Love Song
Once in the world's first prime,When nothing lived or stirred--Nothing but new-born Time,Nor was there even a bird--The Silence spoke to a Star;But I do not dare repeatWhat it said to its love afar,It was too sweet, too sweet.
But there, in the fair world's youth,Ere sorrow had drawn breath,When nothing was known but Truth,Nor was there even death,The Star to Silence was wed,And the Sun was priest that day,And they made their bridal-bedHigh in the Milky Way.
For the great white star had heardHer silent lover's speech;It needed no passionate wordTo pledge them each to each.Oh, lady fair and far,Hear, oh, hear and apply!Thou, the beautiful Star--The voiceless Silence, I.
Words in this poem
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
- voiceless a.
- Having no voice, utterance, or vote; silent; mute; dumb.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Love Song is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems of Passion, Project Gutenberg ebook #16776; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Love Song, in Poems of Passion (1883), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16776, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wilcox-passion/love-song.html, id L22157.
Form and metre
Love Song is 24 lines in 3 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCDCD. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
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 ABABCDCD primeA · stirredB · timeA · birdB · starC · repeatD · afarC · sweetD
- 2 ABABCDCD youthA · breathB · truthA · deathB · wedC · dayD · bedC · wayD
- 3 ABABCDCD heardA · speechB · wordA · eachB · farC · applyD · starC · iD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Once in the world's first prime, | 6 | ······ |
| When nothing lived or stirred-- | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Nothing but new-born Time, | 6 | /˘···· |
| Nor was there even a bird-- | 6 | ···/·· |
| The Silence spoke to a Star; | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| But I do not dare repeat | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| What it said to its love afar, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| It was too sweet, too sweet. | 6 | ······ |
| But there, in the fair world's youth, | 7 | ······· |
| Ere sorrow had drawn breath, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| When nothing was known but Truth, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Nor was there even death, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The Star to Silence was wed, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| And the Sun was priest that day, | 7 | ······· |
| And they made their bridal-bed | 7 | ····/˘· |
| High in the Milky Way. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| For the great white star had heard | 7 | ······· |
| Her silent lover's speech; | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| It needed no passionate word | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| To pledge them each to each. | 6 | ······ |
| Oh, lady fair and far, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Hear, oh, hear and apply! | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Thou, the beautiful Star-- | 6 | ··/˘˘· |
| The voiceless Silence, I. | 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.