A Corymbus For Autumn Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: AAABBAAACCCCCDCDDACA CCCCCEAAAEAAAEAAAAAE CFCEF EEFFEFFEGFGCFCEE HCHCCCCCAIAIAECCCEEJ CJKCKKAKECEAEKKKCLLC CMMM KKEE EKKAAKAAACKCKCFKKCFF FCCKKFCFEEAAEEAKAKKC CHearken my chant 'tis | A |
As a Bacchante's | A |
A grape spurt a vine splash a tossed tress flown vaunt 'tis | A |
Suffer my singing | B |
Gipsy of Seasons ere thou go winging | B |
Ere Winter throws | A |
His slaking snows | A |
In thy feasting flagon's impurpurate glows | A |
The sopped sun toper as ever drank hard | C |
Stares foolish hazed | C |
Rubicund dazed | C |
Totty with thine October tankard | C |
Tanned maiden with cheeks like apples russet | C |
And breast a brown agaric faint flushing at tip | D |
And a mouth too red for the moon to buss it | C |
But her cheek unvow its vestalship | D |
Thy mists enclip | D |
Her steel clear circuit illuminous | A |
Until it crust | C |
Rubiginous | A |
With the glorious gules of a glowing rust | C |
Far other saw we other indeed | C |
The crescent moon in the May days dead | C |
Fly up with its slender white wings spread | C |
Out of its nest in the sea's waved mead | C |
How are the veins of thee Autumn laden | E |
Umbered juices | A |
And pulped oozes | A |
Pappy out of the cherry bruises | A |
Froth the veins of thee wild wild maiden | E |
With hair that musters | A |
In globed clusters | A |
In tumbling clusters like swarthy grapes | A |
Round thy brow and thine ears o'ershaden | E |
With the burning darkness of eyes like pansies | A |
Like velvet pansies | A |
Wherethrough escapes | A |
The splendid might of thy conflagrate fancies | A |
With robe gold tawny not hiding the shapes | A |
Of the feet whereunto it falleth down | E |
Thy naked feet unsandalled | C |
With robe gold tawny that does not veil | F |
Feet where the red | C |
Is meshed in the brown | E |
Like a rubied sun in a Venice sail | F |
- | |
The wassailous heart of the Year is thine | E |
His Bacchic fingers disentwine | E |
His coronal | F |
At thy festival | F |
His revelling fingers disentwine | E |
Leaf flower and all | F |
And let them fall | F |
Blossom and all in thy wavering wine | E |
The Summer looks out from her brazen tower | G |
Through the flashing bars of July | F |
Waiting thy ripened golden shower | G |
Whereof there cometh with sandals fleet | C |
The North west flying viewlessly | F |
With a sword to sheer and untameable feet | C |
And the gorgon head of the Winter shown | E |
To stiffen the gazing earth as stone | E |
- | |
In crystal Heaven's magic sphere | H |
Poised in the palm of thy fervid hand | C |
Thou seest the enchanted shows appear | H |
That stain Favonian firmament | C |
Richer than ever the Occident | C |
Gave up to bygone Summer's wand | C |
Day's dying dragon lies drooping his crest | C |
Panting red pants into the West | C |
Or the butterfly sunset claps its wings | A |
With flitter alit on the swinging blossom | I |
The gusty blossom that tosses and swings | A |
Of the sea with its blown and ruffled bosom | I |
Its ruffled bosom wherethrough the wind sings | A |
Till the crisped petals are loosened and strown | E |
Overblown on the sand | C |
Shed curling as dead | C |
Rose leaves curl on the flecked strand | C |
Or higher holier saintlier when as now | E |
All nature sacerdotal seems and thou | E |
The calm hour strikes on yon golden gong | J |
In tones of floating and mellow light | C |
A spreading summons to even song | J |
See how there | K |
The cowled night | C |
Kneels on the Eastern sanctuary stair | K |
What is this feel of incense everywhere | K |
Clings it round folds of the blanch amiced clouds | A |
Upwafted by the solemn thurifer | K |
The mighty spirit unknown | E |
That swingeth the slow earth before the embannered | C |
Throne | E |
Or is't the Season under all these shrouds | A |
Of light and sense and silence makes her known | E |
A presence everywhere | K |
An inarticulate prayer | K |
A hand on the soothed tresses of the air | K |
But there is one hour scant | C |
Of this Titanian primal liturgy | L |
As there is but one hour for me and thee | L |
Autumn for thee and thine hierophant | C |
Of this grave ending chant | C |
Round the earth still and stark | M |
Heaven's death lights kindle yellow spark by spark | M |
Beneath the dreadful catafalque of the dark | M |
- | |
And I had ended there | K |
But a great wind blew all the stars to flare | K |
And cried 'I sweep the path before the moon | E |
Tarry ye now the coming of the moon | E |
For she is coming soon ' | - |
Then died before the coming of the moon | E |
And she came forth upon the trepidant air | K |
In vesture unimagined fair | K |
Woven as woof of flag lilies | A |
And curdled as of flag lilies | A |
The vapour at the feet of her | K |
And a haze about her tinged in fainter wise | A |
As if she had trodden the stars in press | A |
Till the gold wine spurted over her dress | A |
Till the gold wine gushed out round her feet | C |
Spouted over her stained wear | K |
And bubbled in golden froth at her feet | C |
And hung like a whirlpool's mist round her | K |
Still mighty Season do I see't | C |
Thy sway is still majestical | F |
Thou hold'st of God by title sure | K |
Thine indefeasible investiture | K |
And that right round thy locks are native to | C |
The heavens upon thy brow imperial | F |
This huge terrene thy ball | F |
And o'er thy shoulders thrown wide air's depending pall | F |
What if thine earth be blear and bleak of hue | C |
Still still the skies are sweet | C |
Still Season still thou hast thy triumphs there | K |
How have I unaware | K |
Forgetful of my strain inaugural | F |
Cleft the great rondure of thy reign complete | C |
Yielding thee half who hast indeed the all | F |
I will not think thy sovereignty begun | E |
But with the shepherd sun | E |
That washes in the sea the stars' gold fleeces | A |
Or that with day it ceases | A |
Who sets his burning lips to the salt brine | E |
And purples it to wine | E |
While I behold how ermined Artemis | A |
Ordained weed must wear | K |
And toil thy business | A |
Who witness am of her | K |
Her too in autumn turned a vintager | K |
And laden with its lamped clusters bright | C |
The fiery fruited vineyard of this night | C |
Francis Thompson
(1)
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