The Angler's Reveille
What time the rose of dawn is laid across the lips of night,And all the little watchman-stars have fallen asleep in light,'Tis then a merry wind awakes, and runs from tree to tree,And borrows words from all the birds to sound the reveille.
This is the carol the Robin throwsOver the edge of the valley;Listen how boldly it flows,Sally on sally:Tirra-lirra,Early morn,New born!Day is near,Clear, clear.Down the riverAll a-quiver,Fish are breaking;Time for waking,Tup, tup, tup!Do you hear?All clear--Wake up!
The phantom flood of dreams has ebbed and vanished with the dark,And like a dove the heart forsakes the prison of the ark;Now forth she fares thro' friendly woods and diamond-fields of dew,While every voice cries out "Rejoice!" as if the world were new.
This is the ballad the Bluebird sings,Unto his mate replying,Shaking the tune from his wingsWhile he is flying:Surely, surely, surely,Life is dearEven here.Blue above,You to love,Purely, purely, purely.
There's wild azalea on the hill, and iris down the dell,And just one spray of lilac still abloom beside the well;The columbine adorns the rocks, the laurel buds grow pink,Along the stream white arums gleam, and violets bend to drink.
This is the song of the Yellow-throat,Fluttering gaily beside you;Hear how each voluble noteOffers to guide you:Which way, sir?I say, sir,Let me teach you,I beseech you!Are you wishingJolly fishing?This way, sir!I'll teach you.
Then come, my friend, forget your foes and leave your fears behind,And wander forth to try your luck, with cheerful, quiet mind;For be your fortune great or small, you take what God will give,And all the day your heart will say, "'Tis luck enough to live."
This is the song the Brown Thrush flingsOut of his thicket of roses;Hark how it bubbles and rings,Mark how it closes:Luck, luck,What luck?Good enough for me,I'm alive, you see!Sun shining,No repining;Never borrowIdle sorrow;Drop it!Cover it up!Hold your cup!Joy will fill it,Don't spill it,Steady, be ready,Good luck!
Words in this poem
- reveille n.
- The beat of drum, or bugle blast, about break of day, to give notice that it is time for the soldiers to rise, and for the sentinels to forbear challenging. [F. réveil, fr. réveiller to awake; pref. re- re- + pref. es- (L. ex) + veiller to awake, watch, L. vigilare to watch. The English form was prob. taken by mistak]
- carol v. t.
- To praise or celebrate in song.
- boldly adv.
- In a bold manner. [AS. bealdlice.]
- 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.]
- bluebird n.
- A small song bird (Sialia sialis), very common in the United States, and, in the north, one of the earliest to arrive in spring.
- azalea n.
- A genus of showy flowering shrubs, mostly natives of China or of North America; false honeysuckle. The genus is scarcely distinct from Rhododendron.
- dell n.
- A small, retired valley; a ravine. [AS. del, akin to E. dale; cf. D. delle, del, low ground. See Dale.]
- abloom adv.
- In or into bloom; in a blooming state. Masson. [Pref. a- + bloom.]
- columbine a.
- Of or pertaining to a dove; dovelike; dove-colored. [L. columbinus, fr. columba dove.]
- gaily adv.
- Merrily; showily. See gaily. [From Gay.]
- borrow v. t.
- To receive from another as a loan, with the implied or expressed intention of returning the identical article or its equivalent in kind; -- the opposite of lend. [OE. borwen, AS. borgian, fr. borg, borh, pledge; akin to D. borg, G. borg; prob. fr. root of AS. beorgan to protect. Borough.]
- spill n.
- A bit of wood split off; a splinter. [sq. root170. Cf. Spell a splinter.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Angler's Reveille is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Henry Van Dyke, Project Gutenberg ebook #16229; 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 Van Dyke, The Angler's Reveille, in The Poems of Henry Van Dyke (1925), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16229, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/van-dyke-poems/the-angler-s-reveille.html, id L22765.
Form and metre
The Angler's Reveille is 74 lines in 8 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 51% of the lines: heroic couplets. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic pentameter.
