The Mahogany Tree
Christmas is here:Winds whistle shrill,Icy and chill,Little care we:Little we fearWeather without,Sheltered aboutThe Mahogany Tree.
Once on the boughsBirds of rare plumeSang, in its bloom;Night-birds are we:Here we carouse,Singing like them,Perched round the stemOf the jolly old tree.
Here let us sport,Boys, as we sit;Laughter and witFlashing so free.Life is but short--When we are gone,Let them sing on,Round the old tree.
Evenings we knew,Happy as this;Faces we miss,Pleasant to see.Kind hearts and true,Gentle and just,Peace to your dust!We sing round the tree.
Care, like a dun,Lurks at the gate:Let the dog wait;Happy we'll be!Drink, every one;Pile up the coals,Fill the red bowls,Round the old tree!
Drain we the cup.--Friend, art afraid?Spirits are laidIn the Red Sea.Mantle it up;Empty it yet;Let us forget,Round the old tree.
Sorrows, begone!Life and its ills,Duns and their bills,Bid we to flee.Come with the dawn,Blue-devil sprite,Leave us to-night,Round the old tree.
Words in this poem
- sprite n.
- A spirit; a soul; a shade; also, an apparition. See Spright. [OE. sprit, F. esprit, fr. L. spiritus. See Spirit, and cf. Sprightly.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Mahogany Tree is in the public domain. This text is taken from Ballads, Project Gutenberg ebook #2732; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Makepeace Thackeray, The Mahogany Tree, in Ballads (1849–1855), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2732, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/thackeray-ballads/the-mahogany-tree.html, id L10337.
Form and metre
The Mahogany Tree is 56 lines in 7 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABBCADDC. 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 4.1 syllables. 12% 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 ABBCADDC hereA · shrillB · chillB · weC · fearA · withoutD · aboutD · treeC
- 2 ABBCADDC boughsA · plumeB · bloomB · weC · carouseA · themD · stemD · treeC
- 3 ABBCADDC sportA · sitB · witB · freeC · shortA · goneD · onD · treeC
- 4 ABBCADDC knewA · thisB · missB · seeC · trueA · justD · dustD · treeC
- 5 ABBCADDC dunA · gateB · waitB · beC · oneA · coalsD · bowlsD · treeC
- 6 ABBCADDC cupA · afraidB · laidB · seaC · upA · yetD · forgetD · treeC
- 7 ABBCADDC begoneA · illsB · billsB · fleeC · dawnA · spriteD · nightD · treeC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Christmas is here: | 4 | /˘·· |
| Winds whistle shrill, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Icy and chill, | 4 | /˘·· |
| Little care we: | 4 | /˘·· |
| Little we fear | 4 | /˘·· |
| Weather without, | 4 | /˘·· |
| Sheltered about | 4 | /˘·· |
| The Mahogany Tree. | 6 | ·˘/˘˘· |
| Once on the boughs | 4 | ···· |
| Birds of rare plume | 4 | ···· |
| Sang, in its bloom; | 4 | ···· |
| Night-birds are we: | 4 | ···· |
| Here we carouse, | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Singing like them, | 4 | /˘·· |
| Perched round the stem | 4 | ···· |
| Of the jolly old tree. | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Here let us sport, | 4 | ···· |
| Boys, as we sit; | 4 | ···· |
| Laughter and wit | 4 | /˘·· |
| Flashing so free. | 4 | /˘·· |
| Life is but short-- | 4 | ···· |
| When we are gone, | 4 | ···· |
| Let them sing on, | 4 | ···· |
| Round the old tree. | 4 | ···· |
| Evenings we knew, | 4 | /˘·· |
| Happy as this; | 4 | /˘·· |
| Faces we miss, | 4 | /˘·· |
| Pleasant to see. | 4 | /˘·· |
| Kind hearts and true, | 4 | ···· |
| Gentle and just, | 4 | /˘·· |
| Peace to your dust! | 4 | ···· |
| We sing round the tree. | 5 | ····· |
| Care, like a dun, | 4 | ···· |
| Lurks at the gate: | 4 | ···· |
| Let the dog wait; | 4 | ···· |
| Happy we'll be! | 4 | /˘·· |
| Drink, every one; | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| Pile up the coals, | 4 | ···· |
| Fill the red bowls, | 4 | ···· |
| Round the old tree! | 4 | ···· |
| Drain we the cup.-- | 4 | ···· |
| Friend, art afraid? | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Spirits are laid | 4 | /˘·· |
| In the Red Sea. | 4 | ···· |
| Mantle it up; | 4 | /˘·· |
| Empty it yet; | 4 | /˘·· |
| Let us forget, | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Round the old tree. | 4 | ···· |
| Sorrows, begone! | 4 | /˘˘/ |
| Life and its ills, | 4 | ···· |
| Duns and their bills, | 4 | ···· |
| Bid we to flee. | 4 | ···· |
| Come with the dawn, | 4 | ···· |
| Blue-devil sprite, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Leave us to-night, | 4 | ···· |
| Round the old tree. | 4 | ···· |
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.