'Tis the Feast of Corn
'Tis the feast of corn, 'tis the feast of bread,On the dear scene returned to, witnessed again!So white is the light o'er the reapers shedTheir shadows fall pink on the level grain.
The stalked gold drops to the whistling flightOf the scythes, whose lightning dives deep, leaps clear;The plain, labor-strewn to the confines of sight,Changes face at each instant, gay and severe.
All pants, all is effort and toil 'neath the sun,The stolid old sun, tranquil ripener of wheat,Who works o'er our haste imperturbably onTo swell the green grape yon, turning it sweet.
Work on, faithful sun, for the bread and the wine,Feed man with the milk of the earth, and bestowThe frank glass wherein unconcern laughs divine,--Ye harvesters, vintagers, work on, aglow!
For from the flour's fairest, and from the vine's best,Fruit of man's strength spread to earth's uttermost,God gathers and reaps, to His purposes blest,The Flesh and the Blood for the chalice and host!
Words in this poem
- dives n.
- The name popularly given to the rich man in our Lord's parable of the [L., rich.]
- stolid a.
- Hopelessly insensible or stupid; not easily aroused or excited; dull; impassive; foolish. [L. stolidus.]
- imperturbably adv.
- In an imperturbable manner; calmly. C. Bronté.
- unconcern n.
- Want of concern; absence of anxiety; freedom from solicitude; indifference.
- aglow adv.
- In a glow; glowing; as, cheeks aglow; the landscape all aglow. [Pref. a- + glow.]
- uttermost a.
- Extreme; utmost; being; in the farthest, greatest, or highest degree; as, the uttermost extent or end. [From Utter, a.; cf. Utmost, and Outermost.]
- chalice n.
- A cup or bowl; especially, the cup used in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. [OR. chalis, calice, OF. chalice, calice, F. calice, fr. L. calix, akin to Gr. helmet. Cf. Calice, Calyx.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
'Tis the Feast of Corn is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #8426, the Gertrude Hall translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Paul Verlaine, 'Tis the Feast of Corn, in Poems (1895), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8426, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/verlaine-poems/tis-the-feast-of-corn.html, id L15512.
Form and metre
'Tis the Feast of Corn is 20 lines in 5 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 4 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 77%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.6 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 20% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in anapaestic 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 ABAB breadA · againB · shedA · grainB
- 2 ABAB flightA · clearB · sightA · severeB
- 3 -A-A sun · wheatA · on · sweetA
- 4 ABAB wineA · bestowB · divineA · aglowB
- 5 ABAB bestA · uttermostB · blestA · hostB
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 anapaestic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| 'Tis the feast of corn, 'tis the feast of bread, | 10 | ·········· |
| On the dear scene returned to, witnessed again! | 11 | ····˘/·/˘˘/ |
| So white is the light o'er the reapers shed | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Their shadows fall pink on the level grain. | 10 | ·/·····/˘· |
| The stalked gold drops to the whistling flight | 10 | ··˘····/˘· |
| Of the scythes, whose lightning dives deep, leaps clear; | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| The plain, labor-strewn to the confines of sight, | 11 | ··/˘···˘/·· |
| Changes face at each instant, gay and severe. | 11 | /˘···/˘··˘/ |
| All pants, all is effort and toil 'neath the sun, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| The stolid old sun, tranquil ripener of wheat, | 12 | ·/˘··/˘····· |
| Who works o'er our haste imperturbably on | 11 | ···/······· |
| To swell the green grape yon, turning it sweet. | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| Work on, faithful sun, for the bread and the wine, | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| Feed man with the milk of the earth, and bestow | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| The frank glass wherein unconcern laughs divine,-- | 11 | ······˘/·˘/ |
| Ye harvesters, vintagers, work on, aglow! | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| For from the flour's fairest, and from the vine's best, | 11 | ···//˘····· |
| Fruit of man's strength spread to earth's uttermost, | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| God gathers and reaps, to His purposes blest, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| The Flesh and the Blood for the chalice and host! | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
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.