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 AA-- nightA · lightA · tree · reveille
- 2 ABAB-CCDDEEFFGDDG throwsA · valleyB · flowsA · sallyB · lirra · mornC · bornC · nearD · clearD · riverE · quiverE · breakingF · wakingF · tupG · hearD · clearD · upG
- 3 AABB darkA · arkA · dewB · newB
- 4 ABABCDDEEC singsA · replyingB · wingsA · flyingB · surelyC · dearD · hereD · aboveE · loveE · purelyC
- 5 AABB dellA · wellA · pinkB · drinkB
- 6 ABABCCBBDDCB throatA · youB · noteA · youB · sirC · sirC · youB · youB · wishingD · fishingD · sirC · youB
- 7 AABB behindA · mindA · giveB · liveB
- 8 ABABCCDDEE--FGGFF-C flingsA · rosesB · ringsA · closesB · luckC · luckC · meD · seeD · shiningE · repiningE · borrow · sorrow · itF · upG · cupG · itF · itF · ready · luckC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| What time the rose of dawn is laid across the lips of night, | 14 | ········˘/···· |
| And all the little watchman-stars have fallen asleep in light, | 15 | ···/˘/˘··/˘˘/·· |
| 'Tis then a merry wind awakes, and runs from tree to tree, | 14 | ···/˘·˘/······ |
| And borrows words from all the birds to sound the reveille. | 14 | ·/˘········˘/˘ |
| This is the carol the Robin throws | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| Over the edge of the valley; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Listen how boldly it flows, | 7 | /˘·/˘·· |
| Sally on sally: | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| Tirra-lirra, | 4 | ···· |
| Early morn, | 3 | /˘· |
| New born! | 2 | ·· |
| Day is near, | 3 | ··· |
| Clear, clear. | 2 | ·· |
| Down the river | 4 | ··/˘ |
| All a-quiver, | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Fish are breaking; | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Time for waking, | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Tup, tup, tup! | 3 | ··· |
| Do you hear? | 3 | ··· |
| All clear-- | 2 | ·· |
| Wake up! | 2 | ·· |
| The phantom flood of dreams has ebbed and vanished with the dark, | 15 | ·/˘····/˘·/˘··· |
| And like a dove the heart forsakes the prison of the ark; | 14 | ······˘/·/˘··· |
| Now forth she fares thro' friendly woods and diamond-fields of dew, | 14 | ·····/˘··/˘··· |
| While every voice cries out "Rejoice!" as if the world were new. | 14 | ·/˘···˘/······ |
| This is the ballad the Bluebird sings, | 9 | ···/˘·/·· |
| Unto his mate replying, | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Shaking the tune from his wings | 7 | /˘····· |
| While he is flying: | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Surely, surely, surely, | 6 | /˘/˘/˘ |
| Life is dear | 3 | ··· |
| Even here. | 3 | /˘· |
| Blue above, | 3 | ··· |
| You to love, | 3 | ··· |
| Purely, purely, purely. | 6 | /˘/˘/˘ |
| There's wild azalea on the hill, and iris down the dell, | 14 | ··˘/˘····/˘··· |
| And just one spray of lilac still abloom beside the well; | 14 | ·····/··˘/˘/·· |
| The columbine adorns the rocks, the laurel buds grow pink, | 14 | ·/˘·˘/···/˘··· |
| Along the stream white arums gleam, and violets bend to drink. | 14 | ˘/···/˘··/˘··· |
| This is the song of the Yellow-throat, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Fluttering gaily beside you; | 8 | /˘˘/˘˘/· |
| Hear how each voluble note | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Offers to guide you: | 5 | /˘··· |
| Which way, sir? | 3 | ··· |
| I say, sir, | 3 | ··· |
| Let me teach you, | 4 | ···· |
| I beseech you! | 4 | ·˘/· |
| Are you wishing | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Jolly fishing? | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| This way, sir! | 3 | ··· |
| I'll teach you. | 3 | ··· |
| Then come, my friend, forget your foes and leave your fears behind, | 14 | ····˘/········ |
| And wander forth to try your luck, with cheerful, quiet mind; | 13 | ·/˘······/˘/· |
| For be your fortune great or small, you take what God will give, | 14 | ···/˘········· |
| And all the day your heart will say, "'Tis luck enough to live." | 14 | ··········˘/·· |
| This is the song the Brown Thrush flings | 8 | ········ |
| Out of his thicket of roses; | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| Hark how it bubbles and rings, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Mark how it closes: | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Luck, luck, | 2 | ·· |
| What luck? | 2 | ·· |
| Good enough for me, | 5 | ·˘/·· |
| I'm alive, you see! | 5 | ·˘/·· |
| Sun shining, | 3 | ·/˘ |
| No repining; | 4 | ···· |
| Never borrow | 4 | /˘/· |
| Idle sorrow; | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| Drop it! | 2 | ·· |
| Cover it up! | 4 | /˘·· |
| Hold your cup! | 3 | ··· |
| Joy will fill it, | 4 | ···· |
| Don't spill it, | 3 | ··· |
| Steady, be ready, | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| Good luck! | 2 | ·· |
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.