Laurel · Bliss Carman · Later Poems

Off Monomoy

Bliss Carman (1861–1929) · 1921

iambic trimeter · ABAB · 60 lines · from Later Poems

Have you sailed Nantucket SoundBy lightship, buoy, and bell,And lain becalmed at noonOn an oily summer swell?

Lazily drooped the sail,Moveless the pennant hung,Sagging over the railIdle the main boom swung;

The sea, one mirror of shineA single breath would destroy,Save for the far low lineOf treacherous Monomoy.

Yet eastward there toward Spain,What castled cities riseFrom the Atlantic plain,To our enchanted eyes!

Turret and spire and roofLooming out of the sea,Where the prosy chart gives proofNo cape nor isle can be!

Can a vision shine so clearWherein no substance dwells?One almost harks to hearThe sound of the city's bells.

And yet no pealing notesWithin those belfries be,Save echoes from the throatsOf ship-bells lost at sea.

For none shall anchor thereSave those who long of yore,When tide and wind were fair,Sailed and came back no more.

And none shall climb the stairsWithin those ghostly towers,Save those for whom sad prayersWent up through fateful hours.

O image of the world,O mirage of the sea,Cloud-built and foam-impearled.What sorcery fashioned thee?

What architect of dream,What painter of desire,Conceived that fairy schemeTouched with fantastic fire?

Even so our city of hopeWe mortal dreamers rearUpon the perilous slopeAbove the deep of fear;

Leaving half-known the goodOur kindly earth bestows,For the feigned beatitudeOf a future no man knows.

Lord of the summer sea,Whose tides are in thy hand,Into immensityThe vision at thy command

Fades now, and leaves no sign,--No light nor bell nor buoy,--Only the faint low lineOf dangerous Monomoy.

Words in this poem

moveless a.: Motionless; fixed.
sagging n.: A bending or sinking between the ends of a thing, in consequence of its own, or an imposed, weight; an arching downward in the middle, as of a ship after straining. Cf. Hogging.
castled a.: Having a castle or castles; supporting a castle; as, a castled height or crag.
enchanted a.: Under the power of enchantment; possessed or exercised by enchanters; as, an enchanted castle.
looming n.: The indistinct and magnified appearance of objects seen in particular states of the atmosphere. See Mirage.
prosy a.: Of or pertaining to prose; like prose.
isle v. t.: To cause to become an island, or like an island; to surround or encompass; to island.
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,]
yore adv.: In time long past; in old time; long since. [OE. , yare, , AS. geára;akin to geár a year, E. year. Year.]
ghostly a.: Relating to the soul; not carnal or secular; spiritual; as, a ghostly confessor. [OE. gastlich, gostlich, AS. gastlic. See Ghost.]
went n.: Course; way; path; journey; direction.
fateful a.: Having the power of serving or accomplishing fate.
beatitude n.: Felicity of the highest kind; consummate bliss. [L. beatitudo: cf. F. béatitude. See Beatify.]
immensity n.: The state or quality of being immense; inlimited or immeasurable extension; infinity; vastness in extent or bulk; greatness. [L. immensitas: cf. F. immensité.]

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

About this text

Off Monomoy is in the public domain. This text is taken from Later Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #33417; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: Bliss Carman, Off Monomoy, in Later Poems (1921), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #33417, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/carman-later-poems/off-monomoy.html, id L11032.

Form and metre

Off Monomoy is 60 lines in 15 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 10 of its 15 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.6 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 40% 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 -A-A sound · bell^A · noon · swell^A
2 ABAB sail^A · hung^B · rail^A · swung^B
3 ABAB shine^A · destroy^B · line^A · monomoy^B
4 ABAB spain^A · rise^B · plain^A · eyes^B
5 ABAB roof^A · sea^B · proof^A · be^B
6 ABAB clear^A · dwells^B · hear^A · bells^B
7 ABAB notes^A · be^B · throats^A · sea^B
8 ABAB there^A · yore^B · fair^A · more^B
9 ABAB stairs^A · towers^B · prayers^A · hours^B
10 -A-A world · sea^A · impearled · thee^A
11 ABAB dream^A · desire^B · scheme^A · fire^B
12 ABAB hope^A · rear^B · slope^A · fear^B
13 -A-A good · bestows^A · beatitude · knows^A
14 -A-A sea · hand^A · immensity · command^A
15 A-A- sign^A · buoy · line^A · monomoy

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
Have you sailed Nantucket Sound	8	···˘˘/˘·
By lightship, buoy, and bell,	7	·/·/˘··
And lain becalmed at noon	7	··˘/˘··
On an oily summer swell?	7	··/˘/˘·
Lazily drooped the sail,	7	/˘˘·˘··
Moveless the pennant hung,	7	····/˘·
Sagging over the rail	6	/˘····
Idle the main boom swung;	6	/˘····
The sea, one mirror of shine	7	···/˘··
A single breath would destroy,	7	·/˘··˘/
Save for the far low line	6	······
Of treacherous Monomoy.	7	·/˘˘···
Yet eastward there toward Spain,	7	·/˘····
What castled cities rise	7	·/˘˘/˘·
From the Atlantic plain,	6	··˘/˘·
To our enchanted eyes!	7	·/˘˘/˘·
Turret and spire and roof	6	/˘····
Looming out of the sea,	6	/˘····
Where the prosy chart gives proof	7	··/˘···
No cape nor isle can be!	6	······
Can a vision shine so clear	7	··/˘···
Wherein no substance dwells?	6	···/˘·
One almost harks to hear	6	·/····
The sound of the city's bells.	7	····/˘·
And yet no pealing notes	6	···/˘·
Within those belfries be,	6	···/˘·
Save echoes from the throats	6	·/˘···
Of ship-bells lost at sea.	6	······
For none shall anchor there	6	···/˘·
Save those who long of yore,	6	······
When tide and wind were fair,	6	······
Sailed and came back no more.	7	·˘·····
And none shall climb the stairs	6	······
Within those ghostly towers,	7	···/˘/˘
Save those for whom sad prayers	6	······
Went up through fateful hours.	7	···/˘/˘
O image of the world,	6	·/˘···
O mirage of the sea,	6	·˘/···
Cloud-built and foam-impearled.	7	······˘
What sorcery fashioned thee?	8	·/˘˘/˘˘·
What architect of dream,	6	·/˘···
What painter of desire,	7	·/˘·˘/˘
Conceived that fairy scheme	7	˘/˘·/˘·
Touched with fantastic fire?	8	·˘·˘/˘/˘
Even so our city of hope	8	/·/˘/˘··
We mortal dreamers rear	6	·/˘/˘·
Upon the perilous slope	7	···/˘˘·
Above the deep of fear;	6	······
Leaving half-known the good	6	/˘····
Our kindly earth bestows,	7	/˘/˘·˘/
For the feigned beatitude	8	···˘˘/˘˘
Of a future no man knows.	7	··/˘···
Lord of the summer sea,	6	···/˘·
Whose tides are in thy hand,	6	······
Into immensity	6	··˘/˘˘
The vision at thy command	7	·/˘··˘/
Fades now, and leaves no sign,--	6	······
No light nor bell nor buoy,--	7	·····/˘
Only the faint low line	6	/˘····
Of dangerous Monomoy.	7	·/˘˘···

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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