Telesila
War is a fevered godwho takes alikemaiden and king and clod,and yet another one,(ah withering peril!)deprives alike,with equal skill,alike indifferently,hoar spearsman of his shaft,wan maiden of her zone,even he,Love who is great War’svery over-lord.
War bentand kissed the forehead,yet Love swift,planted on chinand tenderest cyclamen liftof fragrant mouth,fevered and honeyed breath,breathing o’er and o’erthose tendrils of her hair,soft kisseslike bright flowers.
Love tookand laid the sweet,(being extravagant,)on lip and chin and cheek,but ah he failedeven he,before the luminous eyesthat dartno suave appeal,alas, impelling meto brave incontinent,grave Pallas’ high command.
And yet the mouth!ah Love ingratiate,how was it you,so poignant, swift and sure,could not have taken alland left me free,free to desert the Argives,let them burn,free yet to turnand let the city fall:yea, let high Wartake all his vengeful way,for what am I?I cannot save nor staythe city’s fall.
War is a fevered god,(yet who has writ as shethe power of Love?)War bent and kissed the forehead,that bright brow,ignored the chinand the sweet mouth,for that and the low laugh were his,Eros ingratiate,who sadly missedin all the kisses count,those eyebrowsand swart eyes,O valiant onewho bowedfalsely and vilely trapped us,traitorous lord.
And yet,(remembrance mocks,)should I have bent the maidento a kiss?Ares the loveror enchanting Love?but had I movedI fearedfor that astute regard;for that bright vision,how might I have erred?I might have marred and sweptanother not so sweetinto my exile;I might have kept a lookrecalling many and many a woman’s look,not this alone,astute, imperious, proud.
And yetI turn and askagain, again, again,who march to death,what was it worth,reserve and pride and hurt?what is it worthto such as Iwho turn to meetthe invincible Spartans’massed and serried host?what had it cost, a kiss?
Words in this poem 15
- clod n.
- A lump or mass, especially of earth, turf, or clay. [OE. clodde, latter form of clot. See Clot.]
- withering a.
- Tending to wither; causing to shrink or fade.
- indifferently adv.
- In an indifferent manner; without distinction or preference; impartially; without concern, wish, affection, or aversion; tolerably; passably.
- hoar v. t.
- To become moldy or musty. [AS. harian to grow gray.]
- honeyed a.
- Covered with honey.
- suave a.
- Sweet; pleasant; delightful; gracious or agreeable in manner; bland. [L. suavis sweet, pleasant: cf. F. suave. See Sweet, and cf. Suasion.]
- ingratiate v. t.
- To introduce or commend to the favor of another; to bring into favor; to insinuate; -- used reflexively, and followed by with before the person whose favor is sought. [Pref. in- in + L. gratia. See Grace.]
- poignant a.
- Pricking; piercing; sharp; pungent. [F., p. pr. of poindre to sting, fr. L. pungere to prick, sting. See Pungent.]
- vengeful a.
- Vindictive; retributive; revengeful.
- eros n.
- Love; the god of love; -- by earlier writers represented as one of the first and creative gods, by later writers as the son of Aphrodite, equivalent to the Latin god Cupid.
- sadly adv.
- Wearily; heavily; firmly.
- valiant a.
- Vigorous in body; strong; powerful; as, a valiant fencer. [OE. valiant, F. vaillant, OF. vaillant, valant, originally p. pr. of OF. & F. valoir to be worth, L. valere to be strong. See Wield, and cf. Avail, Convalesce, ]
- astute a.
- Critically discerning; sagacious; shrewd; subtle; crafty. [L. astutus, fr. astus craft, cunning; perh. cognate with E. acute.]
- imperious a.
- Commanding; ascendant; imperial; lordly; majestic. [L. imperiosus: cf. F. impérieux. See Imperial.]
- serried a.
- Crowded; compact; dense; pressed together. [See Serry.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Telesila 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., Telesila, in Heliodora, and Other Poems (1924), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #62456, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hd-heliodora/telesila.html, id L24317.
Form and metre
Telesila is 98 lines in 7 stanzas. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic trimeter.
