Jongleurs
What is the stir in the street?Hurry of feet!And after,A sound as of pipes and of tabers!
Men of the conflicts and labors,Struggling and shifting and shoving,Pushing and pounding your neighbors,Fighting for leeway for laughter,Toiling for leisure for loving!Hark, through the window and up to the rafter,Madder and merrier,Deeper and verier,Sweeter, contrarier,Dafter and dafter,A song arises,--A thrill, an intrusion,A reel, an illusion,A rapture, a crisisOf bells in the air!
Ay, up from your work and look out of the window!"Who are the newcomers, Arab or Hindoo?Persians, or Japs, or the children of Isis?"--Guesses, surmises--Forth with you, fareDown in the street to draw nearer and stare!Come from your palaces, come from your hovels!Lay down your ledgers, your picks and your shovels,Your trowels and bricks,Hammers and nails,Scythes and flails,Bargains and sales,And the trader's tricks,Deals, overreachings,Worries and griefs,Teachings and preachings,Boluses, briefs,Writs and attachments,Quarterings, hatchments,Clans and cognomens,Comments and scholia,(World's melancholia)--Cast them aside, and good riddance to rubbish!Here at the street-corner, hearken, a strain,Rough and off-hand and a bit rub-a-dub-ish,Gives us a taste of the life we'd attain.
Who are they, what are they, whence have they come to us?Where will they go when their singing is done?What is the garb they wear, tattered and sumptuous,Faded with days and superb in the sun?What are they singing of?Hush!... There's a ringing ofDelicate chimes;And the blushOf a veiled bride morningBeats in the rhymes.Listen!Out of the merriment,Clear as the glistenOf dew on the brier,A silver warning!Sudden, a dare--Lyric experiment--Up like a lark in the air,Higher and higher and higher,The song shoots out of our blunderOf thought to the blue sky of wonder,And broken strains only fall downLike pearls on the roofs of the town.
Somebody says they have come from the moon,Seen with their eyes Eldorado,Sat in the Bo-tree's shadow,Wandered at noonIn the valleys of Van,Tented in Lebanon, tarried in Ophir,Last year in Tartary piped for the Khan.Now it's the song of a lover;Now it's the lilt of a loafer,--Under the trees in a midsummer noon,Dreaming the haze into isles to discover,Beating the silences into a croon;SoonUp from the marshes a fall of the plover!Out from the coverA flurry of quail!Down from the height where the slow hawks hover,The thin far ghost of a hail!And near, and near,Throbbing and tingling,--With a human cheerIn the earth-song mingling,--Mirth and carousal,Wooing, espousal,Clinking of glassesAnd laughter of lasses--And the wind in the garden stoops down as it passesTo play with the hairOf the loveliest there,And the wander-lust catches the will in its snare;Hill-wind and spray-lure,Call of the heath;Dare in the teethOf the balk and the failure;The clasp and the lingerOf loosening finger,Loth to dissever;Thrill of the comrade heart to its fellowThrough droughts that sicken and blasts that bellowFrom purple furrow to harvest yellow,Now and forever.How our feet itch to keep time to their measure!How our hearts lift to the lilt of their song!Let the world go, for a day's royal pleasure!Not every summer such waifs come along.
Now they are off to the inn;Hear the clean ring of their laughter!Cool as a hill-brook afterThe beat of the noon sets in!Gentlemen even in jollity--Certainly people of quality!--Waifs and estrays no less,Roofless and penniless,They are the wayside strummersWhose lips are man's renown,Those wayward brats of Summer'sWho stroll from town to town;Spendthrift of life, they ravishThe days of an endless store,And ever the more they lavishThe heap of the hoard is more.For joy and love and visionAre alive and breed and stayWhen dust shall hold in derisionThe misers of a day.
Words in this poem 31
- leeway n.
- The lateral movement of a ship to the leeward of her course; drift.
- rafter n.
- Originally, any rough and somewhat heavy piece of timber. Now, commonly, one of the timbers of a roof which are put on sloping, according to the inclination of the roof. See Illust. of Queen-post. [AS. ræfter; akin to E. raft, n. See Raft.]
- crisis n.
- The point of time when it is to be decided whether any affair or course of action must go on, or be modified or terminate; the decisive moment; the turning point. [L. crisis, Gr. Certain.]
- isis n.
