A Wail
My name is Col. Johncey New,And by a hoosier's graceI have congenial work to doAt 12 St. Helen's place.I was as happy as a clamA-floating with the tide,Till one day came a cablegramTo me from t'other side.
It was a Macedonian cryFrom Benjy o'er the sea;"Come hither, Johncey, instantly,And whoop things up for me!"I could not turn a callous earUnto that piteous cry;I packed my grip, and for the pierDirectly started I.
Alas! things are not half so fairAs four short years ago--The clouds are gathering everywhereAnd boisterous breezes blow;My wilted whiskers indicateThe depth of my disgrace--Would I were back, enthroned in state,At 12 St. Helen's place!
The saddest words, as I'll allow,That drop from tongue or pen,Are these sad words I utter now:"They can't, shan't, won't have Ben!"So, with my whiskers in my hands,My journey I'll retrace,To wreak revenge on foreign landsAt 12 St. Helen's place.
Words in this poem
- cablegram n.
- A message sent by a submarine telegraphic cable.
- macedonian a.
- Belonging, or relating, to Macedonia.
- boisterous a.
- Rough or rude; unbending; unyielding; strong; powerful. [OE. boistous; of uncertain origin; cf. W. bwyst wild, savage, wildness, ferocity, bwystus ferocious.]
- retrace v. t.
- To trace back, as a line. [Pref. re- + trace: cf. F. retracer. Cf. Retract.]
- wreak v. i.
- To reck; to care.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Wail is in the public domain. This text is taken from Hoosier Lyrics, Project Gutenberg ebook #36150; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Eugene Field, A Wail, in Hoosier Lyrics (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36150, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/field-poems/a-wail.html, id L11586.
Form and metre
A Wail is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, 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 7.0 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 34% 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 ABABCDCD newA · graceB · doA · placeB · clamC · tideD · cablegramC · sideD
- 2 AB-BCACA cryA · seaB · instantly · meB · earC · cryA · pierC · iA
- 3 ABABCDCD fairA · agoB · everywhereA · blowB · indicateC · disgraceD · stateC · placeD
- 4 ABABCDCD allowA · penB · nowA · benB · handsC · retraceD · landsC · placeD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| My name is Col. Johncey New, | 7 | ······· |
| And by a hoosier's grace | 6 | ···/˘· |
| I have congenial work to do | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| At 12 St. Helen's place. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| I was as happy as a clam | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A-floating with the tide, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Till one day came a cablegram | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To me from t'other side. | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| It was a Macedonian cry | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| From Benjy o'er the sea; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| "Come hither, Johncey, instantly, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| And whoop things up for me!" | 6 | ······ |
| I could not turn a callous ear | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Unto that piteous cry; | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| I packed my grip, and for the pier | 8 | ········ |
| Directly started I. | 6 | ˘/˘/˘· |
| Alas! things are not half so fair | 8 | ˘/······ |
| As four short years ago-- | 6 | ····˘/ |
| The clouds are gathering everywhere | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And boisterous breezes blow; | 7 | ·/˘˘/˘· |
| My wilted whiskers indicate | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| The depth of my disgrace-- | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Would I were back, enthroned in state, | 8 | ········ |
| At 12 St. Helen's place! | 5 | ··/˘· |
| The saddest words, as I'll allow, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| That drop from tongue or pen, | 6 | ······ |
| Are these sad words I utter now: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| "They can't, shan't, won't have Ben!" | 6 | ······ |
| So, with my whiskers in my hands, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| My journey I'll retrace, | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| To wreak revenge on foreign lands | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| At 12 St. Helen's place. | 5 | ··/˘· |
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.