Public Domain Poem 10 - Morning by Charles Stuart Calverley

How to read a poem.

Use this suggested framework to read a poem in a calm, repeatable way. You do not need to "get it right". Your goal is to notice what the poem is doing, then test a few possible meanings. (View exercise in a new tab.)

Morning
by Charles Stuart Calverley
1831 — 1884

'Tis the hour when white-horsed Day
Chases Night her mares away;
When the Gates of Dawn (they say)
Phobus opes:
And I gather that the Queen
May be uniformly seen,
Should the weather be serene,
On the slopes.

When the ploughman, as he goes
Leathern-gaitered o'er the snows,
From his hat and from his nose
Knocks the ice;
And the panes are frosted o'er,
And the lawn is crisp and hoar,
As has been observed before
Once or twice.

When arrayed in breastplate red
Sings the robin, for his bread,
On the elmtree that hath shed
Every leaf;
While, within, the frost benumbs
The still sleepy schoolboy's thumbs,
And in consequence his sums
Come to grief.

But when breakfast-time hath come,
And he's crunching crust and crumb,
He'll no longer look a glum
Little dunce;
But be brisk as bees that settle
On a summer rose's petal:
Wherefore, Polly, put the kettle
On at once.

If you like, read my analysis.

Starting: Read slowly.
  • Read the poem once, straight through. Now, read it a second time, slower.
  • Circle or list any words or lines that feel important.
Surface: What's on the Surface?
  • Who is speaking, to whom?
  • What is the scene?
  • What happens in the poem?
Sound: What do you hear?
  • What words or sounds repeat?
  • Is the movement fast, slow, smooth, edgy?
  • What can you detect about a rhythm or beat?
  • What parts make you pause?
Structure: How is the poem built?
  • How many lines and stanzas are there?Are the lines short or long? Is there a pattern?
  • Where are the turning points (a shift in mood, thought, or direction)?
  • What does the ending do (close, open, surprise, repeat, resolve)?
Suggestion: What might the poem suggest?
  • What images stand out? What do they suggest?
  • Are there comparisons (like/as, or one thing described as another)?
  • Are there symbols (an object that may stand for an idea)?
  • Does anything feel ambiguous (more than one possible meaning)?
Significance: What is the message?
  • What feeling, conflict, or human experience is at the center?
  • What question does the poem raise?
  • What might the poem be asking the reader to notice, remember, or reconsider?
  • What stays with you after reading?