Perspective
In the Wheatsheaf parlour I sat to seeThe story of Chippington street go by,The squire, and dames of little degree,And drovers with cattle and flocks to cry.
And these were all as my creatures there,Twinkling to and fro in the sun,And placidly I had joy, had care,Of all their labours and dealings done.
Into the parlour strode me thenTwo fellows fiercely set at odds,To whom the difference of menGave the sufficiency of God.
They saw me, and they stept beyondTo a chamber within earshot still,And each on each of broken bond,And honour, and inflexible will,
Railed. And loud the little inn grew,But nothing I cared their quarrel to learn,Though the issue tossing between the twoThey deemed the bait of the world’s concern.
Only I thought how most are menFantastic when they most are proud,And out of my laughter I looked againOn the flowing figures of Chippington crowd.
Words in this poem
- twinkling n.
- The act of one who, or of that which, twinkles; a quick movement of the eye; a wink; a twinkle. Holland.
- placidly adv.
- In a placid manner.
- odds n.
- Difference in favor of one and against another; excess of one of two things or numbers over the other; inequality; advantage; superiority; hence, excess of chances; probability. [See Odd, a.]
- earshot n.
- Reach of the ear; distance at which words may be heard.
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Perspective is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, 1908-1919, Project Gutenberg ebook #51575; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Drinkwater, Perspective, in Poems, 1908-1919 (1919), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #51575, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/drinkwater-poems/perspective.html, id L23116.
Form and metre
Perspective is 24 lines in 6 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 5 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%).
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 ABAB seeA · byB · degreeA · cryB
- 2 ABAB thereA · sunB · careA · doneB
- 3 A-A- thenA · odds · menA · god
- 4 ABAB beyondA · stillB · bondA · willB
- 5 ABAB grewA · learnB · twoA · concernB
- 6 ABAB menA · proudB · againA · crowdB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| In the Wheatsheaf parlour I sat to see | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| The story of Chippington street go by, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| The squire, and dames of little degree, | 9 | ·····/˘˘/ |
| And drovers with cattle and flocks to cry. | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···· |
| And these were all as my creatures there, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Twinkling to and fro in the sun, | 8 | /˘······ |
| And placidly I had joy, had care, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Of all their labours and dealings done. | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| Into the parlour strode me then | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Two fellows fiercely set at odds, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| To whom the difference of men | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Gave the sufficiency of God. | 8 | ··˘/˘˘·· |
| They saw me, and they stept beyond | 8 | ········ |
| To a chamber within earshot still, | 9 | ··/˘··/·· |
| And each on each of broken bond, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And honour, and inflexible will, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Railed. And loud the little inn grew, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| But nothing I cared their quarrel to learn, | 10 | ·/˘···/˘·· |
| Though the issue tossing between the two | 10 | ··/˘/˘···· |
| They deemed the bait of the world’s concern. | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Only I thought how most are men | 8 | /˘······ |
| Fantastic when they most are proud, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| And out of my laughter I looked again | 10 | ····/˘··˘/ |
| On the flowing figures of Chippington crowd. | 10 | ··//˘····· |
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.