The White-footed Deer. Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCB DEFE GHIH JKLK HMNM OPQP RSTQ UVWV XASY ZHIH A2HB2H C2D2QE2 F2KEK G2H2I2H2 J2HHH OVEV K2A2H2A2 EKOKIt was a hundred years ago | A |
When by the woodland ways | B |
The traveller saw the wild deer drink | C |
Or crop the birchen sprays | B |
- | |
Beneath a hill whose rocky side | D |
O'erbrowed a grassy mead | E |
And fenced a cottage from the wind | F |
A deer was wont to feed | E |
- | |
She only came when on the cliffs | G |
The evening moonlight lay | H |
And no man knew the secret haunts | I |
In which she walked by day | H |
- | |
White were her feet her forehead showed | J |
A spot of silvery white | K |
That seemed to glimmer like a star | L |
In autumn's hazy night | K |
- | |
And here when sang the whippoorwill | H |
She cropped the sprouting leaves | M |
And here her rustling steps were heard | N |
On still October eves | M |
- | |
But when the broad midsummer moon | O |
Rose o'er that grassy lawn | P |
Beside the silver footed deer | Q |
There grazed a spotted fawn | P |
- | |
The cottage dame forbade her son | R |
To aim the rifle here | S |
It were a sin she said to harm | T |
Or fright that friendly deer | Q |
- | |
This spot has been my pleasant home | U |
Ten peaceful years and more | V |
And ever when the moonlight shines | W |
She feeds before our door | V |
- | |
The red men say that here she walked | X |
A thousand moons ago | A |
They never raise the war whoop here | S |
And never twang the bow | Y |
- | |
I love to watch her as she feeds | Z |
And think that all is well | H |
While such a gentle creature haunts | I |
The place in which we dwell | H |
- | |
The youth obeyed and sought for game | A2 |
In forests far away | H |
Where deep in silence and in moss | B2 |
The ancient woodland lay | H |
- | |
But once in autumn's golden time | C2 |
He ranged the wild in vain | D2 |
Nor roused the pheasant nor the deer | Q |
And wandered home again | E2 |
- | |
The crescent moon and crimson eve | F2 |
Shone with a mingling light | K |
The deer upon the grassy mead | E |
Was feeding full in sight | K |
- | |
He raised the rifle to his eye | G2 |
And from the cliffs around | H2 |
A sudden echo shrill and sharp | I2 |
Gave back its deadly sound | H2 |
- | |
Away into the neighbouring wood | J2 |
The startled creature flew | H |
And crimson drops at morning lay | H |
Amid the glimmering dew | H |
- | |
Next evening shone the waxing moon | O |
As sweetly as before | V |
The deer upon the grassy mead | E |
Was seen again no more | V |
- | |
But ere that crescent moon was old | K2 |
By night the red men came | A2 |
And burnt the cottage to the ground | H2 |
And slew the youth and dame | A2 |
- | |
Now woods have overgrown the mead | E |
And hid the cliffs from sight | K |
There shrieks the hovering hawk at noon | O |
And prowls the fox at night | K |
William Cullen Bryant
(1)
Poem topics: , Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme
Submit Spanish Translation
Submit German Translation
Submit French Translation
<< The Count Of Greiers. - From The German Of Uhland. (translations.) Poem
The Antiquity Of Freedom. Poem>>
Write your comment about The White-footed Deer. poem by William Cullen Bryant
Beth Jacobi: I have know and heard my sister read it. I am trying to find some way of getting a printed copy to frame and put on my wall. Where can I find it?
Best Poems of William Cullen Bryant