Robert Gould Shaw
Why was it that the thunder voice of FateShould call thee, studious, from the classic groves,Where calm-eyed Pallas with still footstep roves,And charge thee seek the turmoil of the state?What bade thee hear the voice and rise elate,Leave home and kindred and thy spicy loaves,To lead th' unlettered and despised drovesTo manhood's home and thunder at the gate?
Far better the slow blaze of Learning's light,The cool and quiet of her dearer fane,Than this hot terror of a hopeless fight,This cold endurance of the final pain,--Since thou and those who with thee died for rightHave died, the Present teaches, but in vain!
Words in this poem
- classic a.
- Of or relating to the first class or rank, especially in literature or art. [L. classicus relating to the classes of the Roman people, and especially to the frist class; hence, of the first rank, superior, from classis class: cf. F. clas]
- pallas n.
- Pallas Athene, the Grecian goddess of wisdom, called also Athene, and identified, at a later period, with the Roman Minerva.
- turmoil v. t.
- To harass with commotion; to disquiet; to worry.
- bade
- A form of the pat tense of Bid.
- elate a.
- Lifted up; raised; elevated. [L. elatus elevated, fig., elated, proud (the figure, perh., being borrowed from a prancing horse); e out + latus (used as p. p. of ferre to bear), for tlatus, a]
- fane n.
- A temple; a place consecrated to religion; a church. [L. fanum a place dedicated to some deity, a sanctuary, fr. fari to speak. See Fame.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Robert Gould Shaw 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, Robert Gould Shaw, in The Complete Poems (1893–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18338, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dunbar-poems/robert-gould-shaw.html, id L00788.
Form and metre
Robert Gould Shaw is 14 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.8 syllables. 21% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 ABBAABBA fateA · grovesB · rovesB · stateA · elateA · loavesB · drovesB · gateA
- 2 ABABAB lightA · faneB · fightA · painB · rightA · vainB
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Why was it that the thunder voice of Fate | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Should call thee, studious, from the classic groves, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Where calm-eyed Pallas with still footstep roves, | 10 | ·······/·· |
| And charge thee seek the turmoil of the state? | 10 | ·····/···· |
| What bade thee hear the voice and rise elate, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Leave home and kindred and thy spicy loaves, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| To lead th' unlettered and despised droves | 10 | ·····˘·˘/· |
| To manhood's home and thunder at the gate? | 10 | ·/···/˘··· |
| Far better the slow blaze of Learning's light, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| The cool and quiet of her dearer fane, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Than this hot terror of a hopeless fight, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| This cold endurance of the final pain,-- | 10 | ··/˘˘··/˘· |
| Since thou and those who with thee died for right | 10 | ·········· |
| Have died, the Present teaches, but in vain! | 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.