Holy Satyr
Most holy Satyr,like a goat,with horns and hoovesto match thy coatof russet brown,I make leaf-circletsand a crown of honey-flowersfor thy throat;where the amber petalsdrip to ivory,I cut and slipeach stiffened petalin the riftof carven petal;honey hornhas wed the brightvirgin petal of the whiteflower cluster: lip to liplet them whisper,let them lilt, quivering.
Most holy Satyr,like a goat,hear this our song,accept our leaves,love-offering,return our hymn,like echo flinga sweet song,answering note for note.
Words in this poem
- satyr n.
- A sylvan deity or demigod, represented as part man and part goat, and characterized by riotous merriment and lasciviousness. [L. satyrus, Gr. satyre.]
- drip v. i.
- To fall in drops; as, water drips from the eaves. [Akin to LG. drippen, Dan. dryppe, from a noun. See Drop.]
- carven a.
- Wrought by carving; ornamented by carvings; carved.
- lilt v. i.
- To do anything with animation and quickness, as to skip, fly, or hop. [Cf. Norw. lilla, lirla, to sing in a high tone.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Holy Satyr is in the public domain. This text is taken from Heliodora, and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #62456; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: H.D., Holy Satyr, in Heliodora, and Other Poems (1924), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #62456, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hd-heliodora/holy-satyr.html, id L24296.
Form and metre
Holy Satyr is 29 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is trochaic dimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%).
See other poems in trochaic 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 -A-A---A--BC-C-DDB-- satyr · goatA · hooves · coatA · brown · circlets · flowers · throatA · petals · ivory · slipB · petalC · rift · petalC · horn · brightD · whiteD · lipB · whisper · quivering
- 2 -AB-B-BBA satyr · goatA · songB · leaves · offeringB · hymn · flingB · songB · noteA
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 trochaic dimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Most holy Satyr, | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| like a goat, | 3 | ··· |
| with horns and hooves | 4 | ···· |
| to match thy coat | 4 | ···· |
| of russet brown, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| I make leaf-circlets | 5 | ····· |
| and a crown of honey-flowers | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| for thy throat; | 3 | ··· |
| where the amber petals | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| drip to ivory, | 5 | ··/˘˘ |
| I cut and slip | 4 | ···· |
| each stiffened petal | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| in the rift | 3 | ··· |
| of carven petal; | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| honey horn | 3 | /˘· |
| has wed the bright | 4 | ···· |
| virgin petal of the white | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| flower cluster: lip to lip | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| let them whisper, | 4 | ··/˘ |
| let them lilt, quivering. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Most holy Satyr, | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| like a goat, | 3 | ··· |
| hear this our song, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| accept our leaves, | 5 | ˘//˘· |
| love-offering, | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| return our hymn, | 5 | ˘//˘· |
| like echo fling | 4 | ·/˘· |
| a sweet song, | 3 | ··· |
| answering note for note. | 6 | /˘˘··· |
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.