The Poet’s Proposal
“Phyllis, if I could I’d paint youAs I see you sitting there,You distracting little saint, you,With your aureole of hair.If I only were an artist,And such glances could be caught,You should have the very smartestPicture frame that can be bought!
“Phyllis, since I can’t depict yourCharms, or give you aught but fame,Will you be yourself the picture?Will you let me be the frame?Whose protecting clasp may bind youAlways--”
“Nay,” cried Phyllis; “hold,Or you’ll force me to remind youPaintings must be framed with gold!”Time. December evening.
Words in this poem
- distracting a.
- Tending or serving to distract.
- aureole n.
- A celestial crown or accidental glory added to the bliss of heaven, as a reward to those (as virgins, martyrs, preachers, etc.) who have overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil. [F. auréole, fr. L. aureola, (fem adj.) of gold (sc. corona crown), dim. of aureus. See Aureate, Oriole.]
- artist n.
- One who practices some mechanic art or craft; an artisan. [F. artiste, LL. artista, fr. L. ars. See Art, n., and cf. Artiste.]
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- remind v. t.
- To put (one) in mind of something; to bring to the remembrance of; to bring to the notice or consideration of (a person).
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Poet’s Proposal is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Bashful Earthquake, & Other Fables and Verses, Project Gutenberg ebook #56765; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Oliver Herford, The Poet’s Proposal, in The Bashful Earthquake, and Other Fables and Verses (1898), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56765, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herford-bashful-earthquake/the-poet-s-proposal.html, id L22109.
Form and metre
The Poet’s Proposal is 18 lines in 3 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other poems in trochaic 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 ABABCDCD youA · thereB · youA · hairB · artistC · caughtD · smartestC · boughtD
- 2 -A-A-- your · fameA · picture · frameA · you · always
- 3 A-A- holdA · you · goldA · evening
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| “Phyllis, if I could I’d paint you | 8 | /˘······ |
| As I see you sitting there, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| You distracting little saint, you, | 8 | ·˘/˘/˘·· |
| With your aureole of hair. | 7 | ··/˘˘·· |
| If I only were an artist, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| And such glances could be caught, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| You should have the very smartest | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Picture frame that can be bought! | 7 | /˘····· |
| “Phyllis, since I can’t depict your | 8 | /˘···˘/· |
| Charms, or give you aught but fame, | 7 | ······· |
| Will you be yourself the picture? | 8 | ···˘/·/˘ |
| Will you let me be the frame? | 7 | ······· |
| Whose protecting clasp may bind you | 8 | ·˘/˘···· |
| Always--” | 2 | /· |
| “Nay,” cried Phyllis; “hold, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Or you’ll force me to remind you | 8 | ·····˘/· |
| Paintings must be framed with gold!” | 8 | /˘···˘·· |
| Time. December evening. | 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.