Right's Security
What if the wind do howl without,And turn the creaking weather-vane;What if the arrows of the rainDo beat against the window-pane?Art thou not armored strong and fastAgainst the sallies of the blast?Art thou not sheltered safe and wellAgainst the flood's insistent swell?
What boots it, that thou stand'st alone,And laughest in the battle's faceWhen all the weak have fled the placeAnd let their feet and fears keep pace?Thou wavest still thine ensign, high,And shoutest thy loud battle-cry;Higher than e'er the tempest roared,It cleaves the silence like a sword.
Right arms and armors, too, that manWho will not compromise with wrong;Though single, he must front the throng,And wage the battle hard and long.Minorities, since time began,Have shown the better side of man;And often in the lists of TimeOne man has made a cause sublime!
If life were but a dream, my Love,And death the waking time;If day had not a beam, my Love,And night had not a rhyme,--A barren, barren world were thisWithout one saving gleam;I 'd only ask that with a kissYou 'd wake me from the dream.
If dreaming were the sum of days,And loving were the bane;If battling for a wreath of baysCould soothe a heart in pain,--I 'd scorn the meed of battle's might,All other aims aboveI 'd choose the human's higher right,To suffer and to love!
Words in this poem
- pane n.
- The narrow edge of a hammer head. See Peen. [F. panne.]
- armored a.
- Clad with armor.
- insistent a.
- Standing or resting on something; as, an insistent wall. Sir H. [L. insistens, -entis, p. pr. of insistere.]
- compromise n.
- A mutual agreement to refer matters in dispute to the decision of arbitrators. Burrill. [F. compromis, fr. L. compromissum a mutual promise to abide by the decision of an arbiter, fr. compromittere to make such a promise; com- + promittere to promis]
- wage v. i.
- To bind one's self; to engage.
- bane v. t.
- To be the bane of; to ruin. Fuller.
- soothe v. t.
- To assent to as true. Testament of Love. [Originally, to assent to as true; OE. so to verify, AS. ges to prove the truth of, to bear witness. See Sooth, a.]
- meed v. t.
- To reward; to repay. Waytt.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Right's Security 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, Right's Security, in The Complete Poems (1893–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18338, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dunbar-poems/right-s-security.html, id L00577.
Form and metre
Right's Security is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, in 2 of the 5 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.7 syllables. 28% 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 -AAABBCC without · vaneA · rainA · paneA · fastB · blastB · wellC · swellC
- 2 -AAABBCC alone · faceA · placeA · paceA · highB · cryB · roaredC · swordC
- 3 ABBBAACC manA · wrongB · throngB · longB · beganA · manA · timeC · sublimeC
- 4 ABABCDCD loveA · timeB · loveA · rhymeB · thisC · gleamD · kissC · dreamD
- 5 ABABCDCD daysA · baneB · baysA · painB · mightC · aboveD · rightC · loveD
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 if the wind do howl without, | 8 | ········ |
| And turn the creaking weather-vane; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| What if the arrows of the rain | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Do beat against the window-pane? | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Art thou not armored strong and fast | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Against the sallies of the blast? | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Art thou not sheltered safe and well | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Against the flood's insistent swell? | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| What boots it, that thou stand'st alone, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And laughest in the battle's face | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| When all the weak have fled the place | 8 | ········ |
| And let their feet and fears keep pace? | 8 | ········ |
| Thou wavest still thine ensign, high, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And shoutest thy loud battle-cry; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Higher than e'er the tempest roared, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| It cleaves the silence like a sword. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Right arms and armors, too, that man | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Who will not compromise with wrong; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Though single, he must front the throng, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And wage the battle hard and long. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Minorities, since time began, | 8 | ˘/˘˘··˘/ |
| Have shown the better side of man; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And often in the lists of Time | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| One man has made a cause sublime! | 8 | ······˘/ |
| If life were but a dream, my Love, | 8 | ········ |
| And death the waking time; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| If day had not a beam, my Love, | 8 | ········ |
| And night had not a rhyme,-- | 6 | ······ |
| A barren, barren world were this | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Without one saving gleam; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| I 'd only ask that with a kiss | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| You 'd wake me from the dream. | 7 | ······· |
| If dreaming were the sum of days, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And loving were the bane; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| If battling for a wreath of bays | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Could soothe a heart in pain,-- | 6 | ······ |
| I 'd scorn the meed of battle's might, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| All other aims above | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| I 'd choose the human's higher right, | 8 | ····/˘/· |
| To suffer and to love! | 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.