Laurel · Robert Browning · Dramatic Lyrics

Mesmerism

iambic trimeter · ABBAA · 135 lines · from Dramatic Lyrics

All I believed is true!I am able yetAll I want, to getBy a method as strange as new:Dare I trust the same to you?

If at night, when doors are shut,And the wood-worm picks,And the death-watch ticks,And the bar has a flag of smut,And a cat's in the water-butt--

And the socket floats and flares,And the house-beams groan,And a foot unknownIs surmised on the garret-stairs,And the locks slip unawares--

And the spider, to serve his ends,By a sudden thread,Arms and legs outspread,On the table's midst descends,Comes to find, God knows what friends!--

If since eve drew in, I say,I have sat and brought(So to speak) my thoughtTo bear on the woman away,Till I felt my hair turn grey--

Till I seemed to have and hold,In the vacancy'Twixt the wall and me,From the hair-plait's chestnut goldTo the foot in its muslin fold--

Have and hold, then and there,Her, from head to footBreathing and mute,Passive and yet aware,In the grasp of my steady stare--

Hold and have, there and then,All her body and soulThat completes my whole,All that women add to men,In the clutch of my steady ken--

Having and holding, tillI imprint her fastOn the void at lastAs the sun does whom he willBy the calotypist's skill--

Then,--if my heart's strength serve,And through all and eachOf the veils I reachTo her soul and never swerve,Knitting an iron nerve--

Command her soul to advanceAnd inform the shapeWhich has made escapeAnd before my countenanceAnswers me glance for glance--

I, still with a gesture fitOf my hands that bestDo my soul's behest,Pointing the power from it,While myself do steadfast sit--

Steadfast and still the sameOn my object bent,While the hands give ventTo my ardour and my aimAnd break into very flame--

Then I reach, I must believe,Not her soul in vain,For to me againIt reaches, and past retrieveIs wound in the toils I weave;

And must follow as I require,As befits a thrall,Bringing flesh and all,Essence and earth-attireTo the source of the tractile fire:

Till the house called hers, not mine,With a growing weightSeems to suffocateIf she break not its leaden lineAnd escape from its close confine.

Out of doors into the night!On to the mazeOf the wild wood-ways,Not turning to left nor rightFrom the pathway, blind with sight--

Making thro' rain and windO'er the broken shrubs,'Twixt the stems and stubs,With a still, composed, strong mind,Nor a care for the world behind--

Swifter and still more swift,As the crowding peaceDoth to joy increaseIn the wide blind eyes upliftThro' the darkness and the drift!

While I--to the shape, I tooFeel my soul dilateNor a whit abate,And relax not a gesture due,As I see my belief come true.

For, there! have I drawn or noLife to that lip?Do my fingers dipIn a flame which again they throwOn the cheek that breaks a-glow?

Ha! was the hair so first?What, unfilleted,Made alive, and spreadThrough the void with a rich outburst,Chestnut gold-interspersed?

Like the doors of a casket-shrine,See, on either side,Her two arms divideTill the heart betwixt makes sign,Take me, for I am thine!

"Now--now"--the door is heard!Hark, the stairs! and near--Nearer--and here--"Now!" and at call the thirdShe enters without a word.

On doth she march and onTo the fancied shape;It is, past escape,Herself, now: the dream is doneAnd the shadow and she are one.

First I will pray. Do ThouThat ownest the soul,Yet wilt grant controlTo another, nor disallowFor a time, restrain me now!

I admonish me while I may,Not to squander guilt,Since require Thou wiltAt my hand its price one day!What the price is, who can say?

Words in this poem 15

garret n.: A turret; a watchtower. [OE. garite, garette, watchtower, place of lookout, OF. garite, also meaning, a place of refuge, F. guérite a place of refuge, donjon, sentinel box, fr. OF. gari]
outspread v. t.: To spread out; to expand; -- usually as a past part. or adj.
vacancy n.: The quality or state of being vacant; emptiness; hence, freedom from employment; intermission; leisure; idleness; listlessness. [Cf. F. vacance.]
behest v. t.: To vow. Paston.
ardour n.: Heat, in a literal sense; as, the ardor of the sun's rays. [L. ardor, fr. ardere to burn: cf. OF. ardor, ardur, F. ardeur.]
retrieve n.: A seeking again; a discovery. B. Jonson.
tractile a.: Capable of being drawn out in length; ductile. [L. trahere, tractum, to draw.]
maze n.: A wild fancy; a confused notion. [OE. mase; cf. OE. masen to confuse, puzzle, Norweg. masast to fall into a slumber, masa to be continually busy, prate, chatter, Icel. masa to chatter, dial. Sw.]
pathway n.: A footpath; a beaten track; any path or course. Also used figuratively.
swifter v. t.: To tighten, as slack standing rigging, by bringing the opposite shrouds nearer.
uplift v. t.: To lift or raise aloft; to raise; to elevate; as, to uplift the arm; to uplift a rock.
whit n.: The smallest part or particle imaginable; a bit; a jot; an iota; -- generally used in an adverbial phrase in a negative sentence. [OE. wight, wiht, AS. wiht a creature, a thing. See Wight, and cf. Aught, Naught.]
outburst n.: A bursting forth.
betwixt prep.: In the space which separates; between. [OE. betwix, bitwix, rarely bitwixt, AS. betweox, betweohs, betweoh, betwih; pref. be- by + a form fr. AS. twa two. See Between.]
disallow v. t.: To refuse to allow; to deny the force or validity of; to disown and reject; as, the judge disallowed the executor's charge. [Pref. dis- + allow: cf. OF. desalouer, desloer, to blame, dissuade.]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

