The Paphian Venus
With anxious eyes and dry, expectant lips,Within the sculptured stoa by the sea,All day she waited while, like ghostly ships,Long clouds rolled over Paphos: the wild beeHung in the sultry poppy, half asleep,Beside the shepherd and his drowsy sheep.
White-robed she waited day by day; aloneWith the white temple's shrined concupiscence,The Paphian goddess on her obscene throne,Binding all chastity to violence,All innocence to lust that feels no shame--Venus Mylitta born of filth and flame.
So must they haunt her marble portico,The devotees of Paphos, passion-paleAs moonlight streaming through the stormy snow;Dark eyes desirous of the stranger sail,The gods shall bring across the Cyprian Sea,With him elected to their mastery.
A priestess of the temple came, when eveBlazed, like a satrap's triumph, in the west;
And watched her listening to the ocean's heave,Dusk's golden glory on her face and breast,And in her hair the rosy wind's caress,--Pitying her dedicated tenderness.
When out of darkness night persuades the stars,A dream shall bend above her saying, "SoonA barque shall come with purple sails and spars,Sailing from Tarsus 'neath a low white moon;And thou shalt see one in a robe of TyreFacing toward thee like the god Desire.
"Rise then! as, clad in starlight, riseth Night--Thy nakedness clad on with loveliness!So shalt thou see him, like the god Delight,Breast through the foam and climb the cliff to pressHot lips to thine and lead thee in beforeLove's awful presence where ye shall adore."
Thus at her heart the vision entered in,With lips of lust the lips of song had kissed,And eyes of passion laughing with sweet sin,A shimmering splendor robed in amethyst,--Seen like that star set in the glittering gloam,--Venus Mylitta born of fire and foam.
So shall she dream until, near middle night,--When on the blackness of the ocean's rimThe moon, like some war-galleon all alightWith blazing battle, from the sea shall swim,--A shadow, with inviolate lips and eyes,Shall rise before her speaking in this wise:
"So hast thou heard the promises of one,--Of her, with whom the God of gods is wroth,--For whom was prophesied at BabylonThe second death--Chaldaean Mylidoth!Whose feet take hold on darkness and despair,Hissing destruction in her heart and hair.
"Wouldst thou behold the vessel she would bring?--A wreck! ten hundred years have smeared with slime:A hulk! where all abominations cling,The spawn and vermin of the seas of time:Wild waves have rotted it; fierce suns have scorched;Mad winds have tossed and stormy stars have torched.
"Can lust give birth to love? The vile and foulBe mother to beauty? Lo! can this thing be?--A monster like a man shall rise and howlUpon the wreck across the crawling sea,Then plunge; and swim unto thee; like an ape,A beast all belly.--Thou canst not escape!"
Gone was the shadow with the suffering brow;And in the temple's porch she lay and wept,Alone with night, the ocean, and her vow.--Then up the east the moon's full splendor swept,And dark between it--wreck or argosy?--A sudden vessel far away at sea.
Words in this poem 27
- ghostly a.
- Relating to the soul; not carnal or secular; spiritual; as, a ghostly confessor. [OE. gastlich, gostlich, AS. gastlic. See Ghost.]
- concupiscence n.
- Sexual lust; morbid carnal passion. [F., fr. L. concupiscentia.]
- paphian a.
- Of or pertaining to Paphos, an ancient city of Cyprus, having a celebrated temple of Venus; hence, pertaining to Venus, or her rites.
- lust v. i.
- To list; to like. [AS. lystan. See Lust, n., and cf. List to choose.]
- streaming a.
- Sending forth streams.
- 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,]
- cyprian a.
- Belonging to Cyprus.
- priestess n.
- A woman who officiated in sacred rites among pagans. Abp.
- caress n.
- An act of endearment; any act or expression of affection; an embracing, or touching, with tenderness. [F. caresse, It. carezza, LL. caritia dearness, fr. L. carus dear. See Charity.]
- pitying a.
- Expressing pity; as, a pitying eye, glance, or word.
