The Gardener's Daughter Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCDEFGHIJCKCCLMNOPQ RSHHTUVWCHWHHOHXYZUA 2B2C2D2E2F2F2G2H2I2H HCHJ2K2QOHOL2B2M2HN2 O2P2Q2R2VHA2HF2S2HT2 HHU2V2W2F2QHGX2HHY2Z 2A3HHB3C3D3HCE3F3G3F 3WH3OWHHI3J3K3L3HEM3 HHM3N3WO3HVP3HHQ3HVE 2F3HF2HHHHR3S3HHT3P3 M3HHHVQP3HS3WM3HHHHS 3M2HU3V3HVW3X3HCHY3Z 3OWA3R3QA4E3B4C4D4M3 HE2HH2HHM3E4HOX3A2B2 F4HG4HH4HQHKHF2QWHI4 UHVHHJ4K4E2HHHHH4HVQ F2YHHCO3F2B4WHN2I2M3 L4HM3UM4N4S3F2W3HHXG 4O4UP4M3F2Q4R4OM3S4H T4HF2HR4HS2HM3U4M3VH M4V4W4This morning is the morning of the day | A |
When I and Eustace from the city went | B |
To see the Gardener's Daughter I and he | C |
Brothers in Art a friendship so complete | D |
Portion'd in halves between us that we grew | E |
The fable of the city where we dwelt | F |
My Eustace might have sat for Hercules | G |
So muscular he spread so broad of breast | H |
He by some law that holds in love and draws | I |
The greater to the lesser long desired | J |
A certain miracle of symmetry | C |
A miniature of loveliness all grace | K |
Summ'd up and closed in little Juliet she | C |
So light of foot so light of spirit oh she | C |
To me myself for some three careless moons | L |
The summer pilot of an empty heart | M |
Unto the shores of nothing Know you not | N |
Such touches are but embassies of love | O |
To tamper with the feelings ere he found | P |
Empire for life but Eustace painted her | Q |
And said to me she sitting with us then | R |
'When will you paint like this ' and I replied | S |
My words were half in earnest half in jest | H |
''Tis not your work but Love's Love unperceived | H |
A more ideal Artist he than all | T |
Came drew your pencil from you made those eyes | U |
Darker than darkest pansies and that hair | V |
More black than ashbuds in the front of March ' | W |
And Juliet answer'd laughing 'Go and see | C |
The Gardener's daughter trust me after that | H |
You scarce can fail to match his masterpiece ' | W |
And up we rose and on the spur we went | H |
Not wholly in the busy world nor quite | H |
Beyond it blooms the garden that I love | O |
News from the humming city comes to it | H |
In sound of funeral or of marriage bells | X |
And sitting muffled in dark leaves you hear | Y |
The windy clanging of the minster clock | Z |
Although between it and the garden lies | U |
A league of grass wash'd by a slow broad stream | A2 |
That stirr'd with languid pulses of the oar | B2 |
Waves all its lazy lilies and creeps on | C2 |
Barge laden to three arches of a bridge | D2 |
Crown'd with the minster towers | E2 |
The fields between | F2 |
Are dewy fresh browsed by deep udder'd kine | F2 |
And all about the large lime feathers low | G2 |
The lime a summer home of murmurous wings | H2 |
In that still place she hoarded in herself | I2 |
Grew seldom seen not less among us lived | H |
Her fame from lip to lip Who had not heard | H |
Of Rose the Gardener's daughter Where was he | C |
So blunt in memory so old at heart | H |
At such a distance from his youth in grief | J2 |
That having seen forgot The common mouth | K2 |
So gross to express delight in praise of her | Q |
Grew oratory Such a lord is Love | O |
And Beauty such a mistress of the world | H |
And if I said that Fancy led by Love | O |
Would play with flying forms and images | L2 |
Yet this is also true that long before | B2 |
I look'd upon her when I heard her name | M2 |
My heart was like a prophet to my heart | H |
And told me I should love A crowd of hopes | N2 |
That sought to sow themselves like winged seeds | O2 |
Born out of everything I heard and saw | P2 |
Flutter'd about my senses and my soul | Q2 |
And vague desires like fitful blasts of balm | R2 |
To one that travels quickly made the air | V |
Of Life delicious and all kinds of thought | H |
That verged upon them sweeter than the dream | A2 |
Dream'd by a happy man when the dark East | H |
Unseen is brightening to his bridal morn | F2 |
And sure this orbit of the memory folds | S2 |
For ever in itself the day we went | H |
To see her All the land in flowery squares | T2 |
Beneath a broad and equal blowing wind | H |
Smelt of the coming summer as one large cloud | H |
Drew downward but all else of heaven was pure | U2 |
Up to the Sun and May from verge to verge | V2 |
And May with me from head to heel | W2 |
And now | F2 |
As tho' 'twere yesterday as tho' it were | Q |
The hour just flown that morn with all its sound | H |
For those old Mays had thrice the life of these | G |
Rings in mine ears The steer forgot to graze | X2 |
And where the hedge row cuts the pathway stood | H |
Leaning his horns into the neighbour field | H |
