To Daffodils

Herrick’s poem consists of two stanzas of 10 lines each. Each stanza features the same metrical pattern, with the first four lines alternating between iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter. An iamb is a metrical unit, or “foot,” in poetry consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. In a tetrameter line, there are four of these units, while in a trimeter line there are three of these units. This pattern can be clearly seen in the first two lines of the poem: “Fair Daffodils, we weep to see / You haste away so soon” (Lines 1 - 2). This pattern is broken when each stanza reaches its respective fifth line. The fifth and seventh lines of each stanza feature a single metrical unit of two stressed syllables, also known as a spondee: “Stay, stay” (Line 5), “Has run” (Line 7), “We die” (Line 15), and “Away” (Line 17). The lines separating these instances of spondaic meter are written in iambic trimeter, and after the final spondee has passed, the lines return to alternating between iambic trimeter and iambic pentameter.

The unique meter Herrick utilizes in this poem fits with the message.