It Was upon
IT was upon a July evening.At a stile I stood, looking along a pathOver the country by a second SpringDrenched perfect green again. "The lattermathWill be a fine one." So the stranger said,A wandering man. Albeit I stood at rest,Flushed with desire I was. The earth outspread,Like meadows of the future, I possessed.
And as an unaccomplished prophecyThe stranger's words, after the intervalOf a score years, when those fields are by meNever to be recrossed, now I recall,This July eve, and question, wondering,What of the lattermath to this hoar Spring?
Words in this poem
- stile n.
- A pin set on the face of a dial, to cast a shadow; a style. See Style. Moxon. [See Style.]
- lattermath n.
- The latter, or second, mowing; the aftermath. [Cf. Aftermath.]
- albeit conj.
- Even though; although; notwithstanding. [OE. al be although it be, where al is our all. Cf. Although.]
- outspread v. t.
- To spread out; to expand; -- usually as a past part. or adj.
- unaccomplished a.
- Not accomplished or performed; unfinished; also, deficient in accomplishment; unrefined.
- hoar v. t.
- To become moldy or musty. [AS. harian to grow gray.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
It Was upon is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #22423; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Edward Thomas, It Was upon, in Poems (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22423, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/thomas-edward-poems/it-was-upon.html, id L08174.
Form and metre
It Was upon is 14 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 78%). 82% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 43% 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 ABABCDCD eveningA · pathB · springA · lattermathB · saidC · restD · outspreadC · possessedD
- 2 -A-ABB prophecy · intervalA · me · recallA · wonderingB · springB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| IT was upon a July evening. | 9 | ······//˘ |
| At a stile I stood, looking along a path | 11 | ·····/˘˘/·· |
| Over the country by a second Spring | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Drenched perfect green again. "The lattermath | 10 | ·/··˘/·/˘˘ |
| Will be a fine one." So the stranger said, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| A wandering man. Albeit I stood at rest, | 11 | ·/˘·˘/˘···· |
| Flushed with desire I was. The earth outspread, | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| Like meadows of the future, I possessed. | 10 | ·/···/˘·˘/ |
| And as an unaccomplished prophecy | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| The stranger's words, after the interval | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| Of a score years, when those fields are by me | 10 | ·········· |
| Never to be recrossed, now I recall, | 10 | /˘··˘/··˘/ |
| This July eve, and question, wondering, | 10 | ··/··/˘/˘˘ |
| What of the lattermath to this hoar Spring? | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
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.