Part II, Section VIII
"These leaves, my boyish books in days of yore,When, as the weeks sped by, I seemed to standEver upon the brink of some wild lore--These leaves shall make my bed, and--for the handOf God is on me, chilling brain and breath--I shall not ask a softer couch in death.
"Here was it that I saw, or dreamed I saw,I know not which, that shape of love and light.Spirit of Song! have I not owned thy law?Have I not taught, or striven to teach the right,And kept my heart as clean, my life as sweet,As mortals may, when mortals mortals meet?
"Thou know'st how I went forth, my youthful breastOn fire with thee, amid the paths of men;Once in my wanderings, my lone footsteps pressedA mountain forest; in a sombre glen,Down which its thundrous boom a cataract flung,A little bird, unheeded, built and sung.
"So fell my voice amid the whirl and rushOf human passions; if unto my artSorrow hath sometimes owed a gentler gush,I know it not; if any Poet-heartHath kindled at my songs its light divine,I know it not; no ray came back to mine.
Words in this poem
- boyish a.
- Resembling a boy in a manners or opinions; belonging to a boy; childish; trifling; puerile.
- yore adv.
- In time long past; in old time; long since. [OE. , yare, , AS. geára;akin to geár a year, E. year. Year.]
- brink n.
- The edge, margin, or border of a steep place, as of a precipice; a bank or edge, as of a river or pit; a verge; a border; as, the brink of a chasm. Also Fig. [Dan. brink edge, verge; akin to Sw. brink declivity, hill, Icel. brekka; cf. LG. brink a grassy hill, W. bryn hill, bryncyn hillock.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- sombre n.
- Gloom; obscurity; duskiness; somberness.
- thundrous a.
- Thunderous; sonorous.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Part II, Section VIII 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 VIII, in Poems (1860–1867), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #845, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/timrod-poems/part-ii-section-viii.html, id L10482.
Form and metre
Part II, Section VIII 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 89%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 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 yoreA · standB · loreA · handB · breathC · deathC
- 2 ABABCC sawA · lightB · lawA · rightB · sweetC · meetC
- 3 ABABCC breastA · menB · pressedA · glenB · flungC · sungC
- 4 ABABCC rushA · artB · gushA · heartB · divineC · mineC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| "These leaves, my boyish books in days of yore, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| When, as the weeks sped by, I seemed to stand | 10 | ·········· |
| Ever upon the brink of some wild lore-- | 10 | /˘········ |
| These leaves shall make my bed, and--for the hand | 10 | ·········· |
| Of God is on me, chilling brain and breath-- | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| I shall not ask a softer couch in death. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| "Here was it that I saw, or dreamed I saw, | 10 | ·········· |
| I know not which, that shape of love and light. | 10 | ·········· |
| Spirit of Song! have I not owned thy law? | 10 | /˘········ |
| Have I not taught, or striven to teach the right, | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| And kept my heart as clean, my life as sweet, | 10 | ·········· |
| As mortals may, when mortals mortals meet? | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| "Thou know'st how I went forth, my youthful breast | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| On fire with thee, amid the paths of men; | 10 | ·/··˘/···· |
| Once in my wanderings, my lone footsteps pressed | 10 | ···/˘··/·· |
| A mountain forest; in a sombre glen, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Down which its thundrous boom a cataract flung, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| A little bird, unheeded, built and sung. | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| "So fell my voice amid the whirl and rush | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Of human passions; if unto my art | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Sorrow hath sometimes owed a gentler gush, | 10 | /˘·˘/··/˘· |
| I know it not; if any Poet-heart | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Hath kindled at my songs its light divine, | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| I know it not; no ray came back to mine. | 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.