Reluctant Summer
Reluctant Summer! once, a maidFull easy of access,In many a bee-frequented shadeThou didst thy lover bless.Divinely unreproved I played,Then, with each liberal tress--And art thou grown at last afraidOf some too close caress?
Or deem'st that if thou shouldst abideMy passion might decay?Thou leav'st me pining and denied,Coyly thou say'st me nay.Ev'n as I woo thee to my side,Thou, importuned to stay,Like Orpheus' half-recovered brideEbb'st from my arms away.
Words in this poem
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- unreproved a.
- Not reproved. Sandys.
- tress n.
- A braid, knot, or curl, of hair; a ringlet. [OE. tresse, OF. trece, F. tresse, LL. tricia, fr. Gr. tri`cha threefold, because a tress is usually formed by interlacing three pieces; akin to trei^s three. Se]
- caress n.
- An act of endearment; any act or expression of affection; an embracing, or touching, with tenderness. [F. caresse, It. carezza, LL. caritia dearness, fr. L. carus dear. See Charity.]
- coyly adv.
- In a coy manner; with reserve.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Reluctant Summer is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of William Watson, Project Gutenberg ebook #13179; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Watson, Reluctant Summer, in The Poems of William Watson (1892–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13179, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/watson-poems/reluctant-summer.html, id L11337.
Form and metre
Reluctant Summer is 16 lines in 2 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABABAB. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.4 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 31% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABABABAB maidA · accessB · shadeA · blessB · playedA · tressB · afraidA · caressB
- 2 ABABABAB abideA · decayB · deniedA · nayB · sideA · stayB · brideA · awayB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Reluctant Summer! once, a maid | 8 | ˘/˘/˘··· |
| Full easy of access, | 6 | ·/˘·/· |
| In many a bee-frequented shade | 9 | ·/˘··/˘˘· |
| Thou didst thy lover bless. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Divinely unreproved I played, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| Then, with each liberal tress-- | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| And art thou grown at last afraid | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Of some too close caress? | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Or deem'st that if thou shouldst abide | 8 | ······˘/ |
| My passion might decay? | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| Thou leav'st me pining and denied, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Coyly thou say'st me nay. | 6 | /˘···· |
| Ev'n as I woo thee to my side, | 8 | ········ |
| Thou, importuned to stay, | 6 | ······ |
| Like Orpheus' half-recovered bride | 9 | ·/˘˘·˘/˘· |
| Ebb'st from my arms away. | 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.