"De Gustibus—"
Your ghost will walk, you lover of trees,(If our loves remain)In an English lane,By a cornfield-side a-flutter with poppies.Hark, those two in the hazel coppice--A boy and a girl, if the good fates please,Making love, say--The happier they!Draw yourself up from the light of the moon,And let them pass, as they will too soon,With the bean-flowers' boon,And the blackbird's tune,And May, and June!
What I love best in all the worldIs a castle, precipice-encurled,In a gash of the wind-grieved Apennine.Or look for me, old fellow of mine,(If I get my head from out the mouthO' the grave, and loose my spirit's bands,And come again to the land of lands)--In a sea-side house to the farther South,Where the baked cicala dies of drouth,And one sharp tree--'tis a cypress--stands,By the many hundred years red-rusted,Rough iron-spiked, ripe fruit-o'ercrusted,My sentinel to guard the sandsTo the water's edge. For, what expandsBefore the house, but the great opaqueBlue breadth of sea without a break?While, in the house, forever crumblesSome fragment of the frescoed walls,From blisters where a scorpion sprawls.A girl bare-footed brings, and tumblesDown on the pavement, green-flesh melons,And says there's news today--the kingWas shot at, touched in the liver-wing,Goes with his Bourbon arm a sling:--She hopes they have not caught the felons.Italy, my Italy!Queen Mary's saying serves for me--(When fortune's maliceLost her--Calais)--Open my heart and you will seeGraved inside of it, "Italy."Such lovers old are I and she:So it always was, so shall ever be!
Words in this poem
- ghost n.
- The spirit; the soul of man. [OE. gast, gost, soul, spirit, AS. gast breath, spirit, soul; akin to OS. g spirit, soul, D. geest, G. geist, and prob. to E. gaze, ghastly.]
- cornfield n.
- A field where corn is or has been growing; -- in England, a field of wheat, rye, barley, or oats; in America, a field of Indian corn.
- coppice n.
- A grove of small growth; a thicket of brushwood; a wood cut at certain times for fuel or other purposes. See Copse. [OF. copeiz, fr. coper, couper, to cut, F. couper, fr. cop, coup, colp, a blow, F. coup, L. colaphus, fr. G. Copse, and cf. Coup, Coupee.]
- boon n.
- A prayer or petition. [OE. bone, boin, a petition, fr. Icel. b; akin to Sw. & Dan. b, AS. b, and perh. to E. ban; but influenced by F. bon good, fr. L. bonus. Ban, Bounty.]
- apennine a.
- Of, pertaining to, or designating, the Apennines, a chain of mountains extending through Italy. [L. Apenninus, fr. Celtic pen, or ben, peak, mountain.]
- cicala n.
- A cicada. See Cicada. [It., fr. L. cicada.]
- sprawls n.
- Small branches of a tree; twigs; sprays.
- bourbon n.
- A member of a family which has occupied several European thrones, and whose descendants still claim the throne of France. [From the castle and seigniory of Bourbon in central France.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
"De Gustibus—" is in the public domain. This text is taken from Selections from the Poems and Plays of Robert Browning, Project Gutenberg ebook #28041; 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, "De Gustibus—", in Selections from the Poems and Plays of Robert Browning (1864), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #28041, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/browning-selections/de-gustibus.html, id L25090.
Form and metre
"De Gustibus—" is 46 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%).
