Part III
There passed a weary time. Each throatWas parched, and glazed each eye.A weary time! a weary time!How glazed each weary eye,When looking westward, I beheldA something in the sky.
At first it seemed a little speck,And then it seemed a mist;It moved and moved, and took at lastA certain shape, I wist.
A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist!And still it neared and neared:As if it dodged a water-sprite,It plunged and tacked and veered.
With throats unslaked, with black lips baked,We could nor laugh nor wail;Through utter drought all dumb we stood!I bit my arm, I sucked the blood,And cried, A sail! a sail!
With throats unslaked, with black lips baked,Agape they heard me call:Gramercy! they for joy did grin,And all at once their breath drew in,As they were drinking all.
See! see! (I cried) she tacks no more!Hither to work us weal;Without a breeze, without a tide,She steadies with upright keel!
The western wave was all a-flame,The day was well nigh done!Almost upon the western waveRested the broad bright Sun;When that strange shape drove suddenlyBetwixt us and the Sun.
And straight the Sun was flecked with bars,(Heaven's Mother send us grace!)As if through a dungeon-grate he peeredWith broad and burning face.
Alas! (thought I, and my heart beat loud)How fast she nears and nears!Are those her sails that glance in the Sun,Like restless gossameres?
Are those her ribs through which the SunDid peer, as through a grate?And is that Woman all her crew?Is that a Death? and are there two?Is Death that Woman's mate?
Her lips were red, her looks were free,Her locks were yellow as gold:Her skin was as white as leprosy,The Night-mare Life-in-Death was she,Who thicks man's blood with cold.
The naked hulk alongside came,And the twain were casting dice;"The game is done! I've won! I've won!"Quoth she, and whistles thrice.
The Sun's rim dips; the stars rush out:At one stride comes the dark;With far-heard whisper, o'er the sea,Off shot the spectre-bark.
We listened and looked sideways up!Fear at my heart, as at a cup,My life-blood seemed to sip!The stars were dim, and thick the night,The steersman's face by his lamp gleamed white;From the sails the dew did drip--Till clomb above the eastern barThe horned Moon, with one bright starWithin the nether tip.
One after one, by the star-dogged Moon,Too quick for groan or sigh,Each turned his face with a ghastly pang,And cursed me with his eye.
Four times fifty living men,(And I heard nor sigh nor groan)With heavy thump, a lifeless lump,They dropped down one by one.
The souls did from their bodies fly,--They fled to bliss or woe!And every soul, it passed me by,Like the whizz of my cross-bow!
Words in this poem 16
- unslaked a.
- Not slaked; unslacked; as, an unslaked thirst; unslaked lime.
- agape adv.
- Gaping, as with wonder, expectation, or eager attention. [Pref. a- + gape.]
- gramercy interj.
- A word formerly used to express thankfulness, with surprise; many thanks. [F. grand-merci. See Grand, and Mercy.]
- grin n.
- A snare; a gin. [AS. grin.]
- drove n.
- A collection of cattle driven, or cattle collected for driving; a number of animals, as oxen, sheep, or swine, driven in a body. [AS. draf, fr. drifan to drive. See Drive.]
- betwixt prep.
- In the space which separates; between. [OE. betwix, bitwix, rarely bitwixt, AS. betweox, betweohs, betweoh, betwih; pref. be- by + a form fr. AS. twa two. See Between.]
- dungeon n.
- A close, dark prison, commondonjon or keep of a castle, these being used as prisons. [OE. donjoun highest tower of a castle, tower, prison, F. donjon tower or platform in the midst of a castle, turret, or closet on the top of a house, a keep of a]
- 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.]
- twain a.
- Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
- quoth v. t.
- Said; spoke; uttered; -- used only in the first and third persons in the past tenses, and always followed by its nominative, the word or words said being the object; as, quoth I. quoth he. [AS.cweedhan, imp cwæedh, pl. cwædon; akin to OS. queedhan, OHG. quethan, quedan, Icel. kveedha, Goth. qiþan. sq. root22. Cf. Bequeath.]
- stride v. t.
- To walk with long steps, especially in a measured or pompous manner. [AS. stridan to stride, to strive; akin to LG. striden, OFries. strida to strive, D. strijden to strive, to contend, G. streiten, OHG. stritan; of uncertain orig]
- spectre n.
- Something preternaturally visible; an apparition; a ghost; a phantom. [F. spectre, fr. L. spectrum an appearance, image, specter, fr. specere to look. See Spy, and cf. Spectrum.]
- drip v. i.
- To fall in drops; as, water drips from the eaves. [Akin to LG. drippen, Dan. dryppe, from a noun. See Drop.]
- nether a.
- Situated down or below; lying beneath, or in the lower part; having a lower position; belonging to the region below; lower; under; -- opposed to upper. [OE. nethere, neithere, AS. ni, fr. the adv. ni downward; akin to neo below, beneath, D. neder down, G. nieder, Sw. nedre below, nether, a. & adv., and also to S]
- cursed a.
- Deserving a curse; execrable; hateful; detestable; abominable.
- whizz v. i.
- To make a humming or hissing sound, like an arrow or ball flying through the air; to fly or move swiftly with a sharp hissing or whistling sound. [Of imitative origin. Whistle, and Hiss.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Part III is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems of Coleridge, Project Gutenberg ebook #8208; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Part III, in Poems of Coleridge (1796–1817), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8208, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/coleridge-poems/part-iii.html, id L00298.
