Treason
What time I write my roundelays,I am as proud as princes gone,Who built their empires in old days,As Tamburlaine or Solomon;And wisely though companions thenSay well it is and well I sing,Assured above the praise of menI am a solitary king.
But when I leave that straiter mood,That lonely hour, and put asideThe continence of solitude,I fall in treason to my pride,And if a witling’s word be spentUpon my song in jealousy,In anger and in argumentI am as derelict as he.
Words in this poem
- solomon n.
- One of the kings of Israel, noted for his superior wisdom and magnificent reign; hence, a very wise man.
- continence n.
- Self-restraint; self-command. [F. continence, L. continentia. See Continent, and cf. Countenance.]
- witling n.
- A person who has little wit or understanding; a pretender to wit or smartness. [Wit + -ling; cf. G. witzling.]
- derelict a.
- Given up or forsaken by the natural owner or guardian; left and abandoned; as, derelict lands. [L. derelictus, p. p. of derelinquere to forsake wholly, to abandon; de- + relinquere to leave. See Relinquish.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Treason 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, Treason, in Poems, 1908-1919 (1919), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #51575, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/drinkwater-poems/treason.html, id L23124.
Form and metre
Treason is 16 lines in 2 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
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 ABABCDCD roundelaysA · goneB · daysA · solomonB · thenC · singD · menC · kingD
- 2 ABABC-C- moodA · asideB · solitudeA · prideB · spentC · jealousy · argumentC · he
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 |
|---|---|---|
| What time I write my roundelays, | 8 | ········ |
| I am as proud as princes gone, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Who built their empires in old days, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| As Tamburlaine or Solomon; | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| And wisely though companions then | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Say well it is and well I sing, | 8 | ········ |
| Assured above the praise of men | 8 | ˘/······ |
| I am a solitary king. | 8 | ···/˘·˘· |
| But when I leave that straiter mood, | 8 | ········ |
| That lonely hour, and put aside | 8 | ·/˘/··˘/ |
| The continence of solitude, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I fall in treason to my pride, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And if a witling’s word be spent | 8 | ········ |
| Upon my song in jealousy, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| In anger and in argument | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| I am as derelict as he. | 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.