"Bleak Season Was It, Turbulent and Bleak"
Bleak season was it, turbulent and bleak,When hitherward we journeyed, side by side,Through burst of sunshine and through flying showers,Paced the long vales, how long they were, and yetHow fast that length of way was left behind,Wensley's rich vale and Sedbergh's naked heights.The frosty wind, as if to make amendsFor its keen breath, was aiding to our steps,And drove us onward like two ships at sea;Or, like two birds, companions in mid-air,Parted and reunited by the blast.Stern was the face of nature; we rejoicedIn that stern countenance; for our souls thence drewA feeling of their strength. The naked trees,The icy brooks, as on we passed, appearedTo question us, "Whence come ye? To what end?"
Words in this poem
- hitherward adv.
- Toward this place; hither. [AS. hiderweard.]
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- vale n.
- A tract of low ground, or of land between hills; a valley. [OE. val, F. val, L. vallis; perhaps akin to Gr. Avalanche, Vail to lower, Valley.]
- drove n.
- A collection of cattle driven, or cattle collected for driving; a number of animals, as oxen, sheep, or swine, driven in a body. [AS. draf, fr. drifan to drive. See Drive.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
"Bleak Season Was It, Turbulent and Bleak" is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth — Volume 2 (of 8), Project Gutenberg ebook #12145; 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 Wordsworth, "Bleak Season Was It, Turbulent and Bleak", in The Poetical Works, Volume II (1798–1807), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12145, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wordsworth-vol2/bleak-season-was-it-turbulent-and-bleak.html, id L17311.
Form and metre
"Bleak Season Was It, Turbulent and Bleak" is 16 lines in a single verse paragraph. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 31% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter, other poems in blank verse.
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.
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Bleak season was it, turbulent and bleak, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘·· |
| When hitherward we journeyed, side by side, | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘··· |
| Through burst of sunshine and through flying showers, | 10 | ···/···/˘/ |
| Paced the long vales, how long they were, and yet | 10 | ·········· |
| How fast that length of way was left behind, | 10 | ·········· |
| Wensley's rich vale and Sedbergh's naked heights. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The frosty wind, as if to make amends | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| For its keen breath, was aiding to our steps, | 10 | ·····/˘·/· |
| And drove us onward like two ships at sea; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Or, like two birds, companions in mid-air, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Parted and reunited by the blast. | 10 | /˘··˘/˘··· |
| Stern was the face of nature; we rejoiced | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| In that stern countenance; for our souls thence drew | 10 | ···/˘·/··· |
| A feeling of their strength. The naked trees, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| The icy brooks, as on we passed, appeared | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| To question us, "Whence come ye? To what end?" | 10 | ·/˘······· |
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.