The Watch
Now twice my watch have I taken,And twice as I've gazing sat,The hand has pointed unshakenTo one--and it's long past that!
The clock's light cadences linger.The sun-dial laughs from the lawn,And points with a long, gaunt fingerThe path that its shade has drawn.
A steeple ironicallyCalls the true time to me.The belfry bell makes tallyAnd taunts me with accents free.
Ah, dead is the wretch! I sought not,Last night, to my reverie sold,Its ruby circle! I thought notOf glimmering key of gold!
No longer I see with pleasureThe spring of the balance-wheelFlit hither and there at measure,Like a butterfly form of steel.
When Hippogriff bears me, yearning,Through skies of another sphere,My soul-reft body goes turningWherever the steed may veer.
Eternity still is givingIts gaze to the lifeless face.Time seeketh the heart once living,His ear at the old watch-case,--
That heart whose regular motionWas followed within my breastBy wave-beats of life's full ocean!Ah well! the watch is at rest.
But its brother is beating ever,Steadfast and sturdy keptBy One Who forgetteth never,--Who wound it the while I slept.
Words in this poem
- gaunt a.
- Attenuated, as with fasting or suffering; lean; meager; pinched and grim. [Cf. Norw. gand a thin pointed stick, a tall and thin man, and W. gwan weak.]
- belfry n.
- A movable tower erected by besiegers for purposes of attack and defense. [OE. berfray movable tower used in sieges, OF. berfreit, berfroit, F. beffroi, fr. MHG. bervrit, bercvrit, G. bergfriede, fr. MHG. bergen to protect (G. bergen t]
- reverie n.
- A loose or irregular train of thought occurring in musing or mediation; deep musing; daydream. [F. réverie, fr. rêver to dream, rave, be light-headed. Cf. Rave.]
- flit a.
- Nimble; quick; swift. See Fleet.
- hippogriff n.
- A fabulous winged animal, half horse and half griffin. [F. hippogriffe; cf. It. ippogrifo. See Hippopotamus, Griffon.]
- wherever adv.
- At or in whatever place; wheresoever.
- steed n.
- A horse, especially a spirited horse for state of war; -- used chiefly in poetry or stately prose. [OE. stede, AS. steda a stud-horse, war horse, fr. stod a stud of breeding steeds; akin to G. stute a mare, Icel. stedda, sto, a stud. *163. See Stud of horses.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Watch 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, The Watch, in Enamels and Cameos and Other Poems (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #29521, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/gautier-enamels-cameos/the-watch.html, id L27016.
Form and metre
The Watch is 36 lines in 9 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 77%).
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 ABAB takenA · satB · unshakenA · thatB
- 2 ABAB lingerA · lawnB · fingerA · drawnB
- 3 ABAB ironicallyA · meB · tallyA · freeB
- 4 ABAB notA · soldB · notA · goldB
- 5 ABAB pleasureA · wheelB · measureA · steelB
- 6 ABAB yearningA · sphereB · turningA · veerB
- 7 ABAB givingA · faceB · livingA · caseB
- 8 ABAB motionA · breastB · oceanA · restB
- 9 ABAB everA · keptB · neverA · sleptB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Now twice my watch have I taken, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And twice as I've gazing sat, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| The hand has pointed unshaken | 8 | ···/˘˘/˘ |
| To one--and it's long past that! | 7 | ······· |
| The clock's light cadences linger. | 8 | ···/˘˘/˘ |
| The sun-dial laughs from the lawn, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| And points with a long, gaunt finger | 8 | ······/˘ |
| The path that its shade has drawn. | 7 | ······· |
| A steeple ironically | 7 | ·/˘˘/˘˘ |
| Calls the true time to me. | 6 | ······ |
| The belfry bell makes tally | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| And taunts me with accents free. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Ah, dead is the wretch! I sought not, | 8 | ········ |
| Last night, to my reverie sold, | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| Its ruby circle! I thought not | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Of glimmering key of gold! | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| No longer I see with pleasure | 8 | ·/˘···/˘ |
| The spring of the balance-wheel | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Flit hither and there at measure, | 8 | ·/˘···/˘ |
| Like a butterfly form of steel. | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| When Hippogriff bears me, yearning, | 8 | ·/˘˘··/˘ |
| Through skies of another sphere, | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| My soul-reft body goes turning | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| Wherever the steed may veer. | 7 | ˘/˘···· |
| Eternity still is giving | 8 | ˘/˘˘··/˘ |
| Its gaze to the lifeless face. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Time seeketh the heart once living, | 8 | ·/˘···/˘ |
| His ear at the old watch-case,-- | 7 | ······· |
| That heart whose regular motion | 8 | ···/˘˘/˘ |
| Was followed within my breast | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| By wave-beats of life's full ocean! | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Ah well! the watch is at rest. | 7 | ······· |
| But its brother is beating ever, | 9 | ··/˘·/˘/˘ |
| Steadfast and sturdy kept | 6 | /··/˘· |
| By One Who forgetteth never,-- | 8 | ···˘/˘/˘ |
| Who wound it the while I slept. | 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.