Discharged
CARRY me outInto the wind and the sunshine,Into the beautiful world.
O, the wonder, the spell of the streets!The stature and strength of the horses,The rustle and echo of footfalls,The flat roar and rattle of wheels!A swift tram floats huge on us . . .It’s a dream?The smell of the mud in my nostrilsBlows brave—like a breath of the sea!
As of old,Ambulant, undulant drapery,Vaguery and strangely provocative,Fluttersd and beckons. O, yonder—Is it?—the gleam of a stocking!Sudden, a spireWedged in the mist! O, the houses,The long lines of lofty, grey houses,Cross-hatched with shadow and light!These are the streets . . .Each is an avenue leadingWhither I will!
Free . . . !Dizzy, hysterical, faint,I sit, and the carriage rolls on with meInto the wonderful world.
Words in this poem
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- rustle v. i.
- To make a quick succession of small sounds, like the rubbing or moving of silk cloth or dry leaves. [AS. hristlan to rustle; or cf. Sw. rusta to stir, make a riot, or E. rush, v.]
- tram n.
- A four-wheeled truck running on rails, and used in a mine, as for carrying coal or ore. [Prov. E. tram a coal wagon, the shaft of a cart or carriage, a beam or bar; probably of Scand, origin; cf. OSw. tråm, trum, a beam, OD. drom, Prov. & OHG. tram.]
- ambulant a.
- Walking; moving from place to place. Gayton. [L. ambulans, p. pr. of ambulare to walk: cf. F. ambulant.]
- strangely adv.
- As something foreign, or not one's own; in a manner adapted to something foreign and strange.
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- avenue n.
- A way or opening for entrance into a place; a passage by which a place may by reached; a way of approach or of exit. [F. avenue, fr. avenir to come to, L. advenire. See Advene.]
- whither adv.
- To what place; -- used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou [OE. whider. AS. hwider; akin to E. where, who; cf. Goth. hvadre whither. See Who, and cf. Hither, Thither.]
- hysterical a.
- Of or pertaining to hysteria; affected, or troubled, with hysterics; convulsive, fitful. [L. hystericus, Gr. utter, out.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Discharged 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, Discharged, in Poems (1898), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1568, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/henley-poems/discharged.html, id L12349.
Form and metre
Discharged is 27 lines in 4 stanzas. The metre is dactylic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 76%). 84% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.0 syllables. 9 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 18% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in dactylic 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.
- 2 --AA--A- streets · horses · footfallsA · wheelsA · us · dream · nostrilsA · sea
- 3 ------AA---- old · drapery · provocative · yonder · stocking · spire · housesA · housesA · light · streets · leading · will
- 4 A-A- freeA · faint · meA · world
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 dactylic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| CARRY me out | 4 | /˘·· |
| Into the wind and the sunshine, | 8 | ······/· |
| Into the beautiful world. | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| O, the wonder, the spell of the streets! | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| The stature and strength of the horses, | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| The rustle and echo of footfalls, | 9 | ·/˘·/˘·/· |
| The flat roar and rattle of wheels! | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| A swift tram floats huge on us . . . | 7 | ······· |
| It’s a dream? | 3 | ··· |
| The smell of the mud in my nostrils | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Blows brave—like a breath of the sea! | 8 | ········ |
| As of old, | 3 | ··· |
| Ambulant, undulant drapery, | 9 | /˘˘/˘˘/˘˘ |
| Vaguery and strangely provocative, | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| Fluttersd and beckons. O, yonder— | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| Is it?—the gleam of a stocking! | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Sudden, a spire | 4 | /˘·· |
| Wedged in the mist! O, the houses, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| The long lines of lofty, grey houses, | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| Cross-hatched with shadow and light! | 8 | ··˘·/··· |
| These are the streets . . . | 4 | ···· |
| Each is an avenue leading | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| Whither I will! | 4 | /˘·· |
| Free . . . ! | 1 | · |
| Dizzy, hysterical, faint, | 7 | /˘˘/˘˘· |
| I sit, and the carriage rolls on with me | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Into the wonderful world. | 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.