On the Sea Wall
I sit upon the old sea wall,And watch the shimmering sea,Where soft and white the moonbeams fall,Till, in a fantasy,Some pure white maiden's funeral pallThe strange light seems to me.
The waters break upon the shoreAnd shiver at my feet,While I dream old dreams o'er and o'er,And dim old scenes repeat;Tho' all have dreamed the same before,They still seem new and sweet.
The waves still sing the same old songThat knew an elder time;The breakers' beat is not more strong,Their music more sublime;And poets thro' the ages longHave set these notes to rhyme.
But this shall not deter my lyre,Nor check my simple strain;If I have not the old-time fire,I know the ancient pain:The hurt of unfulfilled desire,--The ember quenched by rain.
I know the softly shining seaThat rolls this gentle swellHas snarled and licked its tongues at meAnd bared its fangs as well;That 'neath its smile so heavenly,There lurks the scowl of hell!
But what of that? I strike my string(For songs in youth are sweet);I 'll wait and hear the waters bringTheir loud resounding beat;Then, in her own bold numbers singThe Ocean's dear deceit!
Words in this poem
- shimmering n.
- A gleam or glimmering.
- fantasy n.
- Fancy; imagination; especially, a whimsical or fanciful conception; a vagary of the imagination; whim; caprice; humor. [See Fancy.]
- 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,]
- ember n.
- A lighted coal, smoldering amid ashes; -- used chiefly in the plural, to signify mingled coals and ashes; the smoldering remains of a fire. [OE. emmeres, emeres, AS. ; akin to Icel. eimyrja, Dan. emmer, MHG. eimere; cf. Icel. eimr vapor, smoke.]
- scowl v. i.
- To wrinkle the brows, as in frowning or displeasure; to put on a frowning look; to look sour, sullen, severe, or angry. [Akin to Dan. skule; cf. Icel. skolla to skulk, LG. schulen to hide one's self, D. schuilen, G. schielen to squint, Dan. skele, Sw. skela, AS. sceolh squinting. ]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On the Sea Wall is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar, Project Gutenberg ebook #18338; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Paul Laurence Dunbar, On the Sea Wall, in The Complete Poems (1893–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18338, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dunbar-poems/on-the-sea-wall.html, id L00643.
Form and metre
On the Sea Wall is 36 lines in 6 stanzas of 6 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABABAB, in 2 of the 6 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.2 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 28% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
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 ABA-AB wallA · seaB · fallA · fantasy · pallA · meB
- 2 AB-BAB shoreA · feetB · o'er · repeatB · beforeA · sweetB
- 3 ABABAB songA · timeB · strongA · sublimeB · longA · rhymeB
- 4 ABAB-B lyreA · strainB · fireA · painB · desire · rainB
- 5 ABAB-B seaA · swellB · meA · wellB · heavenly · hellB
- 6 ABABAB stringA · sweetB · bringA · beatB · singA · deceitB
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I sit upon the old sea wall, | 8 | ········ |
| And watch the shimmering sea, | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Where soft and white the moonbeams fall, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Till, in a fantasy, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Some pure white maiden's funeral pall | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The strange light seems to me. | 6 | ······ |
| The waters break upon the shore | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And shiver at my feet, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| While I dream old dreams o'er and o'er, | 8 | ········ |
| And dim old scenes repeat; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Tho' all have dreamed the same before, | 8 | ········ |
| They still seem new and sweet. | 6 | ······ |
| The waves still sing the same old song | 8 | ········ |
| That knew an elder time; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The breakers' beat is not more strong, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Their music more sublime; | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| And poets thro' the ages long | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Have set these notes to rhyme. | 6 | ······ |
| But this shall not deter my lyre, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Nor check my simple strain; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| If I have not the old-time fire, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| I know the ancient pain: | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The hurt of unfulfilled desire,-- | 9 | ····˘/˘/˘ |
| The ember quenched by rain. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| I know the softly shining sea | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| That rolls this gentle swell | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Has snarled and licked its tongues at me | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| And bared its fangs as well; | 6 | ······ |
| That 'neath its smile so heavenly, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| There lurks the scowl of hell! | 6 | ······ |
| But what of that? I strike my string | 8 | ········ |
| (For songs in youth are sweet); | 6 | ······ |
| I 'll wait and hear the waters bring | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Their loud resounding beat; | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Then, in her own bold numbers sing | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The Ocean's dear deceit! | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
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.