The Death of the Poor
It is Death that consoles--yea, and causes our lives;'Tis the goal of this Life--and of Hope the sole ray,Which like a strong potion enlivens and givesUs the strength to plod on to the end of the day.
And all through the tempest, the frost and the snows,'Tis the shimmering light on our black sky-line;'Tis the famous inn which the guide-book shows,Whereat one can eat, and sleep, and recline;
'Tis an angel that holds in his magic handsThe sleep, which ecstatic dream commands,Who remakes up the beds of the naked and poor;
'Tis the fame of the gods, 'tis the granary blest,'Tis the purse of the poor, and his birth-place of rest,To the unknown Heavens, 'tis the wide-open door.
Words in this poem
- plod v. i.
- To travel slowly but steadily; to trudge. [Gf. Gael. plod a clod, a pool; also, to strike or pelt with a clod or clods.]
- shimmering n.
- A gleam or glimmering.
- whereat adv.
- At which; upon which; whereupon; -- used relatively.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Death of the Poor is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Flowers of Evil, Project Gutenberg ebook #36098; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Charles Baudelaire, The Death of the Poor, in The Flowers of Evil (1909), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36098, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/baudelaire-flowers-of-evil/the-death-of-the-poor.html, id L25446.
Form and metre
The Death of the Poor is 14 lines in 4 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 2 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 81%).
See other poems in anapaestic tetrameter.
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 ABAB livesA · rayB · givesA · dayB
- 2 ABAB snowsA · lineB · showsA · reclineB
- 3 AA- handsA · commandsA · poor
- 4 AA- blestA · restA · door
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 anapaestic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| It is Death that consoles--yea, and causes our lives; | 12 | ····˘/··/˘/· |
| 'Tis the goal of this Life--and of Hope the sole ray, | 12 | ············ |
| Which like a strong potion enlivens and gives | 11 | ····/˘˘/˘·· |
| Us the strength to plod on to the end of the day. | 12 | ············ |
| And all through the tempest, the frost and the snows, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| 'Tis the shimmering light on our black sky-line; | 12 | ··/˘˘··/˘··· |
| 'Tis the famous inn which the guide-book shows, | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| Whereat one can eat, and sleep, and recline; | 10 | ˘/······˘/ |
| 'Tis an angel that holds in his magic hands | 11 | ··/˘····/˘· |
| The sleep, which ecstatic dream commands, | 9 | ···˘/˘·˘/ |
| Who remakes up the beds of the naked and poor; | 12 | ·//·····/˘·· |
| 'Tis the fame of the gods, 'tis the granary blest, | 12 | ········/˘˘· |
| 'Tis the purse of the poor, and his birth-place of rest, | 12 | ············ |
| To the unknown Heavens, 'tis the wide-open door. | 12 | ··˘//˘···/˘· |
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