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 ABBA-ACCDDDDD treesA · remainB · laneB · poppiesA · coppice · pleaseA · sayC · theyC · moonD · soonD · boonD · tuneD · juneD
- 2 AA--BCCBBC--CCDDEEEEFGGGF-H--H-HH worldA · encurledA · apennine · mine · mouthB · bandsC · landsC · southB · drouthB · standsC · rusted · o'ercrusted · sandsC · expandsC · opaqueD · breakD · crumblesE · wallsE · sprawlsE · tumblesE · melonsF · kingG · wingG · slingG · felonsF · italy · meH · malice · calais · seeH · italy · sheH · beH
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Your ghost will walk, you lover of trees, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| (If our loves remain) | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| In an English lane, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| By a cornfield-side a-flutter with poppies. | 11 | ··/···/˘·/˘ |
| Hark, those two in the hazel coppice-- | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| A boy and a girl, if the good fates please, | 10 | ·········· |
| Making love, say-- | 4 | /˘·· |
| The happier they! | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| Draw yourself up from the light of the moon, | 10 | ·˘/······· |
| And let them pass, as they will too soon, | 9 | ········· |
| With the bean-flowers' boon, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And the blackbird's tune, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| And May, and June! | 4 | ···· |
| What I love best in all the world | 8 | ········ |
| Is a castle, precipice-encurled, | 10 | ··/˘/˘˘··˘ |
| In a gash of the wind-grieved Apennine. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Or look for me, old fellow of mine, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| (If I get my head from out the mouth | 9 | ········· |
| O' the grave, and loose my spirit's bands, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| And come again to the land of lands)-- | 9 | ··˘/····· |
| In a sea-side house to the farther South, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Where the baked cicala dies of drouth, | 10 | ···˘˘/˘··· |
| And one sharp tree--'tis a cypress--stands, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| By the many hundred years red-rusted, | 10 | ··/˘/˘··/˘ |
| Rough iron-spiked, ripe fruit-o'ercrusted, | 10 | ·/˘·˘····· |
| My sentinel to guard the sands | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| To the water's edge. For, what expands | 9 | ··/˘···˘/ |
| Before the house, but the great opaque | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Blue breadth of sea without a break? | 8 | ········ |
| While, in the house, forever crumbles | 9 | ····˘/˘/˘ |
| Some fragment of the frescoed walls, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘˘· |
| From blisters where a scorpion sprawls. | 9 | ·/˘··/˘˘· |
| A girl bare-footed brings, and tumbles | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Down on the pavement, green-flesh melons, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| And says there's news today--the king | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Was shot at, touched in the liver-wing, | 10 | ····˘··/˘· |
| Goes with his Bourbon arm a sling: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| --She hopes they have not caught the felons. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Italy, my Italy! | 7 | /˘˘·/˘˘ |
| Queen Mary's saying serves for me-- | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| (When fortune's malice | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| Lost her--Calais)-- | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Open my heart and you will see | 8 | /˘······ |
| Graved inside of it, "Italy." | 9 | ·˘/···/˘˘ |
| Such lovers old are I and she: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| So it always was, so shall ever be! | 10 | ··/····/˘· |
On this poem
Notes from the edition 6
Notes by Myra Reynolds, Selections from the Poems and Plays of Robert Browning (Project Gutenberg #28041).
- Stanza 1, line 2 If our loves remain. If we have a life after death.
- Stanza 1, line 4 A cornfield. The picture is a field of wheat with red poppies scattered through the wheat.
- Stanza 2, line 10 Cypress. It is interesting to note how many of the trees, shrubs, flowers, and fruits in Browning's poems are those of southern Europe. His poetry of nature is almost as distinctively Italian as Tennyson's is English. "The Englishman in Italy" is especially rich in vivid, picturesque details of southern scenes.
- Stanza 2, line 23 Liver-wing. The right wing. The shot hit the king in the right arm.
- Stanza 2, line 24 Bourbon. Mr. and Mrs. Browning were rejoicing at any indications that the people of Italy were awake to revolt against the Bourbons. See Mrs. Browning's "Casa Guidi Windows" and "First News from Villa Franca" and Mr. Browning's "The Italian in England."
- Stanza 2, line 27 Queen Mary's saying. For two hundred years Calais had been one of England's most important possessions. It was taken by the French in 1588, the last year of the reign of Queen Mary. What Queen Mary said of Calais, Browning says of Italy.
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