Free Verse
I now delightIn spiteOf the mightAnd the rightOf classic tradition,In writingAnd recitingStraight ahead,Without let or omission,Just any little rhymeIn any little timeThat runs in my head;Because, I've said,My rhymes no longer shall stand arrayedLike Prussian soldiers on paradeThat march,Stiff as starch,Foot to foot,Boot to boot,Blade to blade,Button to buttonCheeks and chops and chins like mutton.No! No!My rhymes must goTurn 'ee, twist 'ee,Twinkling, frosty,Will-o'-the-wisp-like, misty;Rhymes I will makeLike Keats and BlakeAnd Christina Rossetti,With run and ripple and shake.How prettyTo takeA merry little rhymeIn a jolly little timeAnd poke it,And choke it,Change it, arrange it,Straight-lace it, deface it,Pleat it with pleats,Sheet it with sheetsOf empty conceits,And chop and chew,And hack and hew,And weld it into a uniform stanza,And evolve a neat,Complacent, complete,Academic extravaganza!
Words in this poem
- classic a.
- Of or relating to the first class or rank, especially in literature or art. [L. classicus relating to the classes of the Roman people, and especially to the frist class; hence, of the first rank, superior, from classis class: cf. F. clas]
- ahead adv.
- In or to the front; in advance; onward. [Pref. a- + head.]
- 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,]
- chops n.
- The jaws; also, the fleshy parts about the mouth. [See Chop a jaw.]
- mutton n.
- A sheep. Chapman. [OE. motoun, OF. moton, molton, a sheep, wether, F. mouton, LL. multo, by transposition of l fr. L. mutilus mutilated. See Mutilate.]
- twinkling n.
- The act of one who, or of that which, twinkles; a quick movement of the eye; a wink; a twinkle. Holland.
- evolve v. t.
- To unfold or unroll; to open and expand; to disentangle and exhibit clearly and satisfactorily; to develop; to derive; to educe. [L. evolvere, evolutum; e out + volvere to roll. See Voluble.]
- extravaganza n.
- A composition, as in music, or in the drama, designed to produce effect by its wild irregularity; esp., a musical caricature. [Extravagance with an Italian ending: cf. It. stravaganza.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Free Verse 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, Free Verse, in Fairies and Fusiliers (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #10122, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/graves-fairies/free-verse.html, id L02453.
Form and metre
Free Verse is 48 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic dimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 4.8 syllables. 12 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 40% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic dimeter.
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 AAAABCCDBEEDDFFGG---HHII---JJ-J-JKK----LL-MMNOON delightA · spiteA · mightA · rightA · traditionB · writingC · recitingC · aheadD · omissionB · rhymeE · timeE · headD · saidD · arrayedF · paradeF · marchG · starchG · foot · boot · blade · buttonH · muttonH · noI · goI · ee · frosty · misty · makeJ · blakeJ · rossetti · shakeJ · pretty · takeJ · rhymeK · timeK · it · it · it · it · pleatsL · sheetsL · conceits · chewM · hewM · stanzaN · neatO · completeO · extravaganzaN
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 dimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I now delight | 4 | ··˘/ |
| In spite | 2 | ·· |
| Of the might | 3 | ··· |
| And the right | 3 | ··· |
| Of classic tradition, | 6 | ·/˘˘/˘ |
| In writing | 3 | ·/˘ |
| And reciting | 4 | ·˘/˘ |
| Straight ahead, | 3 | ·˘/ |
| Without let or omission, | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Just any little rhyme | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| In any little time | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| That runs in my head; | 5 | ····· |
| Because, I've said, | 4 | ···· |
| My rhymes no longer shall stand arrayed | 9 | ···/˘··˘/ |
| Like Prussian soldiers on parade | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| That march, | 2 | ·· |
| Stiff as starch, | 3 | ··· |
| Foot to foot, | 3 | ··· |
| Boot to boot, | 3 | ··· |
| Blade to blade, | 3 | ··· |
| Button to button | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| Cheeks and chops and chins like mutton. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| No! No! | 2 | ·· |
| My rhymes must go | 4 | ···· |
| Turn 'ee, twist 'ee, | 4 | ···· |
| Twinkling, frosty, | 5 | /˘˘/˘ |
| Will-o'-the-wisp-like, misty; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Rhymes I will make | 4 | ···· |
| Like Keats and Blake | 4 | ···· |
| And Christina Rossetti, | 7 | ·˘/˘˘/˘ |
| With run and ripple and shake. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| How pretty | 3 | ·/˘ |
| To take | 2 | ·· |
| A merry little rhyme | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| In a jolly little time | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| And poke it, | 3 | ··· |
| And choke it, | 3 | ··· |
| Change it, arrange it, | 5 | ··˘/· |
| Straight-lace it, deface it, | 6 | ···˘/· |
| Pleat it with pleats, | 4 | ···· |
| Sheet it with sheets | 4 | ···· |
| Of empty conceits, | 5 | ·/˘˘/ |
| And chop and chew, | 4 | ···· |
| And hack and hew, | 4 | ···· |
| And weld it into a uniform stanza, | 11 | ······/˘·/˘ |
| And evolve a neat, | 5 | ·˘/·· |
| Complacent, complete, | 5 | ˘/˘˘/ |
| Academic extravaganza! | 9 | ·˘/˘˘·˘/˘ |
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.