Reminded
Beneath my window twilight madeFamiliar mysteries of shade.Faint voices from the darkening downWere calling vaguely to the town.Intent upon a low, far gleamThat burned upon the world's extreme,I sat, with short reprieve from grief,And turned the volume, leaf by leaf,Wherein a hand, long dead, had wroughtA million miracles of thought.My fingers carelessly unclungThe lettered pages, and amongThem wandered witless, nor divinedThe wealth in which, poor fools, they mined.The soul that should have led their questWas dreaming in the level west,Where a tall tower, stark and still,Uplifted on a distant hill,Stood lone and passionless to claimIts guardian star's returning flame.
I know not how my dream was broke,But suddenly my spirit wokeFilled with a foolish fear to lookUpon the hand that clove the book,Significantly pointing; nextI bent attentive to the text,And read--and as I read grew old--The mindless words: "Poor Tom's a-cold!"
Ah me! to what a subtle touchThe brimming cup resigns its clutchUpon the wine. Dear God, is 't writThat hearts their overburden bearOf bitterness though thou permitThe pranks of Chance, alurk in nooks,And striking coward blows from books,And dead hands reaching everywhere?
Words in this poem
- reprieve v. t.
- To delay the punishment of; to suspend the execution of sentence on; to give a respite to; to respite; as, to reprieve a criminal for thirty days. [OE. repreven to reject, disallow, OF. reprover to blame, reproach, condemn (pres. il reprueve), F. réprouver to disapprove, fr. L. reprobare to reject, condemn;]
- lettered a.
- Literate; educated; versed in literature.
- witless a.
- Destitute of wit or understanding; wanting thought; hence, indiscreet; not under the guidance of judgment.
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- stark adv.
- Wholly; entirely; absolutely; quite; as, stark mind.
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- passionless a.
- Void of passion; without anger or emotion; not easily excited; calm.
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- significantly adv.
- In a significant manner.
- mindless a.
- Not indued with mind or intellectual powers; stupid; unthinking.
- brimming a.
- Full to the brim; overflowing.
- overburden v. t.
- To load with too great weight or too much care, etc. Sir P.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Reminded is in the public domain. This text is taken from Shapes of Clay (1903), Project Gutenberg ebook #12658; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Ambrose Bierce, Reminded, in Shapes of Clay (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12658, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bierce-shapes-of-clay/reminded.html, id L28054.
Form and metre
Reminded is 36 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 83% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, other poems in iambic 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJ madeA · shadeA · downB · townB · gleamC · extremeC · griefD · leafD · wroughtE · thoughtE · unclungF · amongF · divinedG · minedG · questH · westH · stillI · hillI · claimJ · flameJ
- 2 AABBCCDD brokeA · wokeA · lookB · bookB · nextC · textC · oldD · coldD
- 3 AABCBDDC touchA · clutchA · writB · bearC · permitB · nooksD · booksD · everywhereC
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Beneath my window twilight made | 8 | ···/˘/·· |
| Familiar mysteries of shade. | 8 | ˘/˘/˘˘·· |
| Faint voices from the darkening down | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Were calling vaguely to the town. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Intent upon a low, far gleam | 8 | ˘/······ |
| That burned upon the world's extreme, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| I sat, with short reprieve from grief, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| And turned the volume, leaf by leaf, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Wherein a hand, long dead, had wrought | 8 | ········ |
| A million miracles of thought. | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| My fingers carelessly unclung | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| The lettered pages, and among | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Them wandered witless, nor divined | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| The wealth in which, poor fools, they mined. | 8 | ········ |
| The soul that should have led their quest | 8 | ········ |
| Was dreaming in the level west, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Where a tall tower, stark and still, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Uplifted on a distant hill, | 8 | /˘˘··/˘· |
| Stood lone and passionless to claim | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Its guardian star's returning flame. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| I know not how my dream was broke, | 8 | ········ |
| But suddenly my spirit woke | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| Filled with a foolish fear to look | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Upon the hand that clove the book, | 8 | ········ |
| Significantly pointing; next | 8 | ˘/˘˘˘/˘· |
| I bent attentive to the text, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| And read--and as I read grew old-- | 8 | ········ |
| The mindless words: "Poor Tom's a-cold!" | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Ah me! to what a subtle touch | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The brimming cup resigns its clutch | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| Upon the wine. Dear God, is 't writ | 9 | ········· |
| That hearts their overburden bear | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Of bitterness though thou permit | 8 | ·/˘˘··˘/ |
| The pranks of Chance, alurk in nooks, | 8 | ········ |
| And striking coward blows from books, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And dead hands reaching everywhere? | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
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.