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 EKOK

It was a hundred years agoA
When by the woodland waysB
The traveller saw the wild deer drinkC
Or crop the birchen spraysB
-
Beneath a hill whose rocky sideD
O'erbrowed a grassy meadE
And fenced a cottage from the windF
A deer was wont to feedE
-
She only came when on the cliffsG
The evening moonlight layH
And no man knew the secret hauntsI
In which she walked by dayH
-
White were her feet her forehead showedJ
A spot of silvery whiteK
That seemed to glimmer like a starL
In autumn's hazy nightK
-
And here when sang the whippoorwillH
She cropped the sprouting leavesM
And here her rustling steps were heardN
On still October evesM
-
But when the broad midsummer moonO
Rose o'er that grassy lawnP
Beside the silver footed deerQ
There grazed a spotted fawnP
-
The cottage dame forbade her sonR
To aim the rifle hereS
It were a sin she said to harmT
Or fright that friendly deerQ
-
This spot has been my pleasant homeU
Ten peaceful years and moreV
And ever when the moonlight shinesW
She feeds before our doorV
-
The red men say that here she walkedX
A thousand moons agoA
They never raise the war whoop hereS
And never twang the bowY
-
I love to watch her as she feedsZ
And think that all is wellH
While such a gentle creature hauntsI
The place in which we dwellH
-
The youth obeyed and sought for gameA2
In forests far awayH
Where deep in silence and in mossB2
The ancient woodland layH
-
But once in autumn's golden timeC2
He ranged the wild in vainD2
Nor roused the pheasant nor the deerQ
And wandered home againE2
-
The crescent moon and crimson eveF2
Shone with a mingling lightK
The deer upon the grassy meadE
Was feeding full in sightK
-
He raised the rifle to his eyeG2
And from the cliffs aroundH2
A sudden echo shrill and sharpI2
Gave back its deadly soundH2
-
Away into the neighbouring woodJ2
The startled creature flewH
And crimson drops at morning layH
Amid the glimmering dewH
-
Next evening shone the waxing moonO
As sweetly as beforeV
The deer upon the grassy meadE
Was seen again no moreV
-
But ere that crescent moon was oldK2
By night the red men cameA2
And burnt the cottage to the groundH2
And slew the youth and dameA2
-
Now woods have overgrown the meadE
And hid the cliffs from sightK
There shrieks the hovering hawk at noonO
And prowls the fox at nightK

William Cullen Bryant



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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?
 

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