And lowing to his fellows Froth the woods | Y2 |
Came voices of the well contented doves | Z2 |
The lark could scarce get out his notes for joy | A3 |
But shook his song together as he near'd | H |
His happy home the ground To left and right | H |
The cuckoo told his name to all the hills | B3 |
The mellow ouzel fluted in the elm | C3 |
The redcap whistled and the nightingale | D3 |
Sang loud as tho' he were the bird of day | H |
And Eustace turn'd and smiling said to me | C |
'Hear how the bushes echo by my life | E3 |
These birds have joyful thoughts Think you they sing | F3 |
Like poets from the vanity of song | G3 |
Or have they any sense of why they sing | F3 |
And would they praise the heavens for what they have ' | W |
And I made answer 'Were there nothing else | H3 |
For which to praise the heavens but only love | O |
That only love were cause enough for praise ' | W |
Lightly he laugh'd as one that read my thought | H |
And on we went but ere an hour had pass'd | H |
We reach'd a meadow slanting to the North | I3 |
Down which a well worn pathway courted us | J3 |
To one green wicket in a privet hedge | K3 |
This yielding gave into a grassy walk | L3 |
Thro' crowded lilac ambush trimly pruned | H |
And one warm gust full fed with perfume blew | E |
Beyond us as we enter'd in the cool | M3 |
The garden stretches southward In the midst | H |
A cedar spread his dark green layers of shade | H |
The garden glasses glanced and momently | M3 |
The twinkling laurel scatter'd silver lights | N3 |
'Eustace ' I said 'this wonder keeps the house ' | W |
He nodded but a moment afterwards | O3 |
He cried 'Look look ' Before he ceased I turn'd | H |
And ere a star can wink beheld her there | V |
For up the porch there grew an Eastern rose | P3 |
That flowering high the last night's gale had caught | H |
And blown across the walk One arm aloft | H |
Gown'd in pure white that fitted to the shape | Q3 |
Holding the bush to fix it back she stood | H |
A single stream of all her soft brown hair | V |
Pour'd on one side the shadow of the flowers | E2 |
Stole all the golden gloss and wavering | F3 |
Lovingly lower trembled on her waist | H |
Ah happy shade and still went wavering down | F2 |
But ere it touch'd a foot that might have danced | H |
The greensward into greener circles dipt | H |
And mix'd with shadows of the common ground | H |
But the full day dwelt on her brows and sunn'd | H |
Her violet eyes and all her Hebe bloom | R3 |
And doubled his own warmth against her lips | S3 |
And on the bounteous wave of such a breast | H |
As never pencil drew Half light half shade | H |
She stood a sight to make an old man young | T3 |
So rapt we near'd the house but she a Rose | P3 |
In roses mingled with her fragrant toil | M3 |
Nor heard us come nor from her tendance turn'd | H |
Into the world without till close at hand | H |
And almost ere I knew mine own intent | H |
This murmur broke the stillness of that air | V |
Which brooded round about her | Q |
'Ah one rose | P3 |
One rose but one by those fair fingers cull'd | H |
Were worth a hundred kisses press'd on lips | S3 |
Less exquisite than thine ' | W |
She look'd but all | M3 |
Suffused with blushes neither self possess'd | H |
Nor startled but betwixt this mood and that | H |
Divided in a graceful quiet paused | H |
And dropt the branch she held and turning wound | H |
Her looser hair in braid and stirr'd her lips | S3 |
For some sweet answer tho' no answer came | M2 |
Nor yet refused the rose but granted it | H |
And moved away and left me statue like | U3 |
In act to render thanks | V3 |
I that whole day | H |
Saw her no more altho' I linger'd there | V |
Till every daisy slept and Love's white star | W3 |
Beam'd thro' the thicken'd cedar in the dusk | X3 |
So home we went and all the livelong way | H |
With solemn gibe did Eustace banter me | C |
'Now ' said he ' will you climb the top of Art | H |
You cannot fail but work in hues to dim | Y3 |
The Titianic Flora Will you match | Z3 |
My Juliet you not you the Master Love | O |
A more ideal Artist he than all ' | W |
So home I went but could not sleep for Joy | A3 |
Reading her perfect features in the gloom | R3 |
Kissing the rose she gave me o'er and o'er | Q |
And shaping faithful record of the glance | A4 |
That graced the giving such a noise of life | E3 |
Swarm'd in the golden present such a voice | B4 |
Call'd to me from the years to come and such | C4 |
A length of bright horizon rimm'd the dark | D4 |
And all that night I heard the watchman peal | M3 |
The sliding season all that night I heard | H |
The heavy clocks knolling the drowsy hours | E2 |
