Rondeau
Ah, Manon, say, why is it weAre one and all so fain of thee?Thy rich red beauty debonnaireIn very truth is not more fair,Than the shy grace and purityThat clothe the maiden maidenly;Her gray eyes shine more tenderlyAnd not less bright than thine her hair;Ah, Manon, say!Expound, I pray, the mysteryWhy wine-stained lip and languid eye,And most unsaintly Maenad air,Should move us more than all the rareWhite roses of virginity?Ah, Manon, say!
Words in this poem
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- maidenly a.
- Like a maid; suiting a maid; maiden-like; gentle, modest, reserved.
- tenderly adv.
- In a tender manner; with tenderness; mildly; gently; softly; in a manner not to injure or give pain; with pity or affection; kindly.
- expound v. t.
- To lay open; to expose to view; to examine. [OE. exponen, expounen, expounden, fr. L. exponere to set out, expose, expound; ex out + ponere to put: cf. OE. expondre, expondre. See Position.]
- unsaintly a.
- Unbecoming to a saint. Gauden.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Rondeau 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, Rondeau, in The Poems of Ernest Dowson (1896–1899), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8497, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dowson-poems/rondeau.html, id L01686.
Form and metre
Rondeau is 15 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 81%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.5 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 40% 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---BC--BB-C weA · theeA · debonnaireB · fairB · purity · maidenly · tenderly · hairB · sayC · mystery · eye · airB · rareB · virginity · sayC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ah, Manon, say, why is it we | 8 | ·˘/····· |
| Are one and all so fain of thee? | 8 | ········ |
| Thy rich red beauty debonnaire | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| In very truth is not more fair, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Than the shy grace and purity | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| That clothe the maiden maidenly; | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| Her gray eyes shine more tenderly | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| And not less bright than thine her hair; | 8 | ········ |
| Ah, Manon, say! | 4 | ·˘/· |
| Expound, I pray, the mystery | 8 | ˘/···/˘˘ |
| Why wine-stained lip and languid eye, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And most unsaintly Maenad air, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Should move us more than all the rare | 8 | ········ |
| White roses of virginity? | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| Ah, Manon, say! | 4 | ·˘/· |
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.