Part I, Section XII
Followed the sounds, and ever and again,As the wind came and went, in storm or play,He seemed to hearken as to some far strainOf mingled voices calling him away;And they who watched him held their breath to traceThe still and fixed attention in his face.
Once, on a cold and loud-voiced winter night,The three were seated by their cottage-fire--The mother watching by its flickering lightThe wakeful urchin, and the dozing sire;There was a brief, quick motion like a bird's,And the boy's thought thus rippled into words:
"O mother! thou hast taught me many things,But none I think more beautiful than speech--A nobler power than even those broad wingsI used to pray for, when I longed to reachThat distant peak which on our vale looks down,And wears the star of evening for a crown.
"But, mother, while our human words are rifeTo us with meaning, other sounds there beWhich seem, and are, the language of a lifeAround, yet unlike ours: winds talk; the seaMurmurs articulately, and the skyListens, and answers, though inaudibly.
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- wakeful a.
- Not sleeping; indisposed to sleep; watchful; vigilant.
- sire n.
- A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- vale n.
- A tract of low ground, or of land between hills; a valley. [OE. val, F. val, L. vallis; perhaps akin to Gr. Avalanche, Vail to lower, Valley.]
- rife a.
- Prevailing; prevalent; abounding. [AS. rif abundant, or Icel. rifr munificent; akin to OD. riff, rijve, abundant.]
- articulately adv.
- After the manner, or in the form, of a joint.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Part I, Section XII 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 XII, in Poems (1860–1867), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #845, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/timrod-poems/part-i-section-xii.html, id L10469.
Form and metre
Part I, Section XII is 24 lines in 4 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCC, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 3 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 ABABCC againA · playB · strainA · awayB · traceC · faceC
- 2 ABABCC nightA · fireB · lightA · sireB · bird'sC · wordsC
- 3 ABABCC thingsA · speechB · wingsA · reachB · downC · crownC
- 4 ABABB- rifeA · beB · lifeA · seaB · skyB · inaudibly
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Followed the sounds, and ever and again, | 10 | /˘···/˘·˘/ |
| As the wind came and went, in storm or play, | 10 | ·········· |
| He seemed to hearken as to some far strain | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Of mingled voices calling him away; | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| And they who watched him held their breath to trace | 10 | ·········· |
| The still and fixed attention in his face. | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Once, on a cold and loud-voiced winter night, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The three were seated by their cottage-fire-- | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| The mother watching by its flickering light | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| The wakeful urchin, and the dozing sire; | 11 | ·/˘/˘··/˘/˘ |
| There was a brief, quick motion like a bird's, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And the boy's thought thus rippled into words: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| "O mother! thou hast taught me many things, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| But none I think more beautiful than speech-- | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| A nobler power than even those broad wings | 10 | ·/˘/·/˘··· |
| I used to pray for, when I longed to reach | 10 | ·········· |
| That distant peak which on our vale looks down, | 10 | ·/˘···/··· |
| And wears the star of evening for a crown. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| "But, mother, while our human words are rife | 10 | ·/˘·//˘··· |
| To us with meaning, other sounds there be | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Which seem, and are, the language of a life | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Around, yet unlike ours: winds talk; the sea | 10 | ···˘//···· |
| Murmurs articulately, and the sky | 10 | /˘˘/˘˘˘··· |
| Listens, and answers, though inaudibly. | 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.