The Sphinx of the Tuileries
Out of the Latin QuarterI came to the lofty doorWhere the two marble Sphinxes guardThe Pavillon de Flore.Two Cockneys stood by the gate, and oneObserved, as they turned to go,"No wonder He likes that sort of thing,--He's a Sphinx himself, you know."
I thought as I walked where the garden glowedIn the sunset's level fire,Of the Charlatan whom the Frenchmen loatheAnd the Cockneys all admire.They call him a Sphinx,--it pleases him,--And if we narrowly read,We will find some truth in the flunkey's praise,--The man is a Sphinx indeed.
For the Sphinx with breast of womanAnd face so debonairHad the sleek false paws of a lion,That could furtively seize and tear.So far to the shoulders,--but if you tookThe Beast in reverse you would findThe ignoble form of a craven curWas all that lay behind.
She lived by giving to simple folkA silly riddle to read,And when they failed she drank their bloodIn cruel and ravenous greed.But at last came one who knew her word,And she perished in pain and shame,--This bastard Sphinx leads the same base lifeAnd his end will be the same.
For an OEdipus-People is coming fastWith swelled feet limping on,If they shout his true name once aloudHis false foul power is gone.Afraid to fight and afraid to fly,He cowers in an abject shiver;The people will come to their own at last,--God is not mocked for ever.
Words in this poem
- charlatan n.
- One who prates much in his own favor, and makes unwarrantable pretensions; a quack; an impostor; an empiric; a mountebank. [F. charlatan, fr. It. ciarlatano, fr. ciarlare to chartter, prate; of imitative origin; cf. It. zirlare to whistle like a thrush.]
- admire v. t.
- To regard with wonder or astonishment; to view with surprise; to marvel at. [F. admirer, fr. L. admirari; ad + mirari to wonder, for smirari, akin to Gr. smi, and E. smile.]
- debonair a.
- Characterized by courteousness, affability, or gentleness; of good appearance and manners; graceful; complaisant. [OE. debonere, OF. de bon aire, debonaire, of good descent or lineage, excellent, debonair, F. débonnaire debonair; de of (L. de) + bon good (L. bonus) + aire. S]
- furtively adv.
- Stealthily by theft. Lover.
- craven v. t.
- To make recreant, weak, spiritless, or cowardly.
- folk n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- drank n.
- Wild oats, or darnel grass. See Drake a plant. [Cf. 3d Drake.]
- greed n.
- An eager desire or longing; greediness; as, a greed of gain. [Akin to Goth. grdus hunger, Icel. graedhr. sq. root34. See Greedy.]
- aloud adv.
- With a loud voice, or great noise; loudly; audibly. [Pref. a- + loud.]
- abject a.
- Cast down; low-lying. [L. abjectus, p. p. of abjicere to throw away; ab + jacere to throw. See Jet a shooting forth.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Sphinx of the Tuileries is in the public domain. This text is taken from Pike County Ballads and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #6062; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Hay, The Sphinx of the Tuileries, in Pike County Ballads and Other Poems (1871), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6062, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hay-pike-county/the-sphinx-of-the-tuileries.html, id L21577.
Form and metre
The Sphinx of the Tuileries is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 79%).
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 -A-A-B-B quarter · doorA · guard · floreA · one · goB · thing · knowB
- 2 -A-A-B-B glowed · fireA · loathe · admireA · him · readB · praise · indeedB
- 3 -A-A-B-B woman · debonairA · lion · tearA · took · findB · cur · behindB
- 4 -A-A-B-B folk · readA · blood · greedA · word · shameB · life · sameB
- 5 AB-B--A- fastA · onB · aloud · goneB · fly · shiver · lastA · ever
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Out of the Latin Quarter | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| I came to the lofty door | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Where the two marble Sphinxes guard | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The Pavillon de Flore. | 6 | ······ |
| Two Cockneys stood by the gate, and one | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Observed, as they turned to go, | 7 | ˘/····· |
| "No wonder He likes that sort of thing,-- | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| He's a Sphinx himself, you know." | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| I thought as I walked where the garden glowed | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| In the sunset's level fire, | 8 | ··/·/˘/˘ |
| Of the Charlatan whom the Frenchmen loathe | 9 | ··/˘··/˘· |
| And the Cockneys all admire. | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| They call him a Sphinx,--it pleases him,-- | 9 | ······/˘· |
| And if we narrowly read, | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| We will find some truth in the flunkey's praise,-- | 10 | ·········· |
| The man is a Sphinx indeed. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| For the Sphinx with breast of woman | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And face so debonair | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Had the sleek false paws of a lion, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| That could furtively seize and tear. | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| So far to the shoulders,--but if you took | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| The Beast in reverse you would find | 8 | ···˘/··· |
| The ignoble form of a craven cur | 10 | ·˘/˘···/˘· |
| Was all that lay behind. | 6 | ······ |
| She lived by giving to simple folk | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| A silly riddle to read, | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| And when they failed she drank their blood | 8 | ········ |
| In cruel and ravenous greed. | 8 | ·/˘·/˘˘· |
| But at last came one who knew her word, | 9 | ········· |
| And she perished in pain and shame,-- | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| This bastard Sphinx leads the same base life | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| And his end will be the same. | 7 | ······· |
| For an OEdipus-People is coming fast | 10 | ··/˘/˘·/˘· |
| With swelled feet limping on, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| If they shout his true name once aloud | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| His false foul power is gone. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Afraid to fight and afraid to fly, | 9 | ˘/···˘/·· |
| He cowers in an abject shiver; | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| The people will come to their own at last,-- | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| God is not mocked for ever. | 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.