- The principal goddess worshiped by the Egyptians. She was regarded as the mother of Horus, and the sister and wife of Osiris.
- melancholia n.
- A kind of mental unsoundness characterized by extreme depression of spirits, ill-grounded fears, delusions, and brooding over one particular subject or train of ideas. [L. See Melancholy.]
- riddance n.
- The act of ridding or freeing; deliverance; a cleaning up or out.
- garb n.
- External appearance, as expressive of the feelings or character; looks; fashion or manner, as of speech. [OF. garbe looks, countenance, grace, ornament, fr. OHG. garawi, garwi, ornament, dress. akin to E. gear. See Gear, n.]
- superb a.
- Grand; magnificent; august; stately; as, a superb edifice; a superb colonnade. [F. superbe, L. superbus, fr. super over. See Super-.]
- veiled a.
- Covered by, or as by, a veil; hidden.
- brier n.
- A plant with a slender woody stem bearing stout prickles; especially, species of Rosa, Rubus, and Smilax. [OE. brere, brer, AS. brer, brær; cf. Ir. briar prickle, thorn, brier, pin, Gael. preas bush, brier, W. prys, prysg.]
- somebody n.
- A person unknown or uncertain; a person indeterminate; some person.
- tented a.
- Covered with tents.
- piped a.
- Formed with a pipe; having pipe or pipes; tubular.
- khan n.
- A king; a prince; a chief; a governor; -- so called among the Tartars, Turks, and Persians, and in countries now or formerly governed by them. [Pers. & Tart. khan.]
- lilt v. i.
- To do anything with animation and quickness, as to skip, fly, or hop. [Cf. Norw. lilla, lirla, to sing in a high tone.]
- loafer n.
- One who loafs; a lazy lounger. Lowell. [G. läufer a runner, Prov. G. laufer, lofer, fr. laufen to run. See Leap.]
- midsummer n.
- The middle of summer. Shak. Midsummer daisy (Bot.), the oxeye daisy. [AS. midsumor.]
- discover v. i.
- To discover or show one's self.
- croon v. i.
- To make a continuous hollow moan, as cattle do when in pain.
- flurry n.
- A sudden and brief blast or gust; a light, temporary breeze; as, a flurry of wind. [Prov. E. flur to ruffle.]
- hover n.
- A cover; a shelter; a protection. Carew. C. Kingsley. [Etymol. doubtful.]
- 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.]
- carousal n.
- A jovial feast or festival; a drunken revel; a carouse. [See Carouse, but also cf. F. carrousel tilt.]
- espousal n.
- The act of espousing or betrothing; especially, in the plural, betrothal; plighting of the troths; a contract of marriage; sometimes, the marriage ceremony. [OF. espousailles, pl., F. épousailles, L. sponsalia, fr. sponsalis belonging to betrothal or espousal. See Espouse, and cf. Sponsal, Spousal.]
- dissever v. t.
- To part in two; to sever thoroughly; to sunder; to disunite; to separate; to disperse. [OE. dessevrer; pref. des- (L. dis-) + sevrer to sever, F. sevrer to wean, L. separate to separate. In this word the prefix is intensive. See Dis-, and Sever.]
- sicken v. t.
- To make sick; to disease.
- roofless a.
- Having no roof; as, a roofless house.
- penniless a.
- Destitute of money; impecunious; poor. [From Penny.]
- wayside n.
- The side of the way; the edge or border of a road or path.
- wayward a.
- Taking one's own way; disobedient; froward; perverse; willful. [OE. weiward, for aweiward, i. e., turned away. See Away, and -ward.]
- 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
Jongleurs is in the public domain. This text is taken from More Songs From Vagabondia, Project Gutenberg ebook #18007; 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, Jongleurs, in More Songs from Vagabondia (1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18007, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/carman-vagabondia/jongleurs.html, id L24685.
Form and metre
Jongleurs is 134 lines in 6 stanzas. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter.
