Benedictio Domini
Without, the sullen noises of the street!The voice of London, inarticulate,Hoarse and blaspheming, surges in to meetThe silent blessing of the Immaculate.
Dark is the church, and dim the worshippers,Hushed with bowed heads as though by some old spell.While through the incense-laden air there stirsThe admonition of a silver bell.
Dark is the church, save where the altar stands,Dressed like a bride, illustrious with light,Where one old priest exalts with tremulous handsThe one true solace of man's fallen plight.
Strange silence here: without, the sounding streetHeralds the world's swift passage to the fire:O Benediction, perfect and complete!When shall men cease to suffer and desire?
Words in this poem
- sullen a.
- Lonely; solitary; desolate. Wyclif (Job iii. 14). [OE. solein, solain, lonely, sullen; through Old French fr. (assumed) LL. solanus solitary, fr. L. solus alone. See Sole, a.]
- immaculate a.
- Without stain or blemish; spotless; undefiled; clear; pure. [L. immaculatus; pref. im- not + maculatus, p. p. of maculare to spot, stane, fr. macula spot. See Mail armor.]
- solace n.
- Comfort in grief; alleviation of grief or anxiety; also, that which relieves in distress; that which cheers or consoles; relief. [OF. solas, ssoulaz, L. solacium, solatium, fr. solari to comfort, console. Cf. Console, v. t.]
- plight v. t.
- To weave; to braid; to fold; to plait. [OE. pliten; probably through Old French, fr. LL. plectare, L. plectere. See Plait, Ply.]
- 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
Benedictio Domini is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems and Prose of Ernest Dowson, With a Memoir by Arthur Symons, Project Gutenberg ebook #8497; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Ernest Dowson, Benedictio Domini, in The Poems of Ernest Dowson (1896–1899), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8497, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dowson-poems/benedictio-domini.html, id L01627.
Form and metre
Benedictio Domini is 16 lines in 4 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% 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 AAA- streetA · inarticulateA · meetA · immaculate
- 2 ABAB worshippersA · spellB · stirsA · bellB
- 3 ABAB standsA · lightB · handsA · plightB
- 4 ABAB streetA · fireB · completeA · desireB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Without, the sullen noises of the street! | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| The voice of London, inarticulate, | 10 | ···/˘˘˘/˘˘ |
| Hoarse and blaspheming, surges in to meet | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The silent blessing of the Immaculate. | 11 | ·/˘/˘··˘/˘˘ |
| Dark is the church, and dim the worshippers, | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Hushed with bowed heads as though by some old spell. | 10 | ·········· |
| While through the incense-laden air there stirs | 10 | ···/·/˘··· |
| The admonition of a silver bell. | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Dark is the church, save where the altar stands, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Dressed like a bride, illustrious with light, | 10 | ····˘/˘˘·· |
| Where one old priest exalts with tremulous hands | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| The one true solace of man's fallen plight. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Strange silence here: without, the sounding street | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Heralds the world's swift passage to the fire: | 11 | /˘···/˘··/˘ |
| O Benediction, perfect and complete! | 10 | ··˘/˘/··˘/ |
| When shall men cease to suffer and desire? | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
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.