The Bibliomaniac's Bride
The women-folk are like to books,--Most pleasing to the eye,Whereon if anybody looksHe feels disposed to buy.
I hear that many are for sale,--Those that record no dates,And such editions as regaleThe view with colored plates.
Of every quality and gradeAnd size they may be found,--Quite often beautifully made,As often poorly bound.
Now, as for me, had I my choice,I'd choose no folio tall,But some octavo to rejoiceMy sight and heart withal,--
As plump and pudgy as a snipe;Well worth her weight in gold;Of honest, clean, conspicuous type,And just the size to hold!
With such a volume for my wifeHow should I keep and con!How like a dream should run my lifeUnto its colophon!
Her frontispiece should be more fairThan any colored plate;Blooming with health, she would not careTo extra-illustrate.
And in her pages there should beA wealth of prose and verse,With now and then a jeu d'esprit,--But nothing ever worse!
Prose for me when I wished for prose,Verse when to verse inclined,--Forever bringing sweet reposeTo body, heart, and mind.
Oh, I should bind this priceless prizeIn bindings full and fine,And keep her where no human eyesShould see her charms, but mine!
With such a fair unique as thisWhat happiness abounds!Who--who could paint my rapturous bliss,My joy unknown to Lowndes!
Words in this poem
- folk n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- whereon adv.
- On which; -- used relatively; as, the earth whereon we live.
- regale n.
- A prerogative of royalty. Johnson. [LL. regale, pl. regalia, fr. L. regalis: cf. F. régale. See Regal.]
- octavo n.
- A book composed of sheets each of which is folded into eight leaves; hence, indicating more or less definitely a size of book so made; -- usually written 8vo or 8º. [L. in octavo; in in + octavo, abl. of octavus. See Octave.]
- withal adv.
- With this; with that. [With + all.]
- pudgy a.
- Short and fat or sturdy; dumpy; podgy; as, a short, pudgy little man; a pudgy little hand. Thackeray.
- colophon n.
- An inscription, monogram, or cipher, containing the place and date of publication, printer's name, etc., formerly placed on the last page of a book. [L. colophon finishing stroke, Gr. culmen top, collis hill. Cf. Holm.]
- frontispiece n.
- The part which first meets the eye; as: (a) (Arch.) The principal front of a building. [F. frontispice, LL. frontispicium beginning, front of a church, fr. L. frons front + spicere, specere, to look at, view: cf. It. frontispizio. See Front and Spy]
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- priceless a.
- Too valuable to admit of being appraised; of inestimable worth; invaluable.
- unique a.
- Being without a like or equal; unmatched; unequaled; unparalleled; single in kind or excellence; sole. [F. unique; cf. It. unico; from L. unicus, from unus one. See One.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Bibliomaniac's Bride is in the public domain. This text is taken from A Little Book of Western Verse, Project Gutenberg ebook #9606; 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, The Bibliomaniac's Bride, in A Little Book of Western Verse (1889), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9606, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/field-western-verse/the-bibliomaniac-s-bride.html, id L24659.
Form and metre
The Bibliomaniac's Bride is 44 lines in 11 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 8 of its 11 stanzas. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
See other poems in common measure.
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 booksA · eyeB · looksA · buyB
- 2 -A-A sale · datesA · regale · platesA
- 3 ABAB gradeA · foundB · madeA · boundB
- 4 ABAB choiceA · tallB · rejoiceA · withalB
- 5 ABAB snipeA · goldB · typeA · holdB
- 6 A-A- wifeA · con · lifeA · colophon
- 7 ABAB fairA · plateB · careA · illustrateB
- 8 ABAB beA · verseB · d'espritA · worseB
- 9 ABAB proseA · inclinedB · reposeA · mindB
- 10 ABAB prizeA · fineB · eyesA · mineB
- 11 A-A- thisA · abounds · blissA · lowndes
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The women-folk are like to books,-- | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Most pleasing to the eye, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Whereon if anybody looks | 8 | ˘/·/˘˘˘· |
| He feels disposed to buy. | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| I hear that many are for sale,-- | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Those that record no dates, | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| And such editions as regale | 9 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| The view with colored plates. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Of every quality and grade | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| And size they may be found,-- | 6 | ······ |
| Quite often beautifully made, | 7 | ·/˘/˘˘· |
| As often poorly bound. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Now, as for me, had I my choice, | 8 | ········ |
| I'd choose no folio tall, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| But some octavo to rejoice | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| My sight and heart withal,-- | 6 | ····˘/ |
| As plump and pudgy as a snipe; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Well worth her weight in gold; | 6 | ······ |
| Of honest, clean, conspicuous type, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| And just the size to hold! | 6 | ······ |
| With such a volume for my wife | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| How should I keep and con! | 6 | ······ |
| How like a dream should run my life | 8 | ········ |
| Unto its colophon! | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Her frontispiece should be more fair | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Than any colored plate; | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Blooming with health, she would not care | 8 | /˘······ |
| To extra-illustrate. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| And in her pages there should be | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A wealth of prose and verse, | 6 | ······ |
| With now and then a jeu d'esprit,-- | 8 | ········ |
| But nothing ever worse! | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Prose for me when I wished for prose, | 8 | ········ |
| Verse when to verse inclined,-- | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Forever bringing sweet repose | 8 | ˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| To body, heart, and mind. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Oh, I should bind this priceless prize | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In bindings full and fine, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And keep her where no human eyes | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Should see her charms, but mine! | 6 | ······ |
| With such a fair unique as this | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| What happiness abounds! | 6 | ·/˘˘˘/ |
| Who--who could paint my rapturous bliss, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| My joy unknown to Lowndes! | 7 | ··˘/·/˘ |
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.