- barque n.
- Formerly, any small sailing vessel, as a pinnace, fishing smack, etc.; also, a rowing boat; a barge. Now applied poetically to a sailing vessel or boat of any kind. [F. barque, fr. Sp. or It. barca, fr. LL. barca for barica. See Barge.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- tyre n.
- Attire. See 2d and 3d Tire.
- clad v.
- To clothe. Holland.
- starlight n.
- The light given by the stars.
- nakedness n.
- The condition of being naked.
- loveliness n.
- The state or quality of being lovely. [From Lovely.]
- adore v. t.
- To worship with profound reverence; to pay divine honors to; to honor as deity or as divine. [OE. aouren, anouren, adoren, OF. aorer, adorer, F. adorer, fr. L. adorare; ad + orare to speak, pray, os, oris, mouth. In OE. confused with honor, the French pr]
- shimmering n.
- A gleam or glimmering.
- amethyst
- A variety of crystallized quartz, of a purple or bluish violet color, of different shades. It is much used as a jeweler's stone. [F. ametiste, amatiste, F. améthyste, L. amethystus, fr. Gr. Mead.]
- gloam v. i.
- To begin to grow dark; to grow dusky. [See Gloom, Glum.]
- inviolate a.
- Not violated; uninjured; unhurt; unbroken. [L. inviolatus. See In- not, and Violate.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- wroth a.
- Full of wrath; angry; incensed; much exasperated; wrathful. [OE. wroth, wrap, AS. wraedh wroth, crooked, bad; akin to wriedhan to writhe, and to OS. wreedhangry, D. wreed cruel, OHG. reid twisted, Icel. reiedhr angry, Dan]
- hulk n.
- The body of a ship or decked vessel of any kind; esp., the body of an old vessel laid by as unfit for service. [OE. hulke a heavy ship, AS. hulc a light, swift ship; akin to D. hulk a ship of burden, G. holk, OHG. holcho; perh. fr. LL. holcas, Gr. Wolf, Holcad.]
- vermin n.
- An animal, in general. [OE. vermine, F. vermine, from L. vermis a worm; cf. LL. vermen a worm, L. verminosus full of worms. See Vermicular, Worm.]
- argosy n.
- A large ship, esp. a merchant vessel of the largest size. [Earlier ragusy, fr. ragusa meaning orig. a vessel of Ragusa.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Paphian Venus 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, The Paphian Venus, in Poems (1911), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7796, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/cawein-poems/the-paphian-venus.html, id L10955.
Form and metre
The Paphian Venus is 72 lines in 13 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABABCC, complete in 7 of its 13 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 18% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABABCC lipsA · seaB · shipsA · beeB · asleepC · sheepC
- 2 ABABCC aloneA · concupiscenceB · throneA · violenceB · shameC · flameC
- 3 ABAB-- porticoA · paleB · snowA · sailB · sea · mastery
- 5 --AA heave · breast · caressA · tendernessA
- 6 ABAB-- starsA · soonB · sparsA · moonB · tyre · desire
- 7 ABABCC nightA · lovelinessB · delightA · pressB · beforeC · adoreC
- 8 ABABCC inA · kissedB · sinA · amethystB · gloamC · foamC
- 9 ABABCC nightA · rimB · alightA · swimB · eyesC · wiseC
- 10 -A-ABB one · wrothA · babylon · mylidothA · despairB · hairB
- 11 ABABCC bringA · slimeB · clingA · timeB · scorchedC · torchedC
- 12 ABABCC foulA · beB · howlA · seaB · apeC · escapeC
- 13 ABAB-- browA · weptB · vowA · sweptB · argosy · sea
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 |
|---|---|---|
| With anxious eyes and dry, expectant lips, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| Within the sculptured stoa by the sea, | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| All day she waited while, like ghostly ships, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Long clouds rolled over Paphos: the wild bee | 10 | ·········· |
| Hung in the sultry poppy, half asleep, | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Beside the shepherd and his drowsy sheep. | 10 | ˘/·/˘··/˘· |
| White-robed she waited day by day; alone | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| With the white temple's shrined concupiscence, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| The Paphian goddess on her obscene throne, | 11 | ·/˘˘/˘··˘/· |
| Binding all chastity to violence, | 10 | /˘·/˘˘·/˘˘ |
| All innocence to lust that feels no shame-- | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| Venus Mylitta born of filth and flame. | 10 | /˘········ |
| So must they haunt her marble portico, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| The devotees of Paphos, passion-pale | 10 | ·/˘/···/˘· |
| As moonlight streaming through the stormy snow; | 10 | ·/·/˘··/˘· |
| Dark eyes desirous of the stranger sail, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| The gods shall bring across the Cyprian Sea, | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| With him elected to their mastery. | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘˘ |
