is 28 lines in 4 stanzas of 7 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABBCCC, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.8 syllables. 17 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 18% 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 AABBCCC steeringA · disappearingA · longerB · strongerB · mindC · inclinedC · bindC
- 2 AABBCCC maidenA · ladenA · slenderB · tenderB · dearC · nearC · cheerC
- 3 AABBCCC killingA · distillingA · burningB · yearningB · dieC · nighC · lieC
- 4 AABBCC- takenA · wakenA · burdenB · guerdonB · stillC · willC · farewell
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The blithe young year is upward steering. | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Wild winter dwindles, disappearing; | 9 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| The short, short days are growing longer, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Rough weather yields and warmth is stronger. | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Since January dawned, my mind | 9 | ·/˘·˘·˘·· |
| Waves hither, thither, love-inclined | 9 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| For one whose will can loose or bind. | 8 | ········ |
| Prudent and very fair the maiden, | 9 | /˘·/˘··/˘ |
| Than rose or lily more love-laden; | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Stately of stature, lithe and slender, | 9 | /˘·/˘··/˘ |
| There's naught so exquisite and tender. | 9 | ···/˘˘·/˘ |
| The Queen of France is not so dear; | 8 | ········ |
| Death to my life comes very near | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| If Flower-o'-the-thorn be not my cheer. | 9 | ·/······· |
| The Queen of Love my heart is killing | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| With her gold arrow pain-distilling; | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| The God of Love with torches burning | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Lights pyre on pyre of ardent yearning. | 10 | ·/·/˘·/˘/˘ |
| She is the girl for whom I'd die; | 8 | ········ |
| I want none dearer, far or nigh, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Though grief on grief upon me lie. | 8 | ········ |
| I with her love am thralled and taken, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Whose flower doth flower, bud, bloom, and waken; | 10 | ·/·/˘···/˘ |
| Sweet were the labour, light the burden, | 9 | ···/···/˘ |
| Could mouth kiss mouth for wage and guerdon. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| No touch of lips my wound can still, | 8 | ········ |
| Unless two hearts grow one, one will, | 8 | ········ |
| One longing! Flower of flowers, farewell! | 9 | ·/˘/·/˘·/ |
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