An Idyll
Back from the Somme two FusiliersLimped painfully home; the elder said,S. "Robert, I've lived three thousand yearsThis Summer, and I'm nine parts dead."R. "But if that's truly so," I cried, "quick, now,Through these great oaks and see the famous bough
"Where once a nonsense built her nestWith skulls and flowers and all things queer,In an old boot, with patient breastHatching three eggs; and the next year ..."S. "Foaled thirteen squamous young beneath, and ridWales of drink, melancholy, and psalms, she did."
Said he, "Before this quaint mood fails,We'll sit and weave a nonsense hymn,"R. "Hanging it up with monkey tailsIn a deep grove all hushed and dim...."S. "To glorious yellow-bunched banana-trees,"R. "Planted in dreams by pious Portuguese,"
S. "Which men are wise beyond their time,And worship nonsense, no one more."R. "Hard by, among old quince and lime,They've built a temple with no floor,"S. "And whosoever worships in that place,He disappears from sight and leaves no trace."
R. "Once the Galatians built a faneTo Sense: what duller God than that?"S. "But the first day of autumn rainThe roof fell in and crushed them flat."R. "Ay, for a roof of subtlest logic fallsWhen nonsense is foundation for the walls."
I tell him old Galatian tales;He caps them in quick Portuguese,While phantom creatures with green scalesScramble and roll among the trees.The hymn swells; on a bough above us singsA row of bright pink birds, flapping their wings.
Words in this poem
- quaint a.
- Prudent; wise; hence, crafty; artful; wily. [OE. queint, queynte, coint, prudent, wise, cunning, pretty, odd, OF. cointe cultivated, amiable, agreeable, neat, fr. L. cognitus known, p. p. of cognoscere to ]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- fane n.
- A temple; a place consecrated to religion; a church. [L. fanum a place dedicated to some deity, a sanctuary, fr. fari to speak. See Fame.]
- duller n.
- One who, or that which, dulls.
- galatian a.
- Of or pertaining to Galatia or its inhabitants.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
An Idyll is in the public domain. This text is taken from Fairies and Fusiliers, Project Gutenberg ebook #10122; 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 Graves, An Idyll, in Fairies and Fusiliers (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #10122, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/graves-fairies/an-idyll.html, id L02445.
Form and metre
An Idyll is 36 lines in 6 stanzas of 6 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCC. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.0 syllables. 33% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABABCC fusiliersA · saidB · yearsA · deadB · nowC · boughC
- 2 ABABCC nestA · queerB · breastA · yearB · ridC · didC
- 3 ABABCC failsA · hymnB · tailsA · dimB · treesC · portugueseC
- 4 ABABCC timeA · moreB · limeA · floorB · placeC · traceC
- 5 ABABCC faneA · thatB · rainA · flatB · fallsC · wallsC
- 6 ABABCC talesA · portugueseB · scalesA · treesB · singsC · wingsC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Back from the Somme two Fusiliers | 8 | ········ |
| Limped painfully home; the elder said, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| S. "Robert, I've lived three thousand years | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| This Summer, and I'm nine parts dead." | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| R. "But if that's truly so," I cried, "quick, now, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| Through these great oaks and see the famous bough | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| "Where once a nonsense built her nest | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| With skulls and flowers and all things queer, | 8 | ···/···· |
| In an old boot, with patient breast | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Hatching three eggs; and the next year ..." | 8 | /˘······ |
| S. "Foaled thirteen squamous young beneath, and rid | 11 | ··//······· |
| Wales of drink, melancholy, and psalms, she did." | 11 | ···/˘·˘···· |
| Said he, "Before this quaint mood fails, | 8 | ········ |
| We'll sit and weave a nonsense hymn," | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| R. "Hanging it up with monkey tails | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| In a deep grove all hushed and dim...." | 8 | ········ |
| S. "To glorious yellow-bunched banana-trees," | 11 | ··/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| R. "Planted in dreams by pious Portuguese," | 10 | ·/˘···//˘· |
| S. "Which men are wise beyond their time, | 9 | ········· |
| And worship nonsense, no one more." | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| R. "Hard by, among old quince and lime, | 9 | ········· |
| They've built a temple with no floor," | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| S. "And whosoever worships in that place, | 11 | ···˘/˘/˘··· |
| He disappears from sight and leaves no trace." | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| R. "Once the Galatians built a fane | 9 | ········· |
| To Sense: what duller God than that?" | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| S. "But the first day of autumn rain | 9 | ······/˘· |
| The roof fell in and crushed them flat." | 8 | ········ |
| R. "Ay, for a roof of subtlest logic falls | 11 | ······/˘/˘· |
| When nonsense is foundation for the walls." | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| I tell him old Galatian tales; | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| He caps them in quick Portuguese, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| While phantom creatures with green scales | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Scramble and roll among the trees. | 8 | /˘······ |
| The hymn swells; on a bough above us sings | 10 | ·········· |
| A row of bright pink birds, flapping their wings. | 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.