A Pleasant Evening
What flurrying of rains and snows!Now every coachman, blue of nose,In fur and ireSits petrified. Oh, it were rightTo spend this wild December nightBefore one's fire!
The cosy chimney-corner chairAssumes its most persuasive air.I seem to seeIts arms held out, its voice to hear,Beseeching like a mistress dear:"Ah, stay with me!"
A gauze reveals the orbed lamp,Like a fair breast beneath a guimpe,And drowsilyThe shimmer of its light ascends,Flushing with gold and crimson blendsThe ceiling high.
The silence frames no sound of things,Save for the pendulum that swingsIts golden disk,And many winds that roam and weep,Or stealthy to the hall-way sweep,To dance and frisk.
It's ball-night at the Embassy.My coat's limp sleeves are signalling meTo dress anon.My waistcoat yawns. My shirt obtuseSeems raising high its wristbands loose,To be put on.
A narrow boot's abundant glazeReflects the ruddy firelight's blaze.Have I forgot?A glove's flat fingers span the shelf.A thin cravat protrudes itself,And begs a knot.
Then must I forth? But what a bore--To seek the over-crowded door!To fall in lineOf coaches bearing coats of armsAnd haughty beauties with their charms,Superb and fine!
To stand against a portal wideAnd see the surging mass insideBear form on form:Old faces, faces fresh and young,Black coats low bodices among,--A motley swarm!
And puffy backs that hide their redWith laces fine of costly threadAerial,Dandies, diplomatists, that press,With features dull, expressionless,At fashion's call.
What! Brave, to win a glance of hers,The rows of lynx-eyed dowagers!Try undeterredTo speak the dear name of my dear,And whisper softly in her earLove's little word!
Nay, but I'll not! Her eye shall heedA letter in the flowers I'll speed.No ball-room now!Let Parma violets make goodWhatever be her passing mood.They hold my vow.
Ensconced with Heine or with Taine,Or, if I like, the Goncourts twain,The time will go.I'll dream, until the hour shall stirReality, and wait for her.She'll come, I know.
Words in this poem
- coachman n.
- A man whose business is to drive a coach or carriage.
- orbed a.
- Having the form of an orb; round.
- guimpe n.
- A kind of short chemisette, worn with a low-necked dress.
- drowsily adv.
- In a drowsy manner.
- shimmer v. i.
- To shine with a tremulous or intermittent light; to shine faintly; to gleam; to glisten; to glimmer. [OE. schimeren, AS. scimerian; akin to scimian, sciman, to glitter, D. schemeren, G. schimmern, Dan. skimre, Sw. skimra, AS. scima a light, brightness, Icel. ski]
- anon adv.
- Straightway; at once. [OE. anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), fr. AS. on in + an one. See On and One.]
- cravat n.
- A neckcloth; a piece of silk, fine muslin, or other cloth, worn by men about the neck. [F. cravate, fr. Cravate a Croat, an inhabitant of Croatia, one of a body of Austrian troops, from whom, in 1636, this article of dress was adopted in France.]
- haughty a.
- High; lofty; bold. [OE. hautein, F. hautain, fr. haut high, OF. also halt, fr. L. altus. See Altitude.]
- superb a.
- Grand; magnificent; august; stately; as, a superb edifice; a superb colonnade. [F. superbe, L. superbus, fr. super over. See Super-.]
- backs n.
- Among leather dealers, the thickest and stoutest tanned hides.
- expressionless a.
- Destitute of expression.
- 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,]
- twain a.
- Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Pleasant Evening is in the public domain. This text is taken from Enamels and Cameos and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #29521, the Agnes Lee translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Théophile Gautier, A Pleasant Evening, in Enamels and Cameos and Other Poems (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #29521, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/gautier-enamels-cameos/a-pleasant-evening.html, id L27034.
