The Whip-Poor-Will
Do you remember, father,--It seems so long ago,--The day we fished togetherAlong the Pocono?At dusk I waited for you,Beside the lumber-mill,And there I heard a hidden birdThat chanted, "whip-poor-will,""Whippoorwill! whippoorwill!"Sad and shrill,--"whippoorwill!"
The place was all deserted;The mill-wheel hung at rest;The lonely star of eveningWas throbbing in the west;The veil of night was falling;The winds were folded still;And everywhere the trembling airRe-echoed "whip-poor-will!""Whippoorwill! whippoorwill!"Sad and shrill,--"whippoorwill!"
You seemed so long in coming,I felt so much alone;The wide, dark world was round me,And life was all unknown;The hand of sorrow touched me,And made my senses thrillWith all the pain that haunts the strainOf mournful whip-poor-will."Whippoorwill! whippoorwill!"Sad and shrill,--"whippoorwill!"
What knew I then of trouble?An idle little lad,I had not learned the lessonsThat make men wise and sad.I dreamed of grief and parting,And something seemed to fillMy heart with tears, while in my earsResounded "whip-poor-will.""Whippoorwill! whippoorwill!"Sad and shrill,--"whippoorwill!"
'Twas but a cloud of sadness,That lightly passed away;But I have learned the meaningOf sorrow, since that day.For nevermore at twilight,Beside the silent mill,I'll wait for you, in the falling dew,And hear the whip-poor-will."Whippoorwill! whippoorwill!"Sad and shrill,--"whippoorwill!"
But if you still rememberIn that fair land of light,The pains and fears that touch usAlong this edge of night,I think all earthly grieving,And all our mortal ill,To you must seem like a sad boy's dream.Who hears the whip-poor-will."Whippoorwill! whippoorwill!"A passing thrill,--"whippoorwill!"
Words in this poem
- sadness n.
- Heaviness; firmness.
- nevermore adv.
- Never again; at no time hereafter. Testament of Love. Tyndale.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Whip-Poor-Will 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 Whip-Poor-Will, in The Poems of Henry Van Dyke (1925), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16229, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/van-dyke-poems/the-whip-poor-will.html, id L22759.
Form and metre
The Whip-Poor-Will is 60 lines in 6 stanzas of 10 lines each. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
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 -A-A-B-BBB father · agoA · together · poconoA · you · millB · bird · willB · whippoorwillB · whippoorwillB
- 2 -A-A-B-BBB deserted · restA · evening · westA · falling · stillB · air · willB · whippoorwillB · whippoorwillB
- 3 -ABABC-CCC coming · aloneA · meB · unknownA · meB · thrillC · strain · willC · whippoorwillC · whippoorwillC
- 4 -A-A-B-BBB trouble · ladA · lessons · sadA · parting · fillB · ears · willB · whippoorwillB · whippoorwillB
- 5 -A-A-B-BBB sadness · awayA · meaning · dayA · twilight · millB · dew · willB · whippoorwillB · whippoorwillB
- 6 -A-A-B-BBB remember · lightA · us · nightA · grieving · illB · dream · willB · whippoorwillB · whippoorwillB
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Do you remember, father,-- | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| It seems so long ago,-- | 6 | ····˘/ |
| The day we fished together | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Along the Pocono? | 6 | ˘/·/˘· |
| At dusk I waited for you, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Beside the lumber-mill, | 6 | ˘/·/˘· |
| And there I heard a hidden bird | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That chanted, "whip-poor-will," | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| "Whippoorwill! whippoorwill!" | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| Sad and shrill,--"whippoorwill!" | 5 | ···/˘ |
| The place was all deserted; | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| The mill-wheel hung at rest; | 6 | ······ |
| The lonely star of evening | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Was throbbing in the west; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The veil of night was falling; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| The winds were folded still; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And everywhere the trembling air | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Re-echoed "whip-poor-will!" | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| "Whippoorwill! whippoorwill!" | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| Sad and shrill,--"whippoorwill!" | 5 | ···/˘ |
| You seemed so long in coming, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| I felt so much alone; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| The wide, dark world was round me, | 7 | ······· |
| And life was all unknown; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| The hand of sorrow touched me, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| And made my senses thrill | 6 | ···/˘· |
| With all the pain that haunts the strain | 8 | ········ |
| Of mournful whip-poor-will. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| "Whippoorwill! whippoorwill!" | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| Sad and shrill,--"whippoorwill!" | 5 | ···/˘ |
| What knew I then of trouble? | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| An idle little lad, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| I had not learned the lessons | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| That make men wise and sad. | 6 | ······ |
| I dreamed of grief and parting, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And something seemed to fill | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| My heart with tears, while in my ears | 8 | ········ |
| Resounded "whip-poor-will." | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| "Whippoorwill! whippoorwill!" | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| Sad and shrill,--"whippoorwill!" | 5 | ···/˘ |
| 'Twas but a cloud of sadness, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| That lightly passed away; | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| But I have learned the meaning | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Of sorrow, since that day. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| For nevermore at twilight, | 7 | ·/˘··/· |
| Beside the silent mill, | 6 | ˘/·/˘· |
| I'll wait for you, in the falling dew, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| And hear the whip-poor-will. | 6 | ······ |
| "Whippoorwill! whippoorwill!" | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| Sad and shrill,--"whippoorwill!" | 5 | ···/˘ |
| But if you still remember | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| In that fair land of light, | 6 | ······ |
| The pains and fears that touch us | 7 | ······· |
| Along this edge of night, | 6 | ˘/···· |
| I think all earthly grieving, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| And all our mortal ill, | 6 | ··//˘· |
| To you must seem like a sad boy's dream. | 9 | ········· |
| Who hears the whip-poor-will. | 6 | ······ |
| "Whippoorwill! whippoorwill!" | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| A passing thrill,--"whippoorwill!" | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
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.