| A priestess of the temple came, when eve | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Blazed, like a satrap's triumph, in the west; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And watched her listening to the ocean's heave, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Dusk's golden glory on her face and breast, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| And in her hair the rosy wind's caress,-- | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Pitying her dedicated tenderness. | 11 | /˘˘·/˘˘˘/˘˘ |
| When out of darkness night persuades the stars, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| A dream shall bend above her saying, "Soon | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| A barque shall come with purple sails and spars, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Sailing from Tarsus 'neath a low white moon; | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| And thou shalt see one in a robe of Tyre | 10 | ·········· |
| Facing toward thee like the god Desire. | 11 | /˘······˘/˘ |
| "Rise then! as, clad in starlight, riseth Night-- | 10 | ·····/···· |
| Thy nakedness clad on with loveliness! | 10 | ·/˘˘···/˘˘ |
| So shalt thou see him, like the god Delight, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Breast through the foam and climb the cliff to press | 10 | ·········· |
| Hot lips to thine and lead thee in before | 10 | ·········· |
| Love's awful presence where ye shall adore." | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| Thus at her heart the vision entered in, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| With lips of lust the lips of song had kissed, | 10 | ·········· |
| And eyes of passion laughing with sweet sin, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| A shimmering splendor robed in amethyst,-- | 11 | ·/˘˘/˘··/˘˘ |
| Seen like that star set in the glittering gloam,-- | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Venus Mylitta born of fire and foam. | 10 | /˘·····/·· |
| So shall she dream until, near middle night,-- | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| When on the blackness of the ocean's rim | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| The moon, like some war-galleon all alight | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| With blazing battle, from the sea shall swim,-- | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| A shadow, with inviolate lips and eyes, | 10 | ·/··˘/˘··· |
| Shall rise before her speaking in this wise: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| "So hast thou heard the promises of one,-- | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| Of her, with whom the God of gods is wroth,-- | 10 | ·········· |
| For whom was prophesied at Babylon | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| The second death--Chaldaean Mylidoth! | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Whose feet take hold on darkness and despair, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Hissing destruction in her heart and hair. | 10 | /˘˘/˘····· |
| "Wouldst thou behold the vessel she would bring?-- | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| A wreck! ten hundred years have smeared with slime: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| A hulk! where all abominations cling, | 10 | ····˘·˘/˘· |
| The spawn and vermin of the seas of time: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Wild waves have rotted it; fierce suns have scorched; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Mad winds have tossed and stormy stars have torched. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| "Can lust give birth to love? The vile and foul | 10 | ·········· |
| Be mother to beauty? Lo! can this thing be?-- | 11 | ·/˘·/˘····· |
| A monster like a man shall rise and howl | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Upon the wreck across the crawling sea, | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| Then plunge; and swim unto thee; like an ape, | 10 | ·········· |
| A beast all belly.--Thou canst not escape!" | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Gone was the shadow with the suffering brow; | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| And in the temple's porch she lay and wept, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Alone with night, the ocean, and her vow.-- | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| Then up the east the moon's full splendor swept, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And dark between it--wreck or argosy?-- | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| A sudden vessel far away at sea. | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/·· |
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