At Melville’s Tomb
Often beneath the wave, wide from this ledgeThe dice of drowned men’s bones he saw bequeathAn embassy. Their numbers as he watched,Beat on the dusty shore and were obscured.
And wrecks passed without sound of bells,The calyx of death’s bounty giving backA scattered chapter, livid hieroglyph,The portent wound in corridors of shells.
Then in the circuit calm of one vast coil,Its lashings charmed and malice reconciled,Frosted eyes there were that lifted altars;And silent answers crept across the stars.
Compass, quadrant and sextant contriveNo farther tides.... High in the azure steepsMonody shall not wake the mariner.This fabulous shadow only the sea keeps.
Words in this poem
- bequeath v. t.
- To give or leave by will; to give by testament; -- said especially of personal property. [OE. biquethen, AS. becwe to say, affirm, bequeath; pref. be- + cwe to say, speak. See Quoth.]
- bounty n.
- Goodness, kindness; virtue; worth. [OE. bounte goodness, kindness, F. bonté, fr. L. bonitas, fr. bonus good, for older duonus; cf. Skr. duvas honor, respect.]
- portent n.
- That which portends, or foretoken; esp., that which portends evil; a sign of coming calamity; an omen; a sign. [L. portentum. See Portend.]
- frosted a.
- Covered with hoarfrost or anything resembling hoarfrost; ornamented with frosting; also, frost-bitten; as, a frosted cake; frosted glass.
- quadrant n.
- The fourth part; the quarter. Sir T. Browne. [L. quadrans, -antis, a fourth part, a fourth of a whole, fr. quattuor four: cf. F. quadrant, cadran. See Four, and cf. Cadrans.]
- monody n.
- A species of poem of a mournful character, in which a single mourner expresses lamentation; a song for one voice. [L. monodia, Gr. monodie. See Ode.]
- 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
At Melville’s Tomb is in the public domain. This text is taken from White buildings, Project Gutenberg ebook #77837; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Hart Crane, At Melville’s Tomb, in White Buildings (1926), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #77837, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/crane-hart-white-buildings/at-melville-s-tomb.html, id L02613.
Form and metre
At Melville’s Tomb is 16 lines in 4 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 31% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter, other poems in blank verse.
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.
- 2 A--A bellsA · back · hieroglyph · shellsA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Often beneath the wave, wide from this ledge | 10 | /˘········ |
| The dice of drowned men’s bones he saw bequeath | 10 | ········˘/ |
| An embassy. Their numbers as he watched, | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘··· |
| Beat on the dusty shore and were obscured. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| And wrecks passed without sound of bells, | 9 | ···˘····· |
| The calyx of death’s bounty giving back | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| A scattered chapter, livid hieroglyph, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| The portent wound in corridors of shells. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘·· |
| Then in the circuit calm of one vast coil, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Its lashings charmed and malice reconciled, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Frosted eyes there were that lifted altars; | 10 | /˘····/˘/˘ |
| And silent answers crept across the stars. | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| Compass, quadrant and sextant contrive | 9 | /˘/˘·/˘˘/ |
| No farther tides.... High in the azure steeps | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Monody shall not wake the mariner. | 10 | /˘˘····/˘˘ |
| This fabulous shadow only the sea keeps. | 10 | ·/˘/·/˘··· |
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