Security
Though her eye seek other formsAnd a glad delight below,Yet the love the world that warmsBids for me her bosom glow.
She must love me till she findAnother heart as large and true.Her soul is frank as the ocean wind,And the world has only two.
If Nature hold another heartThat knows a purer flame than me,I too therein could challenge partAnd learn of love a new degree.
A dull uncertain brain,But gifted yet to knowThat God has cherubim who goSinging an immortal strain,Immortal here below.I know the mighty bards,I listen when they sing,And now I knowThe secret storeWhich these exploreWhen they with torch of genius pierceThe tenfold clouds that coverThe riches of the universeFrom God's adoring lover.And if to me it is not givenTo fetch one ingot thenceOf the unfading gold of HeavenHis merchants may dispense,Yet well I know the royal mine,And know the sparkle of its ore,Know Heaven's truth from lies that shine--Explored they teach us to explore.
Words in this poem
- cherubim n.
- The Hebrew plural of Cherub.. Cf. Seraphim.
- explore v. t.
- To seek for or after; to strive to attain by search; to look wisely and carefully for. [L. explorare to explore; ex out+plorare to cry out aloud,prob. orig., to cause to flow; perh. akin to E. flow: cf. F. explorer.]
- ingot n.
- That in which metal is cast; a mold. [Prob. from AS. in in + geótan to pour: cf. F. linglot, LL. lingotus a mass of gold or silver, extended in the manner of a tongue, and G. einguss, LG. & OE. ingo]
- dispense v. i.
- To compensate; to make up; to make amends.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Security is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems Household Edition, Project Gutenberg ebook #12843; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Security, in Poems (1847), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12843, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/emerson-poems/security.html, id L07586.
Form and metre
Security is 34 lines in 4 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.0 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 47% 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 ABAB formsA · belowB · warmsA · glowB
- 2 ABAB findA · trueB · windA · twoB
- 3 ABAB heartA · meB · partA · degreeB
- 4 ABBAB--BCC-D-DEFEFECEC brainA · knowB · goB · strainA · belowB · bards · sing · knowB · storeC · exploreC · pierce · coverD · universe · loverD · givenE · thenceF · heavenE · dispenseF · mineE · oreC · shineE · exploreC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Though her eye seek other forms | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And a glad delight below, | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| Yet the love the world that warms | 7 | ······· |
| Bids for me her bosom glow. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| She must love me till she find | 7 | ······· |
| Another heart as large and true. | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| Her soul is frank as the ocean wind, | 8 | ······/· |
| And the world has only two. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| If Nature hold another heart | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| That knows a purer flame than me, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I too therein could challenge part | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And learn of love a new degree. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| A dull uncertain brain, | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| But gifted yet to know | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| That God has cherubim who go | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Singing an immortal strain, | 7 | /˘·˘/˘· |
| Immortal here below. | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| I know the mighty bards, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| I listen when they sing, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And now I know | 4 | ···· |
| The secret store | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Which these explore | 4 | ··˘/ |
| When they with torch of genius pierce | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The tenfold clouds that cover | 7 | ·/···/˘ |
| The riches of the universe | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| From God's adoring lover. | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| And if to me it is not given | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| To fetch one ingot thence | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Of the unfading gold of Heaven | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| His merchants may dispense, | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| Yet well I know the royal mine, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And know the sparkle of its ore, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Know Heaven's truth from lies that shine-- | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Explored they teach us to explore. | 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.