Provocations
I am no merry monger whenI see the slatterns of the town:I hate to think of docile menWhose angers all are driven down;For sluts make joy a thing obscene,And in contempt is nothing clean.
I like to see the ladies walkWith heels to set their chins atilt:I like to hear the clergy talkOf other clergy’s people’s guilt;For happy is the amorous eye,And indignation clears the sky.
Words in this poem
- monger n.
- A trader; a dealer; -- now used chiefly in composition; as, fishmonger, ironmonger, newsmonger. [AS. mangere, fr. mangian to trade; akin to Icel. manga to trade, mangari a trader, OHG. mangari, mengari; cf. L. mango a dealer in slaves.]
- docile a.
- Teachable; easy to teach; docible. [L. docilis,fr. docere to teach; cf. Gr. discere to learn, Gr. docile. Cf. Doctor, Didactic, Disciple.]
- atilt adv.
- In the manner of a tilter; in the position, or with the action, of one making a thrust. [Pref. a- + tilt.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Provocations 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, Provocations, in Poems, 1908-1919 (1919), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #51575, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/drinkwater-poems/provocations.html, id L23130.
Form and metre
Provocations is 12 lines in 2 stanzas of 6 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCC. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 95%).
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 ABABCC whenA · townB · menA · downB · obsceneC · cleanC
- 2 ABABCC walkA · atiltB · talkA · guiltB · eyeC · skyC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I am no merry monger when | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| I see the slatterns of the town: | 8 | ········ |
| I hate to think of docile men | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Whose angers all are driven down; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| For sluts make joy a thing obscene, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And in contempt is nothing clean. | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| I like to see the ladies walk | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| With heels to set their chins atilt: | 8 | ······˘/ |
| I like to hear the clergy talk | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Of other clergy’s people’s guilt; | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| For happy is the amorous eye, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And indignation clears the sky. | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
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.