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
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 ABA-CBC------ godA · alikeB · clodA · one · perilC · alikeB · skillC · indifferently · shaft · zone · he · war's · lord
- 2 --A-A------ bent · forehead · swiftA · chin · liftA · mouth · breath · o'er · hair · kisses · flowers
- 3 -----A---A-- took · sweet · extravagant · cheek · failed · heA · eyes · dart · appeal · meA · incontinent · command
- 4 ----A--BBA-C-CA mouth · ingratiate · you · sure · allA · free · argives · burnB · turnB · fallA · war · wayC · i · stayC · fallA
- 5 A--A------------- godA · she · love · foreheadA · brow · chin · mouth · his · ingratiate · missed · count · eyebrows · eyes · one · bowed · us · lord
- 6 --------------AA-- yet · mocks · maiden · kiss · lover · love · moved · feared · regard · vision · erred · swept · sweet · exile · lookA · lookA · alone · proud
- 7 ----A-A----- yet · ask · again · death · worthA · hurt · worthA · i · meet · spartans · host · kiss
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| War is a fevered god | 6 | ···/˘· |
| who takes alike | 4 | ··˘/ |
| maiden and king and clod, | 6 | /˘···· |
| and yet another one, | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| (ah withering peril!) | 6 | ·/˘˘/˘ |
| deprives alike, | 4 | ˘/˘/ |
| with equal skill, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| alike indifferently, | 7 | ˘/˘/˘˘˘ |
| hoar spearsman of his shaft, | 6 | ······ |
| wan maiden of her zone, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| even he, | 3 | /˘· |
| Love who is great War’s | 5 | ····· |
| very over-lord. | 5 | /˘··· |
| War bent | 2 | ·· |
| and kissed the forehead, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| yet Love swift, | 3 | ··· |
| planted on chin | 4 | /˘·· |
| and tenderest cyclamen lift | 8 | ·/˘˘/˘˘· |
| of fragrant mouth, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| fevered and honeyed breath, | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| breathing o’er and o’er | 5 | /˘··· |
| those tendrils of her hair, | 6 | ······ |
| soft kisses | 3 | ·/˘ |
| like bright flowers. | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Love took | 2 | ·· |
| and laid the sweet, | 4 | ···· |
| (being extravagant,) | 6 | /˘˘/˘˘ |
| on lip and chin and cheek, | 6 | ······ |
| but ah he failed | 4 | ···· |
| even he, | 3 | /˘· |
| before the luminous eyes | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| that dart | 2 | ·· |
| no suave appeal, | 4 | ··˘/ |
| alas, impelling me | 6 | ˘/˘/˘· |
| to brave incontinent, | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| grave Pallas’ high command. | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| And yet the mouth! | 4 | ···· |
| ah Love ingratiate, | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| how was it you, | 4 | ···· |
| so poignant, swift and sure, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| could not have taken all | 6 | ···/˘· |
| and left me free, | 4 | ···· |
| free to desert the Argives, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| let them burn, | 3 | ··· |
| free yet to turn | 4 | ···· |
| and let the city fall: | 6 | ···/˘· |
| yea, let high War | 4 | ···· |
| take all his vengeful way, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| for what am I? | 4 | ···· |
| I cannot save nor stay | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| the city’s fall. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| War is a fevered god, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| (yet who has writ as she | 6 | ······ |
| the power of Love?) | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| War bent and kissed the forehead, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| that bright brow, | 3 | ··· |
| ignored the chin | 4 | ˘/·· |
| and the sweet mouth, | 4 | ···· |
| for that and the low laugh were his, | 8 | ········ |
| Eros ingratiate, | 6 | /˘˘/˘· |
| who sadly missed | 4 | ·/˘· |
| in all the kisses count, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| those eyebrows | 3 | ·/· |
| and swart eyes, | 3 | ··· |
| O valiant one | 4 | ·/˘· |
| who bowed | 2 | ·· |
| falsely and vilely trapped us, | 8 | /˘······ |
| traitorous lord. | 4 | /˘˘· |
| And yet, | 2 | ·· |
| (remembrance mocks,) | 4 | ˘/˘· |
| should I have bent the maiden | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| to a kiss? | 3 | ··· |
| Ares the lover | 4 | ··/˘ |
| or enchanting Love? | 5 | ·˘/˘· |
| but had I moved | 4 | ···· |
| I feared | 2 | ·· |
| for that astute regard; | 6 | ··˘/˘/ |
| for that bright vision, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| how might I have erred? | 5 | ····· |
| I might have marred and swept | 6 | ······ |
| another not so sweet | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| into my exile; | 5 | ···/· |
| I might have kept a look | 6 | ······ |
| recalling many and many a woman’s look, | 12 | ˘/˘/˘·/˘·/˘· |
| not this alone, | 4 | ··˘/ |
| astute, imperious, proud. | 7 | ˘/˘/˘˘· |
| And yet | 2 | ·· |
| I turn and ask | 4 | ···· |
| again, again, again, | 6 | ˘/˘/˘/ |
| who march to death, | 4 | ···· |
| what was it worth, | 4 | ···· |
| reserve and pride and hurt? | 6 | ˘/···· |
| what is it worth | 4 | ···· |
| to such as I | 4 | ···· |
| who turn to meet | 4 | ···· |
| the invincible Spartans’ | 7 | ·˘/˘˘·· |
| massed and serried host? | 5 | ··/˘· |
| what had it cost, a kiss? | 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.