See 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 AA-- streetA · feetA · after · tabers
- 2 ABACBCDDDC-EE-- laborsA · shovingB · neighborsA · laughterC · lovingB · rafterC · merrierD · verierD · contrarierD · dafterC · arises · intrusionE · illusionE · crisis · air
- 3 ----AABBCDDDCE-E-FF-GGHIHI window · hindoo · isis · surmises · fareA · stareA · hovelsB · shovelsB · bricksC · nailsD · flailsD · salesD · tricksC · overreachingsE · griefs · preachingsE · briefs · attachmentsF · hatchmentsF · cognomens · scholiaG · melancholiaG · rubbishH · strainI · ishH · attainI
- 4 ABABCDCEDFEG-GHFI-IHJJKK usA · doneB · sumptuousA · sunB · ofC · hushD · ofC · chimesE · blushD · morningF · rhymesE · listenG · merriment · glistenG · brierH · warningF · dareI · experiment · airI · higherH · blunderJ · wonderJ · downK · townK
- 5 A--A---B-CBCCBBDBDEFEFGGH-HIII-JJ-KK-LLL-MNMN moonA · eldorado · shadow · noonA · van · ophir · khan · loverB · loafer · noonC · discoverB · croonC · soonC · ploverB · coverB · quailD · hoverB · hailD · nearE · tinglingF · cheerE · minglingF · carousalG · espousalG · glassesH · lasses · passesH · hairI · thereI · snareI · lure · heathJ · teethJ · failure · lingerK · fingerK · dissever · fellowL · bellowL · yellowL · forever · measureM · songN · pleasureM · alongN
- 6 ABBA--CCDEDEFGFGHIHI innA · laughterB · afterB · inA · jollity · quality · lessC · pennilessC · strummersD · renownE · summer'sD · townE · ravishF · storeG · lavishF · moreG · visionH · stayI · derisionH · dayI
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 |
|---|---|---|
| What is the stir in the street? | 7 | ······· |
| Hurry of feet! | 4 | /˘·· |
| And after, | 3 | ··· |
| A sound as of pipes and of tabers! | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Men of the conflicts and labors, | 8 | ···˘/·/˘ |
| Struggling and shifting and shoving, | 9 | /˘˘·/˘·/˘ |
| Pushing and pounding your neighbors, | 8 | /˘·/˘·/˘ |
| Fighting for leeway for laughter, | 8 | /˘·/··/˘ |
| Toiling for leisure for loving! | 8 | /˘·/˘·/˘ |
| Hark, through the window and up to the rafter, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Madder and merrier, | 6 | /˘·/˘˘ |
| Deeper and verier, | 5 | /˘··· |
| Sweeter, contrarier, | 5 | /˘··· |
| Dafter and dafter, | 5 | ····· |
| A song arises,-- | 5 | ··˘/˘ |
| A thrill, an intrusion, | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| A reel, an illusion, | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| A rapture, a crisis | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| Of bells in the air! | 5 | ····· |
| Ay, up from your work and look out of the window! | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| "Who are the newcomers, Arab or Hindoo? | 11 | ···/·˘/˘··· |
| Persians, or Japs, or the children of Isis?" | 11 | /˘····/˘·/˘ |
| --Guesses, surmises-- | 5 | /˘˘/˘ |
| Forth with you, fare | 4 | ···· |
| Down in the street to draw nearer and stare! | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| Come from your palaces, come from your hovels! | 10 | ···/˘···/˘ |
| Lay down your ledgers, your picks and your shovels, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Your trowels and bricks, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Hammers and nails, | 4 | /˘·· |
| Scythes and flails, | 3 | ··· |
| Bargains and sales, | 4 | /˘·· |
| And the trader's tricks, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Deals, overreachings, | 5 | ·/˘·˘ |
| Worries and griefs, | 4 | /˘·· |
| Teachings and preachings, | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| Boluses, briefs, | 4 | /˘˘· |
| Writs and attachments, | 5 | ··˘/˘ |
| Quarterings, hatchments, | 5 | ····· |
| Clans and cognomens, | 5 | ····· |
| Comments and scholia, | 6 | /˘·/˘˘ |
| (World's melancholia)-- | 5 | ····· |
| Cast them aside, and good riddance to rubbish! | 11 | ··˘/··/˘·/˘ |
| Here at the street-corner, hearken, a strain, | 10 | ····/˘/˘·· |
| Rough and off-hand and a bit rub-a-dub-ish, | 11 | ··········· |
| Gives us a taste of the life we'd attain. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Who are they, what are they, whence have they come to us? | 12 | ············ |
| Where will they go when their singing is done? | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| What is the garb they wear, tattered and sumptuous, | 11 | ······/˘·/˘ |
| Faded with days and superb in the sun? | 10 | /˘···˘/··· |
| What are they singing of? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Hush! | 1 | · |
| ... There's a ringing of | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Delicate chimes; | 4 | /˘˘· |
| And the blush | 3 | ··· |
| Of a veiled bride morning | 7 | ···˘·/˘ |
| Beats in the rhymes. | 4 | ···· |
| Listen! | 2 | /˘ |
