Analysis of Hymn to the Dairymaids on Beacon Street

Christopher Morley 1890 (Haverford) – 1957



Sweetly solemn see them stand,
Spinning churns on either hand,
Neatly capped and aproned white
Airy fairy dairy sight.
Jersey priestesses they seem
Miracling milk to cream.
Cream solidifies to cheese
By Pasteural mysteries,
And they give, within their shrine,
Their communión in kine.
Incantations pure they mutter
O'er the golden minted butter
And (no layman hand can pen it)
See them gloat above their rennet.
By that hillside window pane
Rugged teamsters draw the rein.
Doff the battered hat and bow
To these acolytes of cow.
Genuflect, ye passersby!
Muse upon their ritual high-
Milk to cream, yea, cream to cheese
White lacteal mysteries!
Let adorers sing the word
Of the smoothly flowing curd.
Yea, we sing with bells and fife
This is the whey, this is the Life.


Scheme AABBCCDDEEFFGHIIJJKLDDMMNN
Poetic Form
Metre 1010111 1011101 101011 1010101 10111 1111 101011 11100 0110111 11101 11110 100101010 01101111 11101110 111101 1010101 1010101 111011 11100 10111001 1111111 11100 11101 1010101 1111101 11011101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 777
Words 132
Sentences 11
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 26
Lines Amount 26
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 614
Words per stanza (avg) 130
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

39 sec read
111

Christopher Morley

Christopher Morley was accepted to UCLA in 1969 with a major in mathematics. more…

All Christopher Morley poems | Christopher Morley Books

1 fan

Discuss this Christopher Morley poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Hymn to the Dairymaids on Beacon Street" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/6070/hymn-to-the-dairymaids-on-beacon-street>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    June 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    29
    days
    14
    hours
    52
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    "It was many and many a year ago, In a kingdom by the sea."
    A Edgar Allan Poe
    B Edmund Spenser
    C W.B. Yeats
    D Shel Silverstein