The drowsy hours dispensers of all good | H |
O'er the mute city stole with folded wings | H2 |
Distilling odours on me as they went | H |
To greet their fairer sisters of the East | H |
Love at first sight first born and heir to all | M3 |
Made this night thus Henceforward squall nor storm | E4 |
Could keep me from that Eden where she dwelt | H |
Light pretexts drew me sometimes a Dutch love | O |
For tulips then for roses moss or musk | X3 |
To grace my city rooms or fruits and cream | A2 |
Served in the weeping elm and more and more | B2 |
A word could bring the colour to my cheek | F4 |
A thought would fill my eyes with happy dew | H |
Love trebled life within me and with each | G4 |
The year increased | H |
The daughters of the year | H4 |
One after one thro' that still garden pass'd | H |
Each garlanded with her peculiar flower | Q |
Danced into light and died into the shade | H |
And each in passing touch'd with some new grace | K |
Or seem'd to touch her so that day by day | H |
Like one that never can be wholly known | F2 |
Her beauty grew till Autumn brought an hour | Q |
For Eustace when I heard his deep 'I will ' | W |
Breathed like the covenant of a God to hold | H |
From thence thro' all the worlds but I rose up | I4 |
Full of his bliss and following her dark eyes | U |
Felt earth as air beneath me till I reach'd | H |
The wicket gate and found her standing there | V |
There sat we down upon a garden mound | H |
Two mutually enfolded Love the third | H |
Between us in the circle of his arms | J4 |
Enwound us both and over many a range | K4 |
Of waning lime the gray cathedral towers | E2 |
Across a hazy glimmer of the west | H |
Reveal'd their shining windows from them clash'd | H |
The bells we listen'd with the time we play'd | H |
We spoke of other things we coursed about | H |
The subject most at heart more near and near | H4 |
Like doves about a dovecote wheeling round | H |
The central wish until we settled there | V |
Then in that time and place I spoke to her | Q |
Requiring tho' I knew it was mine own | F2 |
Yet for the pleasure that I took to hear | Y |
Requiring at her hand the greatest gift | H |
A woman's heart the heart of her I loved | H |
And in that time and place she answer'd me | C |
And in the compass of three little words | O3 |
More musical than ever came in one | F2 |
The silver fragments of a broken voice | B4 |
Made me most happy faltering 'I am thine ' | W |
Shall I cease here Is this enough to say | H |
That my desire like all strongest hopes | N2 |
By its own energy fulfill'd itself | I2 |
Merged in completion Would you learn at full | M3 |
How passion rose thro' circumstantial grades | L4 |
Beyond all grades develop'd and indeed | H |
I had not staid so long to tell you all | M3 |
But while I mused came Memory with sad eyes | U |
Holding the folded annals of my youth | M4 |
And while I nursed Love with knit brows went by | N4 |
And with a flying finger swept my lips | S3 |
And spake 'Be wise not easily forgiven | F2 |
Are those who setting wide the doors that bar | W3 |
The secret bridal chambers of the heart | H |
Let in the day ' Here then my words have end | H |
Yet might I tell of meetings of farewells | X |
Of that which came between more sweet than each | G4 |
In whispers like the whispers of the leaves | O4 |
That tremble round a nightingale in sighs | U |
Which perfect Joy perplex'd for utterance | P4 |
Stole from her sister Sorrow Might I not tell | M3 |
Of difference reconcilement pledges given | F2 |
And vows where there was never need of vows | Q4 |
And kisses where the heart on one wild leap | R4 |
Hung tranced from all pulsation as above | O |
The heavens between their fairy fleeces pale | M3 |
Sow'd all their mystic gulfs with fleeting stars | S4 |
Or while the balmy glooming crescent lit | H |
Spread the light haze along the river shores | T4 |
And in the hollows or as once we met | H |
Unheedful tho' beneath a whispering rain | F2 |
Night slid down one long stream of sighing wind | H |
And in her bosom bore the baby Sleep | R4 |
But this whole hour your eyes have been intent | H |
On that veil'd picture veil'd for what it holds | S2 |
May not be dwelt on by the common day | H |
This prelude has prepared thee Raise thy soul | M3 |
Make thine heart ready with thine eyes the time | U4 |
Is come to raise the veil | M3 |
Behold her there | V |
As I beheld her ere she knew my heart | H |
My first last love the idol of my youth | M4 |
The darling of my manhood and alas | V4 |
Now the most blessed memory of mine age | W4 |
Alfred Lord Tennyson
(1)
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