The Willow-Tree (Another Version)
Long by the willow-treesVainly they sought her,Wild rang the mother's screamsO'er the gray water:"Where is my lovely one?Where is my daughter?
"Rouse thee, sir constable--Rouse thee and look;Fisherman, bring your net,Boatman your hook.Beat in the lily-beds,Dive in the brook!"
Vainly the constableShouted and called her;Vainly the fishermanBeat the green alder,Vainly he flung the net,Never it hauled her!
Mother beside the fireSat, her nightcap in;Father, in easy chair,Gloomily napping,When at the window-sillCame a light tapping!
And a pale countenanceLooked through the casement.Loud beat the mother's heart,Sick with amazement,And at the vision whichCame to surprise her,Shrieked in an agony--"Lor! it's Elizar!"
Yes, 'twas Elizabeth--Yes, 'twas their girl;Pale was her cheek, and herHair out of curl."Mother!" the loving one,Blushing, exclaimed,"Let not your innocentLizzy be blamed.
"Yesterday, going to auntJones's to tea,Mother, dear mother, IAnd as the night was cold,And the way steep,Mrs. Jones kept me toBreakfast and sleep."
Whether her Pa and MaFully believed her,That we shall never know,Stern they received her;And for the work of thatCruel, though short, night,Sent her to bed withoutTea for a fortnight.
Words in this poem
- boatman n.
- A man who manages a boat; a rower of a boat.
- alder a.
- Of all; -- used in composition; as, alderbest, best of all, alderwisest, wisest of all. [From ealra, alra, gen. pl. of AS. eal. The d is excrescent.]
- nightcap n.
- A cap worn in bed to protect the head, or in undress.
- napping n.
- The act or process of raising a nap, as on cloth.
- casement n.
- A window sash opening on hinges affixed to the upright side of the frame into which it is fitted. (Poetically) A window. [Shortened fr. encasement. See Incase 1st Case, and cf. Incasement.]
- amazement n.
- The condition of being amazed; bewilderment ; overwhelming wonder, as from surprise, sudden fear, horror, or admiration.
- 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,]
- fortnight n.
- The space of fourteen days; two weeks. [Contr. fr. fourteen nights, our ancestors reckoning time by nights and winters; so, also, seven nights, sennight, a week.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Willow-Tree (Another Version) 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 Willow-Tree (Another Version), in Ballads (1849–1855), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #2732, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/thackeray-ballads/the-willow-tree-another-version.html, id L10414.
Form and metre
The Willow-Tree (Another Version) is 55 lines in 8 stanzas. The metre is dactylic dimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 89% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 5.4 syllables. 15 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in dactylic dimeter.
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 ---A-A trees · her · screams · waterA · one · daughterA
- 2 -A-A-A constable · lookA · net · hookA · beds · brookA
- 3 -A---A constable · herA · fisherman · alder · net · herA
- 4 ---A-A fire · in · chair · nappingA · sill · tappingA
- 5 -A-A---- countenance · casementA · heart · amazementA · which · her · agony · elizar
- 6 -A-A-B-B elizabeth · girlA · her · curlA · one · exclaimedB · innocent · blamedB
- 7 -AA-B-B aunt · teaA · iA · cold · steepB · to · sleepB
- 8 -A-A-B-B ma · herA · know · herA · that · nightB · without · fortnightB
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 dactylic dimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Long by the willow-trees | 6 | ···/·· |
| Vainly they sought her, | 5 | /˘··· |
| Wild rang the mother's screams | 6 | ···/˘· |
| O'er the gray water: | 5 | ···/˘ |
| "Where is my lovely one? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Where is my daughter? | 5 | ···/˘ |
| "Rouse thee, sir constable-- | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Rouse thee and look; | 4 | ···· |
| Fisherman, bring your net, | 6 | /˘···· |
| Boatman your hook. | 4 | /˘·· |
| Beat in the lily-beds, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Dive in the brook!" | 4 | ···· |
| Vainly the constable | 6 | /˘·/˘˘ |
| Shouted and called her; | 5 | /˘··· |
| Vainly the fisherman | 6 | /˘·/˘˘ |
| Beat the green alder, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Vainly he flung the net, | 6 | /˘···· |
| Never it hauled her! | 5 | /˘··· |
| Mother beside the fire | 7 | /˘˘/·/˘ |
| Sat, her nightcap in; | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Father, in easy chair, | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| Gloomily napping, | 5 | /˘˘/˘ |
| When at the window-sill | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Came a light tapping! | 5 | ···/˘ |
| And a pale countenance | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Looked through the casement. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Loud beat the mother's heart, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Sick with amazement, | 5 | ··˘/˘ |
| And at the vision which | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Came to surprise her, | 5 | ··˘/· |
| Shrieked in an agony-- | 7 | ·˘··/˘˘ |
| "Lor! it's Elizar!" | 5 | ····· |
| Yes, 'twas Elizabeth-- | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| Yes, 'twas their girl; | 4 | ···· |
| Pale was her cheek, and her | 6 | ······ |
| Hair out of curl. | 4 | ···· |
| "Mother!" the loving one, | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| Blushing, exclaimed, | 4 | /˘˘/ |
| "Let not your innocent | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Lizzy be blamed. | 4 | /˘·· |
| "Yesterday, going to aunt | 7 | /˘˘/˘·· |
| Jones's to tea, | 4 | /˘·· |
| Mother, dear mother, I | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| And as the night was cold, | 6 | ······ |
| And the way steep, | 4 | ···· |
| Mrs. Jones kept me to | 6 | /˘···· |
| Breakfast and sleep." | 4 | /˘·· |
| Whether her Pa and Ma | 6 | ······ |
| Fully believed her, | 5 | /˘˘/· |
| That we shall never know, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Stern they received her; | 5 | ··˘/· |
| And for the work of that | 6 | ······ |
| Cruel, though short, night, | 5 | /˘··· |
| Sent her to bed without | 6 | ······ |
| Tea for a fortnight. | 5 | ···/· |
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.