Mesmerism is in the public domain. This text is taken from Dramatic Romances, Project Gutenberg ebook #4253; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: Robert Browning, Mesmerism, in Dramatic Lyrics (1842), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #4253, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/browning-dramatic-lyrics/mesmerism.html, id L03540.

Form and metre

Mesmerism is 135 lines in 27 stanzas of 5 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABBAA, complete in 23 of its 27 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.3 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 37% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.

See other poems in iambic trimeter.

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 ABBAA true^A · yet^B · get^B · new^A · you^A
2 ABBAA shut^A · picks^B · ticks^B · smut^A · butt^A
3 ABBAA flares^A · groan^B · unknown^B · stairs^A · unawares^A
4 ABBAA ends^A · thread^B · outspread^B · descends^A · friends^A
5 ABBAA say^A · brought^B · thought^B · away^A · grey^A
6 A--AA hold^A · vacancy · me · gold^A · fold^A
7 A--AA there^A · foot · mute · aware^A · stare^A
8 ABBAA then^A · soul^B · whole^B · men^A · ken^A
9 ABBAA till^A · fast^B · last^B · will^A · skill^A
10 ABBAA serve^A · each^B · reach^B · swerve^A · nerve^A
11 ABBAA advance^A · shape^B · escape^B · countenance^A · glance^A
12 ABBAA fit^A · best^B · behest^B · it^A · sit^A
13 ABBAA same^A · bent^B · vent^B · aim^A · flame^A
14 ABBAA believe^A · vain^B · again^B · retrieve^A · weave^A
15 ABBAA require^A · thrall^B · all^B · attire^A · fire^A
16 ABBAA mine^A · weight^B · suffocate^B · line^A · confine^A
17 ABBAA night^A · maze^B · ways^B · right^A · sight^A
18 ABBAA wind^A · shrubs^B · stubs^B · mind^A · behind^A
19 ABBAA swift^A · peace^B · increase^B · uplift^A · drift^A
20 ABBAA too^A · dilate^B · abate^B · due^A · true^A
21 ABBAA no^A · lip^B · dip^B · throw^A · glow^A
22 A--AA first^A · unfilleted · spread · outburst^A · interspersed^A
23 ABBAA shrine^A · side^B · divide^B · sign^A · thine^A
24 ABBAA heard^A · near^B · here^B · third^A · word^A
25 -AABB on · shape^A · escape^A · done^B · one^B
26 ABBAA thou^A · soul^B · control^B · disallow^A · now^A
27 ABBAA may^A · guilt^B · wilt^B · day^A · say^A

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 trimeter. How this is done.

