On the Lagoons
Tra la, tra la, la, la, la,--whoKnows not the theme's soft spell?Or sad or light or mock or true,Our mothers loved it well.
The Carnival of Venice! LongAdown canals it came,Till, wafted on a zephyr's song,The ballet kept its fame.
I seem, whene'er its phrase I hear,A gondola to view,With prow voluted, black and clear,Slip o'er the water blue;
To see, her bosom covered o'erWith pearls, her body suave,The Adriatic Venus soarOn sound's chromatic wave.
The domes that on the water dwellPursue the melodyIn clear-drawn cadences, and swellLike breasts of love that sigh.
My chains around a pillar cast,I land before a fairAnd rosy-pale facade at last,Upon a marble stair.
Oh! all dear Venice with her towers,Her boats, her masquers boon,Her sweet chagrins, her mad, gay hours,Throbs in that ancient tune.
The tenuous, vibrant chords that smite,Rebuild in subtle wayThe city joyous, free and lightOf Canaletto's day!
Words in this poem
- adown adv.
- From a higher to a lower situation; downward; down, to or on the ground. [OE. adun, adoun, adune. AS. of dune off the hill. See Down.]
- ballet n.
- An artistic dance performed as a theatrical entertainment, or an interlude, by a number of persons, usually women. Sometimes, a scene accompanied by pantomime and dancing. [F., a dim. of bal dance. See 2d Ball, n.]
- voluted a.
- Having a volute, or spiral scroll.
- suave a.
- Sweet; pleasant; delightful; gracious or agreeable in manner; bland. [L. suavis sweet, pleasant: cf. F. suave. See Sweet, and cf. Suasion.]
- adriatic a.
- Of or pertaining to a sea so named, the northwestern part of which is known as the Gulf of Venice. [L. Adriaticus, Hadriaticus, fr. Adria or Hadria, a town of the Veneti.]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- boon n.
- A prayer or petition. [OE. bone, boin, a petition, fr. Icel. b; akin to Sw. & Dan. b, AS. b, and perh. to E. ban; but influenced by F. bon good, fr. L. bonus. Ban, Bounty.]
- tenuous a.
- Thin; slender; small; minute. [L. tenuis thin. See Thin, and cf. Tenuis.]
- vibrant a.
- Vibrating; tremulous; resonant; as, vibrant drums. [L. vibrans, p. pr.: cf. F. vibrant. See Vibrate.]
- rebuild v. t.
- To build again, as something which has been demolished; to construct anew; as, to rebuild a house, a wall, a wharf, or a city.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On the Lagoons 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, On the Lagoons, in Enamels and Cameos and Other Poems (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #29521, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/gautier-enamels-cameos/on-the-lagoons.html, id L26990.
Form and metre
On the Lagoons is 32 lines in 8 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 6 of its 8 stanzas. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
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 whoA · spellB · trueA · wellB
- 2 ABAB longA · cameB · songA · fameB
- 3 ABAB hearA · viewB · clearA · blueB
- 5 A-A- dwellA · melody · swellA · sigh
- 6 ABAB castA · fairB · lastA · stairB
- 7 ABAB towersA · boonB · hoursA · tuneB
- 8 ABAB smiteA · wayB · lightA · dayB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Tra la, tra la, la, la, la,--who | 8 | ········ |
| Knows not the theme's soft spell? | 6 | ······ |
| Or sad or light or mock or true, | 8 | ········ |
| Our mothers loved it well. | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| The Carnival of Venice! Long | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| Adown canals it came, | 6 | ˘/˘/·· |
| Till, wafted on a zephyr's song, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The ballet kept its fame. | 6 | ·˘/··· |
| I seem, whene'er its phrase I hear, | 9 | ········· |
| A gondola to view, | 6 | ·˘/˘·· |
| With prow voluted, black and clear, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Slip o'er the water blue; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| To see, her bosom covered o'er | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| With pearls, her body suave, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The Adriatic Venus soar | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| On sound's chromatic wave. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| The domes that on the water dwell | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Pursue the melody | 6 | ˘/·/˘˘ |
| In clear-drawn cadences, and swell | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Like breasts of love that sigh. | 6 | ······ |
| My chains around a pillar cast, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I land before a fair | 6 | ······ |
| And rosy-pale facade at last, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| Upon a marble stair. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Oh! all dear Venice with her towers, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Her boats, her masquers boon, | 6 | ······ |
| Her sweet chagrins, her mad, gay hours, | 9 | ··˘/···/˘ |
| Throbs in that ancient tune. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The tenuous, vibrant chords that smite, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Rebuild in subtle way | 6 | ˘/·/˘· |
| The city joyous, free and light | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Of Canaletto's day! | 6 | ······ |
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