The Combe
THE Combe was ever dark, ancient and dark.Its mouth is stopped with bramble, thorn, and briar;And no one scrambles over the sliding chalkBy beech and yew and perishing juniperDown the half precipices of its sides, with rootsAnd rabbit holes for steps. The sun of Winter,The moon of Summer, and all the singing birdsExcept the missel-thrush that loves juniper,Are quite shut out. But far more ancient and darkThe Combe looks since they killed the badger there,Dug him out and gave him to the hounds,That most ancient Briton of English beasts.
Words in this poem
- combe n.
- That unwatered portion of a valley which forms its continuation beyond and above the most elevated spring that issues into it. [AS. comb, prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. cwm a dale, valley.]
- bramble n.
- Any plant of the genus Rubus, including the raspberry and blackberry. Hence: Any rough, prickly shrub. [OE. brembil, AS.brbramal), fr. the same root as E. broom, As. br. See Broom.]
- briar n.
- A plant with a slender woody stem bearing stout prickles; especially, species of Rosa, Rubus, and Smilax. [OE. brere, brer, AS. brer, brær; cf. Ir. briar prickle, thorn, brier, pin, Gael. preas bush, brier, W. prys, prysg.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Combe 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, The Combe, in Poems (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22423, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/thomas-edward-poems/the-combe.html, id L08146.
Form and metre
The Combe is 12 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 81% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.4 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 42% 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 A--B---BA--- darkA · briar · chalk · juniperB · roots · winter · birds · juniperB · darkA · there · hounds · beasts
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 Combe was ever dark, ancient and dark. | 10 | ···/˘·/˘·· |
| Its mouth is stopped with bramble, thorn, and briar; | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| And no one scrambles over the sliding chalk | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| By beech and yew and perishing juniper | 11 | ·····/˘˘/˘˘ |
| Down the half precipices of its sides, with roots | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And rabbit holes for steps. The sun of Winter, | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| The moon of Summer, and all the singing birds | 11 | ···/˘···/˘· |
| Except the missel-thrush that loves juniper, | 11 | ···/˘···/˘˘ |
| Are quite shut out. But far more ancient and dark | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| The Combe looks since they killed the badger there, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Dug him out and gave him to the hounds, | 9 | ········· |
| That most ancient Briton of English beasts. | 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.