Line	Syl.	Stress
All I believed is true!	7	··˘/˘··
I am able yet	5	··/˘·
All I want, to get	5	·····
By a method as strange as new:	8	··/˘····
Dare I trust the same to you?	7	·······
If at night, when doors are shut,	7	·······
And the wood-worm picks,	5	·····
And the death-watch ticks,	5	·····
And the bar has a flag of smut,	8	········
And a cat's in the water-butt--	8	·····/˘·
And the socket floats and flares,	7	··/˘···
And the house-beams groan,	5	·····
And a foot unknown	5	···˘/
Is surmised on the garret-stairs,	8	·˘/··/˘·
And the locks slip unawares--	7	·····˘/
And the spider, to serve his ends,	8	··/˘····
By a sudden thread,	5	··/˘·
Arms and legs outspread,	5	···˘/
On the table's midst descends,	7	··/˘·˘/
Comes to find, God knows what friends!--	7	·······
If since eve drew in, I say,	7	·······
I have sat and brought	5	·····
(So to speak) my thought	5	·····
To bear on the woman away,	8	····/˘˘/
Till I felt my hair turn grey--	7	·······
Till I seemed to have and hold,	8	···˘····
In the vacancy	5	··/˘˘
'Twixt the wall and me,	5	·····
From the hair-plait's chestnut gold	7	····/··
To the foot in its muslin fold--	8	·····/˘·
Have and hold, then and there,	6	······
Her, from head to foot	5	·····
Breathing and mute,	4	/˘··
Passive and yet aware,	6	/˘··˘/
In the grasp of my steady stare--	8	·····/˘·
Hold and have, there and then,	6	······
All her body and soul	6	··/˘··
That completes my whole,	5	·˘/··
All that women add to men,	7	··/˘···
In the clutch of my steady ken--	8	·····/˘·
Having and holding, till	6	/˘·/˘·
I imprint her fast	5	·˘/··
On the void at last	5	·····
As the sun does whom he will	7	·······
By the calotypist's skill--	7	·······
Then,--if my heart's strength serve,	6	······
And through all and each	5	·····
Of the veils I reach	5	·····
To her soul and never swerve,	7	····/˘·
Knitting an iron nerve--	6	/˘·/˘·
Command her soul to advance	7	˘/···˘/
And inform the shape	5	·˘/··
Which has made escape	5	···˘/
And before my countenance	7	····/˘˘
Answers me glance for glance--	6	/˘····
I, still with a gesture fit	7	····/˘·
Of my hands that best	5	·····
Do my soul's behest,	5	···˘/
Pointing the power from it,	7	/˘·/˘··
While myself do steadfast sit--	7	··/·/··
Steadfast and still the same	6	/·····
On my object bent,	5	··/˘·
While the hands give vent	5	·····
To my ardour and my aim	7	··/˘···
And break into very flame--	7	····/˘·
Then I reach, I must believe,	7	·····˘/
Not her soul in vain,	5	·····
For to me again	5	···˘/
It reaches, and past retrieve	7	·/˘··˘/
Is wound in the toils I weave;	7	·······
And must follow as I require,	9	··/˘··˘/˘
As befits a thrall,	5	·˘/··
Bringing flesh and all,	5	/˘···
Essence and earth-attire	7	/˘··˘/˘
To the source of the tractile fire:	9	·····/˘/˘
Till the house called hers, not mine,	8	····˘···
With a growing weight	5	··/˘·
Seems to suffocate	5	··/˘·
If she break not its leaden line	8	·····/˘·
And escape from its close confine.	8	·˘/···˘/
Out of doors into the night!	7	·······
On to the maze	4	····
Of the wild wood-ways,	5	·····
Not turning to left nor right	7	·/˘····
From the pathway, blind with sight--	7	··/····
Making thro' rain and wind	6	/˘····
O'er the broken shrubs,	5	··/˘·
'Twixt the stems and stubs,	5	·····
With a still, composed, strong mind,	8	···˘/˘··
Nor a care for the world behind--	8	········
Swifter and still more swift,	6	/˘····
As the crowding peace	5	··/˘·
Doth to joy increase	5	···˘/
In the wide blind eyes uplift	7	·····/˘
Thro' the darkness and the drift!	7	··/˘···
While I--to the shape, I too	7	·······
Feel my soul dilate	5	···˘/
Nor a whit abate,	5	···˘/
And relax not a gesture due,	8	·˘/··/˘·
As I see my belief come true.	8	····˘/··
For, there! have I drawn or no	7	·······
Life to that lip?	4	····
Do my fingers dip	5	··/˘·
In a flame which again they throw	8	····˘/··
On the cheek that breaks a-glow?	7	·······
Ha! was the hair so first?	6	······
What, unfilleted,	5	·····
Made alive, and spread	5	·˘/··
Through the void with a rich outburst,	8	······/·
Chestnut gold-interspersed?	7	/···˘/˘
Like the doors of a casket-shrine,	8	·····/˘·
See, on either side,	5	··/˘·
Her two arms divide	5	···˘/
Till the heart betwixt makes sign,	7	···˘/··
Take me, for I am thine!	6	······
"Now--now"--the door is heard!	6	······
Hark, the stairs! and near--	5	·····
Nearer--and here--	4	/˘··
"Now!" and at call the third	6	······
She enters without a word.	7	·/˘····
On doth she march and on	6	······
To the fancied shape;	5	··/˘·
It is, past escape,	5	···˘/
Herself, now: the dream is done	7	˘/·····
And the shadow and she are one.	8	··/·····
First I will pray. Do Thou	6	······
That ownest the soul,	5	·····
Yet wilt grant control	5	···˘/
To another, nor disallow	8	·˘/˘··˘/
For a time, restrain me now!	7	···˘/··
I admonish me while I may,	8	·˘/˘····
Not to squander guilt,	5	··/˘·
Since require Thou wilt	6	··/˘··
At my hand its price one day!	7	·······
What the price is, who can say?	7	·······

On this poem

"Mesmerism." With a continuous tension of will, whose unbroken concentration impregnates the very structure of the poem, a mesmerist describes the processes of the act by which he summons shape and soul of the woman he desires; and then reverent perception of the sacredness of the soul awes him from trespassing upon another's individuality.

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.

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