Senorita
An agate-black, your roguish eyesClaim no proud lineage of the skies,No starry blue; but of good earthThe reckless witchery and mirth.
Looped in your raven hair's repose,A hot aroma, one red roseDies; envious of that loveliness,By being near which its is less.
Twin sea shells, hung with pearls, your ears,Whose slender rosiness appearsPart of the pearls; whose pallid fireBinds the attention these inspire.
One slim hand crumples up the laceAbout your bosom's swelling grace;A ruby at your samite throatLends the required color note.
The moon bears through the violet nightA pearly urn of chaliced light;And from your dark-railed balconyYou stoop and wave your fan at me.
O'er orange orchards and the roseVague, odorous lips the south wind blows,Peopling the night with whispers ofRomance and palely passionate love.
The heaven of your balconySmiles down two stars, that say to meMore peril than AngelicaWrought with her beauty in Cathay.
Oh, stoop to me! and, speaking, reachMy soul like song that learned sweet speechFrom some dim instrument--who knows?--Or flower, a dulcimer or rose.
Words in this poem
- starry a.
- Abounding with stars; adorned with stars.
- witchery
- Sorcery; enchantment; witchcraft.
- envious a.
- Malignant; mischievous; spiteful. [OF. envios, F. envieux, fr. L. invidiosus, fr. invidia envy. See Envy, and cf. Invidious.]
- loveliness n.
- The state or quality of being lovely. [From Lovely.]
- rosiness n.
- The quality of being rosy.
- samite a.
- A species of silk stuff, or taffeta, generally interwoven with gold. [OF. samit, LL. samitum, examitum, from LGr. Six, and cf. Dimity.]
- chaliced a.
- Having a calyx or cup; cupshaped.
- palely adv.
- In a pale manner; dimly; wanly; not freshly or ruddily. [From Pale, a.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Senorita is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #7796; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Madison Julius Cawein, Senorita, in Poems (1911), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7796, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/cawein-poems/senorita.html, id L10887.
Form and metre
Senorita is 32 lines in 8 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABB, complete in 6 of its 8 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 50% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 AABB eyesA · skiesA · earthB · mirthB
- 2 AABB reposeA · roseA · lovelinessB · lessB
- 3 AABB earsA · appearsA · fireB · inspireB
- 4 AABB laceA · graceA · throatB · noteB
- 5 AA-- nightA · lightA · balcony · me
- 6 AABB roseA · blowsA · ofB · loveB
- 8 AABB reachA · speechA · knowsB · roseB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| An agate-black, your roguish eyes | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Claim no proud lineage of the skies, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| No starry blue; but of good earth | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The reckless witchery and mirth. | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| Looped in your raven hair's repose, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| A hot aroma, one red rose | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Dies; envious of that loveliness, | 9 | ·/˘˘··/˘˘ |
| By being near which its is less. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Twin sea shells, hung with pearls, your ears, | 8 | ········ |
| Whose slender rosiness appears | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘˘/ |
| Part of the pearls; whose pallid fire | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Binds the attention these inspire. | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| One slim hand crumples up the lace | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| About your bosom's swelling grace; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| A ruby at your samite throat | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Lends the required color note. | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| The moon bears through the violet night | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A pearly urn of chaliced light; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And from your dark-railed balcony | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| You stoop and wave your fan at me. | 8 | ········ |
| O'er orange orchards and the rose | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Vague, odorous lips the south wind blows, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Peopling the night with whispers of | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Romance and palely passionate love. | 8 | ˘/·/˘/˘· |
| The heaven of your balcony | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| Smiles down two stars, that say to me | 8 | ········ |
| More peril than Angelica | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| Wrought with her beauty in Cathay. | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Oh, stoop to me! and, speaking, reach | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| My soul like song that learned sweet speech | 8 | ········ |
| From some dim instrument--who knows?-- | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Or flower, a dulcimer or rose. | 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.