Part II, Section IV
It is not winter yet, but that sweet timeIn autumn when the first cool days are past;A week ago, the leaves were hoar with rime,And some have dropped before the North wind's blast;But the mild hours are back, and at mid-noon,The day hath all the genial warmth of June.
What slender form lies stretched along the mound?Can it be his, the Wanderer's, with that browGray in its prime, those eyes that wander roundListlessly, with a jaded glance that nowSeems to see nothing where it rests, and thenPores on each trivial object in its ken?
See how a gentle maid's wan fingers claspThe last fond love-notes of some faithless hand;Thus, with a transient interest, his weak graspHolds a few leaves as when of old he scannedThe meaning in their gold and crimson streaks;But the sweet dream has vanished! hush! he speaks!
"Once more, once more, after long pain and toil,And yet not long, if I should count by years,I breathe my native air, and tread the soilI trod in childhood; if I shed no tears,No happy tears, 't is that their fount is dry,And joy that cannot weep must sigh, must sigh.
Words in this poem
- hoar v. t.
- To become moldy or musty. [AS. harian to grow gray.]
- rime n.
- A rent or long aperture; a chink; a fissure; a crack. Sir T. [L. rima.]
- genial a.
- Contributing to, or concerned in, propagation or production; generative; procreative; productive. [L. genialis: cf. OF. genial. See Genius.]
- trivial a.
- Found anywhere; common. [L. trivialis, properly, that is in, or belongs to, the crossroads or public streets; hence, that may be found everywhere, common, fr. trivium a place where thre]
- childhood n.
- The state of being a child; the time in which persons are children; the condition or time from infancy to puberty. [AS. cildhad; cild child + -had. See Child, and hood.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Part II, 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 II, Section IV, in Poems (1860–1867), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #845, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/timrod-poems/part-ii-section-iv.html, id L10481.
Form and metre
Part II, 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%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 38% 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 timeA · pastB · rimeA · blastB · noonC · juneC
- 2 ABABCC moundA · browB · roundA · nowB · thenC · kenC
- 3 ABABCC claspA · handB · graspA · scannedB · streaksC · speaksC
- 4 ABABCC toilA · yearsB · soilA · tearsB · dryC · sighC
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 is not winter yet, but that sweet time | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| In autumn when the first cool days are past; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| A week ago, the leaves were hoar with rime, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| And some have dropped before the North wind's blast; | 10 | ·········· |
| But the mild hours are back, and at mid-noon, | 10 | ···/······ |
| The day hath all the genial warmth of June. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| What slender form lies stretched along the mound? | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| Can it be his, the Wanderer's, with that brow | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Gray in its prime, those eyes that wander round | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Listlessly, with a jaded glance that now | 10 | /˘˘··/˘··· |
| Seems to see nothing where it rests, and then | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Pores on each trivial object in its ken? | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| See how a gentle maid's wan fingers clasp | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| The last fond love-notes of some faithless hand; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Thus, with a transient interest, his weak grasp | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Holds a few leaves as when of old he scanned | 10 | ·········· |
| The meaning in their gold and crimson streaks; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| But the sweet dream has vanished! hush! he speaks! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| "Once more, once more, after long pain and toil, | 10 | ·········· |
| And yet not long, if I should count by years, | 10 | ·········· |
| I breathe my native air, and tread the soil | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| I trod in childhood; if I shed no tears, | 10 | ···/······ |
| No happy tears, 't is that their fount is dry, | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| And joy that cannot weep must sigh, must sigh. | 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.