The Oxford Thrushes
I never thought again to hearThe Oxford thrushes singing clear,Amid the February rain,Their sweet, indomitable strain.
A wintry vapor lightly spreadsAmong the trees, and round the bedsWhere daffodil and jonquil sleep;Only the snowdrop wakes to weep.
It is not springtime yet. Alas,What dark, tempestuous days must pass,Till England's trial by battle cease,And summer comes again with peace.
The lofty halls, the tranquil towers,Where Learning in untroubled hoursHeld her high court, serene in fame,Are lovely still, yet not the same.
The novices in fluttering gownNo longer fill the ancient town;But fighting men in khaki drest,And in the Schools the wounded rest.
Ah, far away, 'neath stranger skiesFull many a son of Oxford lies,And whispers from his warrior grave,"I died to keep the faith you gave."
The mother mourns, but does not fail,Her courage and her love prevailO'er sorrow, and her spirit hearsThe promise of triumphant years.
Then sing, ye thrushes, in the rainYour sweet indomitable strain.Ye bring a word from God on highAnd voices in our hearts reply.
Words in this poem
- 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]
- wintry a.
- Suitable to winter; resembling winter, or what belongs to winter; brumal; hyemal; cold; stormy; wintery. [AS. wintrig.]
- springtime n.
- The season of spring; springtide.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Oxford Thrushes 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 Oxford Thrushes, in The Poems of Henry Van Dyke (1925), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16229, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/van-dyke-poems/the-oxford-thrushes.html, id L22940.
Form and metre
The Oxford Thrushes is 32 lines in 8 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABB. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 AABB hearA · clearA · rainB · strainB
- 2 AABB spreadsA · bedsA · sleepB · weepB
- 3 AABB alasA · passA · ceaseB · peaceB
- 4 AABB towersA · hoursA · fameB · sameB
- 5 AABB gownA · townA · drestB · restB
- 6 AABB skiesA · liesA · graveB · gaveB
- 7 AABB failA · prevailA · hearsB · yearsB
- 8 AABB rainA · strainA · highB · replyB
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I never thought again to hear | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| The Oxford thrushes singing clear, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Amid the February rain, | 8 | ˘/·/˘·˘· |
| Their sweet, indomitable strain. | 8 | ··˘/˘˘˘· |
| A wintry vapor lightly spreads | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Among the trees, and round the beds | 8 | ········ |
| Where daffodil and jonquil sleep; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Only the snowdrop wakes to weep. | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| It is not springtime yet. Alas, | 8 | ···/··˘/ |
| What dark, tempestuous days must pass, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Till England's trial by battle cease, | 9 | ·/˘/˘·/˘· |
| And summer comes again with peace. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| The lofty halls, the tranquil towers, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Where Learning in untroubled hours | 9 | ·/˘·˘/˘/˘ |
| Held her high court, serene in fame, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Are lovely still, yet not the same. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The novices in fluttering gown | 8 | ·/˘·/˘˘· |
| No longer fill the ancient town; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| But fighting men in khaki drest, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And in the Schools the wounded rest. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Ah, far away, 'neath stranger skies | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Full many a son of Oxford lies, | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| And whispers from his warrior grave, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| "I died to keep the faith you gave." | 8 | ········ |
| The mother mourns, but does not fail, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Her courage and her love prevail | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| O'er sorrow, and her spirit hears | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The promise of triumphant years. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Then sing, ye thrushes, in the rain | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Your sweet indomitable strain. | 8 | ··˘/˘˘˘· |
| Ye bring a word from God on high | 8 | ········ |
| And voices in our hearts reply. | 8 | ·/˘·/·˘/ |
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.