Clinical
HIST? . . .Through the corridor’s echoes,Louder and nearerComes a great shuffling of feet.Quick, every one of you,Strighten your quilts, and be decent!Here’s the Professor.
In he comes firstWith the bright look we know,From the broad, white brows the kind eyesSoothing yet nerving you. Here at his elbow,White-capped, white-aproned, the Nurse,Towel on arm and her inkstandFretful with quills.Here in the ruck, anyhow,Surging along,Louts, duffers, exquisites, students, and prigs—Whiskers and foreheads, scarf-pins and spectacles—Hustles the Class! And they ring themselvesRound the first bed, where the Chief(His dressers and clerks at attention),Bends in inspection already.
So shows the ringSeen from behind round a conjurerDoing his pitch in the street.High shoulders, low shoulders, broad shoulders, narrow ones,Round, square, and angular, serry and shove;While from within a voice,Gravely and weightily fluent,Sounds; and then ceases; and suddenly(Look at the stress of the shoulders!)Out of a quiver of silence,Over the hiss of the spray,Comes a low cry, and the soundOf breath quick intaken through teethClenched in resolve. And the MasterBreaks from the crowd, and goes,Wiping his hands,To the next bed, with his pupilsFlocking and whispering behind him.
Now one can see.Case Number OneSits (rather pale) with his bedclothesStripped up, and showing his foot(Alas for God’s Image!)Swaddled in wet, white lintBrilliantly hideous with red.
Words in this poem
- corridor n.
- A gallery or passageway leading to several apartments of a house. [F., fr. Itt. corridpore, or Sp. corredor; prop., a runner, hence, a running or long line, a gallery, fr. L. currere to run. See Course.]
- inkstand n.
- A small vessel for holding ink, to dip the pen into; also, a device for holding ink and writing materials.
- ruck n.
- A roc. Drayton.
- anyhow adv.
- In any way or manner whatever; at any rate; in any event.
- serry v. t.
- To crowd; to press together. [F. serrer, LL. serrare, serare, from L. sera a bar, bolt; akin to serere to join or bind together. See Serries.]
- gravely adv.
- In a grave manner.
- weightily adv.
- In a weighty manner.
- bedclothes n.
- Blankets, sheets, coverlets, etc., for a bed.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Clinical is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #1568; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: W. E. Henley, Clinical, in Poems (1898), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1568, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/henley-poems/clinical.html, id L12332.
Form and metre
Clinical is 47 lines in 4 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. 85% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.0 syllables. 17 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 36% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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.
- 2 -A-A--B---B---- first · knowA · eyes · elbowA · nurse · inkstand · quillsB · anyhow · along · prigs · spectaclesB · themselves · chief · attention · already
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| HIST? . . . | 1 | · |
| Through the corridor’s echoes, | 7 | ··/˘˘/˘ |
| Louder and nearer | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| Comes a great shuffling of feet. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Quick, every one of you, | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| Strighten your quilts, and be decent! | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Here’s the Professor. | 5 | ··˘/˘ |
| In he comes first | 4 | ···· |
| With the bright look we know, | 6 | ······ |
| From the broad, white brows the kind eyes | 8 | ········ |
| Soothing yet nerving you. Here at his elbow, | 11 | /˘·/˘····/· |
| White-capped, white-aproned, the Nurse, | 8 | ··˘·/˘·· |
| Towel on arm and her inkstand | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| Fretful with quills. | 4 | /˘·· |
| Here in the ruck, anyhow, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Surging along, | 4 | /˘˘/ |
| Louts, duffers, exquisites, students, and prigs— | 9 | ·/˘/˘/˘·· |
| Whiskers and foreheads, scarf-pins and spectacles— | 10 | /˘·/····/˘ |
| Hustles the Class! And they ring themselves | 9 | /˘·····˘/ |
| Round the first bed, where the Chief | 7 | ······· |
| (His dressers and clerks at attention), | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| Bends in inspection already. | 8 | ··˘/˘˘/˘ |
| So shows the ring | 4 | ···· |
| Seen from behind round a conjurer | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Doing his pitch in the street. | 7 | /˘····· |
| High shoulders, low shoulders, broad shoulders, narrow ones, | 12 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘/˘· |
| Round, square, and angular, serry and shove; | 9 | ···/˘/˘·· |
| While from within a voice, | 6 | ······ |
| Gravely and weightily fluent, | 8 | /˘·/˘˘/˘ |
| Sounds; and then ceases; and suddenly | 9 | ···/˘·/˘˘ |
| (Look at the stress of the shoulders!) | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Out of a quiver of silence, | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| Over the hiss of the spray, | 7 | ······· |
| Comes a low cry, and the sound | 7 | ······· |
| Of breath quick intaken through teeth | 8 | ········ |
| Clenched in resolve. And the Master | 8 | ··˘/··/˘ |
| Breaks from the crowd, and goes, | 6 | ······ |
| Wiping his hands, | 4 | /˘·· |
| To the next bed, with his pupils | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Flocking and whispering behind him. | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| Now one can see. | 4 | ···· |
| Case Number One | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Sits (rather pale) with his bedclothes | 8 | ·/˘···/˘ |
| Stripped up, and showing his foot | 8 | ·˘··/˘·· |
| (Alas for God’s Image!) | 6 | ˘/··/˘ |
| Swaddled in wet, white lint | 5 | ····· |
| Brilliantly hideous with red. | 8 | /˘˘/˘˘·· |
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.