Callicles
No; and yetI would fain stay, and help thee tend him. OnceHe knew me well, and would oft notice me;And still, I know not how, he draws me to him,And I could watch him with his proud sad face,His flowing locks and gold-encircled browAnd kingly gait, forever; such a spellIn his severe looks, such a majestyAs drew of old the people after him,In Agrigentum and Olympia,When his star reigned, before his banishment,Is potent still on me in his decline.But, O Pausanias, he is changed of late:There is a settled trouble in his airAdmits no momentary brightening now;And when he comes among his friends at feasts,’Tis as an orphan among prosperous boys.Thou know’st of old he loved this harp of mine,When first he sojourned with Peisianax;He is now always moody, and I fear him;But I would serve him, soothe him, if I could,Dared one but try.
Words in this poem
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- soothe v. t.
- To assent to as true. Testament of Love. [Originally, to assent to as true; OE. so to verify, AS. ges to prove the truth of, to bear witness. See Sooth, a.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Callicles is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #54985; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Matthew Arnold, Callicles, in Poems (1849–1867), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #54985, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/arnold-poems/callicles-2.html, id L07030.
Form and metre
Callicles is 22 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.3 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 27% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ---A-B--A--C--B--C-A-- yet · once · me · himA · face · browB · spell · majesty · himA · olympia · banishment · declineC · late · air · nowB · feasts · boys · mineC · peisianax · himA · could · try
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| No; and yet | 3 | ··· |
| I would fain stay, and help thee tend him. Once | 10 | ·········· |
| He knew me well, and would oft notice me; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And still, I know not how, he draws me to him, | 11 | ··········· |
| And I could watch him with his proud sad face, | 10 | ·········· |
| His flowing locks and gold-encircled brow | 9 | ·/···˘/˘· |
| And kingly gait, forever; such a spell | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| In his severe looks, such a majesty | 9 | ··˘/···/˘ |
| As drew of old the people after him, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| In Agrigentum and Olympia, | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| When his star reigned, before his banishment, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Is potent still on me in his decline. | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| But, O Pausanias, he is changed of late: | 10 | ·········· |
| There is a settled trouble in his air | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Admits no momentary brightening now; | 10 | ˘/·/˘·˘/˘· |
| And when he comes among his friends at feasts, | 10 | ·········· |
| ’Tis as an orphan among prosperous boys. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Thou know’st of old he loved this harp of mine, | 10 | ·········· |
| When first he sojourned with Peisianax; | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| He is now always moody, and I fear him; | 11 | ···/·/˘···· |
| But I would serve him, soothe him, if I could, | 10 | ·········· |
| Dared one but try. | 4 | ···· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.