To the Same Flower
Pleasures newly found are sweetWhen they lie about our feet:February last, my heartFirst at sight of thee was glad;All unheard of as thou art,Thou must needs, I think, have had,Celandine! and long ago,Praise of which I nothing know.
I have not a doubt but he,Whosoe'er the man might be,Who the first with pointed rays(Workman worthy to be sainted)Set the sign-board in a blaze,When the rising sun he painted,Took the fancy from a glanceAt thy glittering countenance.
Soon as gentle breezes bringNews of winter's vanishing,And the children build their bowers,Sticking 'kerchief-plots of mouldAll about with full-blown flowers,Thick as sheep in shepherd's fold!With the proudest thou art there,Mantling in the tiny square.
Often have I sighed to measureBy myself a lonely pleasure,Sighed to think, I read a bookOnly read, perhaps, by me;Yet I long could overlookThy bright coronet and Thee,And thy arch and wily ways,And thy store of other praise.
Blithe of heart, from week to weekThou dost play at hide-and-seek;While the patient primrose sitsLike a beggar in the cold,Thou, a flower of wiser wits,Slip'st into thy sheltering hold;Liveliest of the vernal trainWhen ye all are out again.
Drawn by what peculiar spell,By what charm of sight or smell,Does the dim-eyed curious Bee,Labouring for her waxen cells,Fondly settle upon TheePrized above all buds and bellsOpening daily at thy side,By the season multiplied?
Thou art not beyond the moon,But a thing "beneath our shoon:"Let the bold Discoverer thridIn his bark the polar sea;Rear who will a pyramid;Praise it is enough for me,If there be but three or fourWho will love my little Flower.
Words in this poem
- unheard a.
- Not heard; not perceived by the ear; as, words unheard by those present.
- needs adv.
- Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need. [Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. - wards.]
- sainted a.
- Consecrated; sacred; holy; pious.
- mould n.
- Crumbling, soft, friable earth; esp., earth containing the remains or constituents of organic matter, and suited to the growth of plants; soil. [OE. molde, AS. molde; akin to D. mul, G. mull, mulm, OHG. molt, molta, Icel. mold, Dan. muld, Sw. mull, Goth. mulda, and E. meal flour. See Meal, and cf. Mole a]
- mantling n.
- The representation of a mantle, or the drapery behind and around a coat of arms: -- called also lambrequin.
- blithe a.
- Gay; merry; sprightly; joyous; glad; cheerful; as, a blithe spirit. [AS. bli blithe, kind; akin to Goth. blei kind, Icel. bli mild, gentle, Dan. & Sw. blid gentle, D. blijd blithe, OHG. blidi kind, blithe.]
- curious a.
- Difficult to please or satisfy; solicitous to be correct; careful; scrupulous; nice; exact. [OF. curios, curius, F. curieux, L. curiosus careful, inquisitive, fr. cura care. See Cure.]
- labouring a.
- That labors; performing labor; esp., performing coarse, heavy work, not requiring skill also, set apart for labor; as, laboring days.
- fondly adv.
- Foolishly. Verstegan (1673).
- discoverer n.
- One who discovers; one who first comes to the knowledge of something; one who discovers an unknown country, or a new principle, truth, or fact.
- thrid n.
- Thread; continuous line.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To the Same Flower 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, To the Same Flower, in The Poetical Works, Volume II (1798–1807), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12145, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wordsworth-vol2/to-the-same-flower.html, id L17348.
Form and metre
To the Same Flower is 56 lines in 7 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABCBCDD, complete in 6 of its 7 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.3 syllables. 10 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic 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 AABCBCDD sweetA · feetA · heartB · gladC · artB · hadC · agoD · knowD
- 2 AABCBCDD heA · beA · raysB · saintedC · blazeB · paintedC · glanceD · countenanceD
- 3 AABCBCDD bringA · vanishingA · bowersB · mouldC · flowersB · foldC · thereD · squareD
- 4 AABCBCDD measureA · pleasureA · bookB · meC · overlookB · theeC · waysD · praiseD
- 5 AABCBCDD weekA · seekA · sitsB · coldC · witsB · holdC · trainD · againD
- 6 AABCBCDD spellA · smellA · beeB · cellsC · theeB · bellsC · sideD · multipliedD
- 7 AA-B-B-- moonA · shoonA · thrid · seaB · pyramid · meB · four · flower
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Pleasures newly found are sweet | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| When they lie about our feet: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| February last, my heart | 7 | /˘·˘··· |
| First at sight of thee was glad; | 7 | ······· |
| All unheard of as thou art, | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| Thou must needs, I think, have had, | 7 | ······· |
| Celandine! and long ago, | 7 | /˘···˘/ |
| Praise of which I nothing know. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| I have not a doubt but he, | 7 | ······· |
| Whosoe'er the man might be, | 6 | ······ |
| Who the first with pointed rays | 7 | ····/˘· |
| (Workman worthy to be sainted) | 8 | /˘/˘··/˘ |
| Set the sign-board in a blaze, | 7 | ······· |
| When the rising sun he painted, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Took the fancy from a glance | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| At thy glittering countenance. | 8 | ··/˘˘/˘˘ |
| Soon as gentle breezes bring | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| News of winter's vanishing, | 7 | ··/˘/˘˘ |
| And the children build their bowers, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Sticking 'kerchief-plots of mould | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| All about with full-blown flowers, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Thick as sheep in shepherd's fold! | 7 | ····/˘· |
| With the proudest thou art there, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Mantling in the tiny square. | 8 | /˘˘··/˘· |
| Often have I sighed to measure | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| By myself a lonely pleasure, | 8 | ··/·/˘/˘ |
| Sighed to think, I read a book | 8 | ·˘······ |
| Only read, perhaps, by me; | 7 | /˘·˘/·· |
| Yet I long could overlook | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Thy bright coronet and Thee, | 7 | ··/˘/·· |
| And thy arch and wily ways, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And thy store of other praise. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Blithe of heart, from week to week | 7 | ······· |
| Thou dost play at hide-and-seek; | 7 | ······· |
| While the patient primrose sits | 7 | ··/˘/·· |
| Like a beggar in the cold, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Thou, a flower of wiser wits, | 8 | ··/˘·/˘· |
| Slip'st into thy sheltering hold; | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| Liveliest of the vernal train | 8 | /·˘··/˘· |
| When ye all are out again. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Drawn by what peculiar spell, | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| By what charm of sight or smell, | 7 | ······· |
| Does the dim-eyed curious Bee, | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| Labouring for her waxen cells, | 8 | /˘˘··/˘· |
| Fondly settle upon Thee | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| Prized above all buds and bells | 8 | ·˘······ |
| Opening daily at thy side, | 8 | /˘˘/˘··· |
| By the season multiplied? | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Thou art not beyond the moon, | 7 | ······· |
| But a thing "beneath our shoon:" | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Let the bold Discoverer thrid | 8 | ···˘/˘˘· |
| In his bark the polar sea; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Rear who will a pyramid; | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| Praise it is enough for me, | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| If there be but three or four | 7 | ······· |
| Who will love my little Flower. | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
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.