The Demiurge's Laugh
IT was far in the sameness of the wood;I was running with joy on the Demon's trail,Though I knew what I hunted was no true god.It was just as the light was beginning to failThat I suddenly heard--all I needed to hear:It has lasted me many and many a year.The sound was behind me instead of before,A sleepy sound, but mocking half,As of one who utterly couldn't care.The Demon arose from his wallow to laugh,Brushing the dirt from his eye as he went;And well I knew what the Demon meant.I shall not forget how his laugh rang out.I felt as a fool to have been so caught,And checked my steps to make pretenceIt was something among the leaves I sought(Though doubtful whether he stayed to see).Thereafter I sat me against a tree.
Words in this poem
- brushing a.
- Constructed or used to brush with; as a brushing machine.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- pretence n.
- The act of laying claim; the claim laid; assumption; pretension. [LL. praetensus, for L. praetentus, p. p. of praetendere. See Pretend, and cf. Tension.]
- stayed a.
- Staid; fixed; settled; sober; -- now written staid. See Staid.
- thereafter adv.
- After that; afterward. [AS. th\'d6ræfter after that. See There, and After.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Demiurge's Laugh is in the public domain. This text is taken from A Boy's Will, Project Gutenberg ebook #3021; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Frost, The Demiurge's Laugh, in A Boy's Will (1913), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3021, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/frost-boys-will/the-demiurge-s-laugh.html, id L04644.
Form and metre
The Demiurge's Laugh is 18 lines in a single stanza. 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 17% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 -A-ABB-CBCDD-E-EFF wood · trailA · god · failA · hearB · yearB · before · halfC · careB · laughC · wentD · meantD · out · caughtE · pretence · soughtE · seeF · treeF
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| IT was far in the sameness of the wood; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| I was running with joy on the Demon's trail, | 11 | ··/˘····/˘· |
| Though I knew what I hunted was no true god. | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| It was just as the light was beginning to fail | 12 | ·······˘/˘·· |
| That I suddenly heard--all I needed to hear: | 11 | ··/˘···/˘·· |
| It has lasted me many and many a year. | 10 | ··/˘·/·/·· |
| The sound was behind me instead of before, | 11 | ······˘/··· |
| A sleepy sound, but mocking half, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| As of one who utterly couldn't care. | 9 | ····/˘/˘· |
| The Demon arose from his wallow to laugh, | 11 | ·/˘˘/··/˘·· |
| Brushing the dirt from his eye as he went; | 10 | /˘········ |
| And well I knew what the Demon meant. | 9 | ······/˘· |
| I shall not forget how his laugh rang out. | 10 | ···˘/····· |
| I felt as a fool to have been so caught, | 10 | ·········· |
| And checked my steps to make pretence | 8 | ········ |
| It was something among the leaves I sought | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| (Though doubtful whether he stayed to see). | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Thereafter I sat me against a tree. | 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.