Form and metre
Part III is 81 lines in 17 stanzas. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.4 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 11% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in common measure.
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-A throat · eyeA · time · eyeA · beheld · skyA
- 2 -A-A speck · mistA · last · wistA
- 3 -A-A wist · nearedA · sprite · veeredA
- 4 -ABBA baked · wailA · stoodB · bloodB · sailA
- 5 -ABBA baked · callA · grinB · inB · allA
- 6 -A-A more · wealA · tide · keelA
- 7 -A-A-A flame · doneA · wave · sunA · suddenly · sunA
- 8 -A-A bars · graceA · peered · faceA
- 10 -ABBA sun · grateA · crewB · twoB · mateA
- 11 AB-AB freeA · goldB · leprosy · sheA · coldB
- 12 -A-A came · diceA · won · thriceA
- 13 -A-A out · darkA · sea · barkA
- 14 AABCCBDDB upA · cupA · sipB · nightC · whiteC · dripB · barD · starD · tipB
- 15 -A-A moon · sighA · pang · eyeA
- 17 ABAB flyA · woeB · byA · bowB
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| There passed a weary time. Each throat | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Was parched, and glazed each eye. | 8 | ··˘··˘·· |
| A weary time! a weary time! | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| How glazed each weary eye, | 7 | ··˘·/˘· |
| When looking westward, I beheld | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| A something in the sky. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| At first it seemed a little speck, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And then it seemed a mist; | 7 | ····˘·· |
| It moved and moved, and took at last | 8 | ········ |
| A certain shape, I wist. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist! | 8 | ········ |
| And still it neared and neared: | 8 | ····˘··˘ |
| As if it dodged a water-sprite, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| It plunged and tacked and veered. | 8 | ··˘··˘·· |
| With throats unslaked, with black lips baked, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| We could nor laugh nor wail; | 6 | ······ |
| Through utter drought all dumb we stood! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| I bit my arm, I sucked the blood, | 8 | ········ |
| And cried, A sail! a sail! | 6 | ······ |
| With throats unslaked, with black lips baked, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Agape they heard me call: | 6 | ˘/···· |
| Gramercy! they for joy did grin, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| And all at once their breath drew in, | 8 | ········ |
| As they were drinking all. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| See! see! (I cried) she tacks no more! | 8 | ········ |
| Hither to work us weal; | 6 | /˘···· |
| Without a breeze, without a tide, | 8 | ········ |
| She steadies with upright keel! | 7 | ·/˘·˘/· |
| The western wave was all a-flame, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The day was well nigh done! | 6 | ······ |
| Almost upon the western wave | 8 | /····/˘· |
| Rested the broad bright Sun; | 6 | /˘···· |
| When that strange shape drove suddenly | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Betwixt us and the Sun. | 6 | ˘/···· |
| And straight the Sun was flecked with bars, | 8 | ········ |
| (Heaven's Mother send us grace!) | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| As if through a dungeon-grate he peered | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| With broad and burning face. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Alas! (thought I, and my heart beat loud) | 9 | ˘/······· |
| How fast she nears and nears! | 6 | ······ |
| Are those her sails that glance in the Sun, | 9 | ········· |
| Like restless gossameres? | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| Are those her ribs through which the Sun | 8 | ········ |
| Did peer, as through a grate? | 6 | ······ |
| And is that Woman all her crew? | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Is that a Death? and are there two? | 8 | ········ |
| Is Death that Woman's mate? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Her lips were red, her looks were free, | 8 | ········ |
| Her locks were yellow as gold: | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Her skin was as white as leprosy, | 9 | ······/˘˘ |
| The Night-mare Life-in-Death was she, | 8 | ········ |
| Who thicks man's blood with cold. | 6 | ······ |
| The naked hulk alongside came, | 8 | ·/˘·˘//· |
| And the twain were casting dice; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| "The game is done! I've won! I've won!" | 8 | ········ |
| Quoth she, and whistles thrice. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The Sun's rim dips; the stars rush out: | 8 | ········ |
| At one stride comes the dark; | 6 | ······ |
| With far-heard whisper, o'er the sea, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Off shot the spectre-bark. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| We listened and looked sideways up! | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| Fear at my heart, as at a cup, | 8 | ········ |
| My life-blood seemed to sip! | 7 | ····˘·· |
| The stars were dim, and thick the night, | 8 | ········ |
| The steersman's face by his lamp gleamed white; | 9 | ········· |
| From the sails the dew did drip-- | 7 | ······· |
| Till clomb above the eastern bar | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The horned Moon, with one bright star | 8 | ··˘····· |
| Within the nether tip. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| One after one, by the star-dogged Moon, | 9 | ········· |
| Too quick for groan or sigh, | 6 | ······ |
| Each turned his face with a ghastly pang, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| And cursed me with his eye. | 7 | ··˘···· |
| Four times fifty living men, | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| (And I heard nor sigh nor groan) | 7 | ······· |
| With heavy thump, a lifeless lump, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| They dropped down one by one. | 7 | ··˘···· |
| The souls did from their bodies fly,-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| They fled to bliss or woe! | 6 | ······ |
| And every soul, it passed me by, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Like the whizz of my cross-bow! | 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.