The Ancestral Dwelling Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCD EFEEBEE CCGFHEI EJEECCD EEEKEECE ICE| Dear to my heart are the ancestral dwellings of America | A |
| Dearer than if they were haunted by ghosts of royal splendour | B |
| These are the homes that were built by the brave beginners of a nation | C |
| They are simple enough to be great and full of a friendly dignity | D |
| - | |
| I love the old white farmhouses nestled in New England valleys | E |
| Ample and long and low with elm trees feathering over them | F |
| Borders of box in the yard and lilacs and old fashioned Howers | E |
| A fan light above the door and little square panes in the windows | E |
| The wood shed piled with maple and birch and hickory ready for winter | B |
| The gambrel roof with its garret crowded with household relics | E |
| All the tokens of prudent thrift and the spirit of self reliance | E |
| - | |
| I love the look of the shingled houses that front the ocean | C |
| Their backs are bowed and their lichened sides are weather beaten | C |
| Soft in their colour as grey pearls they are full of patience and courage | G |
| They seem to grow out of the rocks there is something indomitable about them | F |
| Facing the briny wind in a lonely land they stand undaunted | H |
| While the thin blue line of smoke from the square built chimney rises | E |
| Telling of shelter for man with room for a hearth and a cradle | I |
| - | |
| I love the stately southern mansions with their tall white columns | E |
| They look through avenues of trees over fields where the cotton is growing | J |
| I can see the flutter of white frocks along their shady porches | E |
| Music and laughter float from the windows the yards are full of hounds and horses | E |
| They have all ridden away yet the houses have not forgotten | C |
| They are proud of their name and place and their doors are always open | C |
| For the thing they remember best is the pride of their ancient hospitality | D |
| - | |
| In the towns I love the discreet and tranquil Quaker dwellings | E |
| With their demure brick faces and immaculate white stone doorsteps | E |
| And the gabled houses of the Dutch with their high stoops and iron railings | E |
| I can see their little brass knobs shining in the morning sunlight | K |
| And the solid houses of the descendants of the Puritans | E |
| Fronting the street with their narrow doors and dormer windows | E |
| And the triple galleried many pillared mansions of Charleston | C |
| Standing sideways in their gardens full of roses and magnolias | E |
| - | |
| Yes they are all dear to my heart and in my eyes they are beautiful | I |
| For under their roofs were nourished the thoughts that have made the nation | C |
| The glory and strength of America came from her ancestral dwellings | E |
Henry Van Dyke
(1)
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