| Out of the merriment, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Clear as the glisten | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Of dew on the brier, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| A silver warning! | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| Sudden, a dare-- | 4 | /˘·· |
| Lyric experiment-- | 6 | /˘˘/˘˘ |
| Up like a lark in the air, | 7 | ······· |
| Higher and higher and higher, | 8 | /˘·/˘·/˘ |
| The song shoots out of our blunder | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Of thought to the blue sky of wonder, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| And broken strains only fall down | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| Like pearls on the roofs of the town. | 8 | ········ |
| Somebody says they have come from the moon, | 10 | /˘˘······· |
| Seen with their eyes Eldorado, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Sat in the Bo-tree's shadow, | 7 | ·····/· |
| Wandered at noon | 4 | /˘·· |
| In the valleys of Van, | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Tented in Lebanon, tarried in Ophir, | 9 | /˘·/˘···· |
| Last year in Tartary piped for the Khan. | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Now it's the song of a lover; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Now it's the lilt of a loafer,-- | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Under the trees in a midsummer noon, | 10 | ······//˘· |
| Dreaming the haze into isles to discover, | 11 | /˘······˘/˘ |
| Beating the silences into a croon; | 9 | /˘·/˘···· |
| Soon | 1 | · |
| Up from the marshes a fall of the plover! | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Out from the cover | 5 | ···/˘ |
| A flurry of quail! | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Down from the height where the slow hawks hover, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| The thin far ghost of a hail! | 7 | ······· |
| And near, and near, | 4 | ···· |
| Throbbing and tingling,-- | 6 | /˘·/˘˘ |
| With a human cheer | 5 | ··/˘· |
| In the earth-song mingling,-- | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| Mirth and carousal, | 5 | ··˘/˘ |
| Wooing, espousal, | 5 | /˘˘/˘ |
| Clinking of glasses | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| And laughter of lasses-- | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| And the wind in the garden stoops down as it passes | 13 | ·····/˘····/˘ |
| To play with the hair | 5 | ····· |
| Of the loveliest there, | 6 | ······ |
| And the wander-lust catches the will in its snare; | 12 | ··/˘·/˘····· |
| Hill-wind and spray-lure, | 5 | ····· |
| Call of the heath; | 4 | ···· |
| Dare in the teeth | 4 | ···· |
| Of the balk and the failure; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| The clasp and the linger | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Of loosening finger, | 6 | ·/˘˘/˘ |
| Loth to dissever; | 5 | ··˘/˘ |
| Thrill of the comrade heart to its fellow | 10 | ···/····/˘ |
| Through droughts that sicken and blasts that bellow | 10 | ···/˘···/˘ |
| From purple furrow to harvest yellow, | 10 | ·/˘/˘·/˘/˘ |
| Now and forever. | 5 | ··˘/˘ |
| How our feet itch to keep time to their measure! | 11 | ·/·······/˘ |
| How our hearts lift to the lilt of their song! | 10 | ·/········ |
| Let the world go, for a day's royal pleasure! | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| Not every summer such waifs come along. | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| Now they are off to the inn; | 7 | ······· |
| Hear the clean ring of their laughter! | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Cool as a hill-brook after | 7 | ······· |
| The beat of the noon sets in! | 7 | ······· |
| Gentlemen even in jollity-- | 9 | /˘˘/˘·/˘˘ |
| Certainly people of quality!-- | 9 | /˘˘/˘·/˘˘ |
| Waifs and estrays no less, | 6 | ······ |
| Roofless and penniless, | 6 | /˘·/˘˘ |
| They are the wayside strummers | 7 | ···/··· |
| Whose lips are man's renown, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Those wayward brats of Summer's | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Who stroll from town to town; | 6 | ······ |
| Spendthrift of life, they ravish | 7 | /····/˘ |
| The days of an endless store, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And ever the more they lavish | 8 | ·/˘···/˘ |
| The heap of the hoard is more. | 7 | ······· |
| For joy and love and vision | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Are alive and breed and stay | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| When dust shall hold in derision | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| The misers of a day. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
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.