Part I, Section IV

Henry Timrod (1828–1867) · 1860–1867

iambic pentameter · ABABCC · 24 lines · from Poems

In a far country, and a distant age,Ere sprites and fays had bade farewell to earth,A boy was born of humble parentage;The stars that shone upon his lonely birthDid seem to promise sovereignty and fame--Yet no tradition hath preserved his name.

'T is said that on the night when he was born,A beauteous shape swept slowly through the room;Its eyes broke on the infant like a morn,And his cheek brightened like a rose in bloom;But as it passed away there followed afterA sigh of pain, and sounds of elvish laughter.

And so his parents deemed him to be blestBeyond the lot of mortals; they were poorAs the most timid bird that stored its nestWith the stray gleanings at their cottage-door:Yet they contrived to rear their little dove,And he repaid them with the tenderest love.

The child was very beautiful in sooth,And as he waxed in years grew lovelier still;On his fair brow the aureole of truthBeamed, and the purest maidens, with a thrill,Looked in his eyes, and from their heaven of blueSaw thoughts like sinless Angels peering through.

Words in this poem

bade: A form of the pat tense of Bid.
parentage n.: Descent from parents or ancestors; parents or ancestors considered with respect to their rank or character; extraction; birth; as, a man of noble parentage. [Cf. F. parentage relationship.]
beauteous a.: Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
broke v. i.: To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
morn n.: The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
elvish a.: Pertaining to elves; implike; mischievous; weird; also, vacant; absent in demeanor. See Elfish.
sooth a.: True; faithful; trustworthy. [OE. soth, AS. s, for san; akin to OS. s, OHG. sand, Icel. sannr, Sw. sann, Dan. sand, Skr. sat, sant, real, genuine, present, being; properly p. pr. from a root]
aureole n.: A celestial crown or accidental glory added to the bliss of heaven, as a reward to those (as virgins, martyrs, preachers, etc.) who have overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil. [F. auréole, fr. L. aureola, (fem adj.) of gold (sc. corona crown), dim. of aureus. See Aureate, Oriole.]
beamed a.: Furnished with beams, as the head of a stag.
sinless a.: Free from sin. Piers Plowman.

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

Part I, Section IV is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems of Henry Timrod; with Memoir, Project Gutenberg ebook #845; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: Henry Timrod, Part I, Section IV, in Poems (1860–1867), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #845, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/timrod-poems/part-i-section-iv.html, id L10467.

Form and metre

Part I, Section IV is 24 lines in 4 stanzas of 6 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCC. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 2 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 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 ABABCC age^A · earth^B · parentage^A · birth^B · fame^C · name^C
2 ABABCC born^A · room^B · morn^A · bloom^B · after^C · laughter^C
3 ABABCC blest^A · poor^B · nest^A · door^B · dove^C · love^C
4 ABABCC sooth^A · still^B · truth^A · thrill^B · blue^C · through^C

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
In a far country, and a distant age,	10	···/˘··/˘·
Ere sprites and fays had bade farewell to earth,	10	·······/··
A boy was born of humble parentage;	10	·····/˘/˘˘
The stars that shone upon his lonely birth	10	·······/˘·
Did seem to promise sovereignty and fame--	10	···/˘/˘˘··
Yet no tradition hath preserved his name.	10	··˘/˘·˘/··
'T is said that on the night when he was born,	11	···········
A beauteous shape swept slowly through the room;	11	·/˘˘··/˘···
Its eyes broke on the infant like a morn,	10	·····/˘···
And his cheek brightened like a rose in bloom;	10	···/˘·····
But as it passed away there followed after	11	····˘/·/˘··
A sigh of pain, and sounds of elvish laughter.	11	·······/˘/˘
And so his parents deemed him to be blest	10	···/˘·····
Beyond the lot of mortals; they were poor	10	·····/˘···
As the most timid bird that stored its nest	10	···/˘·····
With the stray gleanings at their cottage-door:	10	·······/˘·
Yet they contrived to rear their little dove,	10	··˘/···/˘·
And he repaid them with the tenderest love.	10	··˘/···/˘·
The child was very beautiful in sooth,	10	···/˘/˘˘··
And as he waxed in years grew lovelier still;	11	···········
On his fair brow the aureole of truth	10	·····/˘˘··
Beamed, and the purest maidens, with a thrill,	10	···/˘/˘···
Looked in his eyes, and from their heaven of blue	10	·······/··
Saw thoughts like sinless Angels peering through.	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.

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