Form and metre
A Pleasant Evening is 72 lines in 12 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABCCB, complete in 11 of its 12 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
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 AABCCB snowsA · noseA · ireB · rightC · nightC · fireB
- 2 AABCCB chairA · airA · seeB · hearC · dearC · meB
- 3 AABCCB lampA · guimpeA · drowsilyB · ascendsC · blendsC · highB
- 4 AABCCB thingsA · swingsA · diskB · weepC · sweepC · friskB
- 5 ---AA- embassy · me · anon · obtuseA · looseA · on
- 6 AABCCB glazeA · blazeA · forgotB · shelfC · itselfC · knotB
- 7 AABCCB boreA · doorA · lineB · armsC · charmsC · fineB
- 8 AABCCB wideA · insideA · formB · youngC · amongC · swarmB
- 9 AABCCB redA · threadA · aerialB · pressC · expressionlessC · callB
- 10 AABCCB hersA · dowagersA · undeterredB · dearC · earC · wordB
- 11 AABCCB heedA · speedA · nowB · goodC · moodC · vowB
- 12 AABCCB taineA · twainA · goB · stirC · herC · knowB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| What flurrying of rains and snows! | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Now every coachman, blue of nose, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| In fur and ire | 4 | ···· |
| Sits petrified. Oh, it were right | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To spend this wild December night | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Before one's fire! | 5 | ···/˘ |
| The cosy chimney-corner chair | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Assumes its most persuasive air. | 8 | ˘/··˘/˘· |
| I seem to see | 4 | ···· |
| Its arms held out, its voice to hear, | 8 | ········ |
| Beseeching like a mistress dear: | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| "Ah, stay with me!" | 4 | ···· |
| A gauze reveals the orbed lamp, | 7 | ··˘/··· |
| Like a fair breast beneath a guimpe, | 8 | ········ |
| And drowsily | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| The shimmer of its light ascends, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Flushing with gold and crimson blends | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| The ceiling high. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| The silence frames no sound of things, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Save for the pendulum that swings | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Its golden disk, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| And many winds that roam and weep, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Or stealthy to the hall-way sweep, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To dance and frisk. | 4 | ···· |
| It's ball-night at the Embassy. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| My coat's limp sleeves are signalling me | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To dress anon. | 4 | ··˘/ |
| My waistcoat yawns. My shirt obtuse | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Seems raising high its wristbands loose, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To be put on. | 4 | ···· |
| A narrow boot's abundant glaze | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Reflects the ruddy firelight's blaze. | 9 | ˘/·/˘···· |
| Have I forgot? | 4 | ··˘/ |
| A glove's flat fingers span the shelf. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A thin cravat protrudes itself, | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘/ |
| And begs a knot. | 4 | ···· |
| Then must I forth? But what a bore-- | 8 | ········ |
| To seek the over-crowded door! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To fall in line | 4 | ···· |
| Of coaches bearing coats of arms | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And haughty beauties with their charms, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Superb and fine! | 4 | ˘/·· |
| To stand against a portal wide | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And see the surging mass inside | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Bear form on form: | 4 | ···· |
| Old faces, faces fresh and young, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Black coats low bodices among,-- | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| A motley swarm! | 4 | ·/˘· |
| And puffy backs that hide their red | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| With laces fine of costly thread | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Aerial, | 3 | /˘˘ |
| Dandies, diplomatists, that press, | 8 | /˘······ |
| With features dull, expressionless, | 8 | ·/˘·˘·˘˘ |
| At fashion's call. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| What! Brave, to win a glance of hers, | 8 | ········ |
| The rows of lynx-eyed dowagers! | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Try undeterred | 4 | ··˘/ |
| To speak the dear name of my dear, | 8 | ········ |
| And whisper softly in her ear | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Love's little word! | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Nay, but I'll not! Her eye shall heed | 8 | ········ |
| A letter in the flowers I'll speed. | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| No ball-room now! | 4 | ···· |
| Let Parma violets make good | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| Whatever be her passing mood. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| They hold my vow. | 4 | ···· |
| Ensconced with Heine or with Taine, | 7 | ˘/····· |
| Or, if I like, the Goncourts twain, | 8 | ········ |
| The time will go. | 4 | ···· |
| I'll dream, until the hour shall stir | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Reality, and wait for her. | 8 | ˘/˘˘···· |
| She'll come, I know. | 4 | ···· |
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.