Laurel · Thomas Hood · The Song of the Shirt, and Other Poems

Ode to the Great Unknown

Thomas Hood (1799–1845) · 1826–1845

iambic pentameter · 274 lines · from The Song of the Shirt, and Other Poems

Thou Great Unknown!I do not mean Eternity, nor Death,That vast incog!For I suppose thou hast a living breath,Howbeit we know not from whose lungs 'tis blown,Thou man of fog!Parent of many children--child of none!Nobody's son!Nobody's daughter--but a parent still!Still but an ostrich parent of a batchOf orphan eggs,--left to the world to hatchSuperlative Nil!A vox and nothing more,--yet not Vauxhall;A head in papers, yet without a curl!Not the Invisible Girl!No hand--but a handwriting on a wall--A popular nonentity,Still call'd the same,--without identity!A lark, heard out of sight,--A nothing shin'd upon,--invisibly bright,"Dark with excess of light!"Constable's literary John-a-nokes--The real Scottish wizard--and not which,Nobody--in a niche;Every one's hoax!Maybe Sir Walter Scott--Perhaps not!Why dost thou so conceal and puzzle curious folks?

Thou,--whom the second-sighted never saw,The Master Fiction of fictitious history!Chief Nong-tong-paw!No mister in the world--and yet all mystery!The "tricksy spirit" of a Scotch Cock Lane--A novel Junius puzzling the world's brain--A man of Magic--yet no talisman!A man of clair obscure--not he o' the moon!A star--at noon.A non-descriptus in a caravan,A private--of no corps--a northern lightIn a dark lantern,--Bogie in a crape--A figure--but no shape;A vizor--and no knight;The real abstract hero of the age;The staple Stranger of the stage;A Some One made in every man's presumption,Frankenstein's monster--but instinct with gumption;Another strange state captive in the north,Constable-guarded in an iron mask--Still let me ask,Hast thou no silver platter,No door-plate, or no card--or some such matter,To scrawl a name upon, and then cast forth?

Thou Scottish Barmecide, feeding the hungerOf Curiosity with airy gammon!Thou mystery-monger,Dealing it out like middle cut of salmon,That people buy and can't make head or tail of it;(Howbeit that puzzle never hurts the sale of it;)Thou chief of authors mystic and abstractical,That lay their proper bodies on the shelf--Keeping thyself so truly to thyself,Thou Zimmerman made practical!Thou secret fountain of a Scottish style,That, like the Nile,Hideth its source wherever it is bred,But still keeps disemboguing(Not disembroguing)Thro' such broad sandy mouths without a head!Thou disembodied author--not yet dead,--The whole world's literary Absentee!Ah! wherefore hast thou fled,Thou learned Nemo--wise to a degree,Anonymous LL.D.!

Thou nameless captain of the nameless gangThat do--and inquests cannot say who did it!Wert thou at Mrs. Donatty's death-pang?Hast thou made gravy of Weare's watch--or hid it?Hast thou a Blue-Beard chamber? Heaven forbid it!I should be very loth to see thee hang!I hope thou hast an alibi well plann'd,An innocent, altho' an ink-black hand.Tho' that hast newly turn'd thy private bolt onThe curiosity of all invaders--I hope thou art merely closeted with Colton,Who knows a little of the Holy Land,Writing thy next new novel--The Crusaders!

Perhaps thou wert even bornTo be Unknown.--Perhaps hung, some foggy morn,At Captain Coram's charitable wicket,Pinn'd to a ticketThat Fate had made illegible, foreseeingThe future great unmentionable being.--Perhaps thou hast riddenA scholar poor on St. Augustine's Back,Like Chatterton, and found a dusty packOf Rowley novels in an old chest hidden;A little hoard of clever simulation,That took the town--and Constable has biddenSome hundred pounds for a continuation--To keep and clothe thee in genteel starvation.

I like thy Waverley--first of thy breeding;I like its modest "sixty years ago,"As if it was not meant for ages' reading.I don't like Ivanhoe,Tho' Dymoke does--it makes him think of clatteringIn iron overalls before the kingSecure from battering, to ladies flattering,Tuning, his challenge to the gauntlet's ring--Oh better far than all that anvil clangIt was to hear thee touch the famous stringOf Robin Hood's tough bow and make it twang,Rousing him up, all verdant, with his clan,Like Sagittarian Pan!

I like Guy Mannering--but not that sham sonOf Brown:--I like that literary Sampson,Nine-tenths a Dyer, with a smack of Porson.I like Dirk Hatteraick, that rough sea OrsonThat slew the Gauger;And Dandie Dinmont, like old Ursa Major;And Merrilies, young Bertram's old defender,That Scottish Witch of Endor,That doom'd thy fame. She was the Witch, I take it,To tell a great man's fortune--or to make it!

I like thy Antiquary. With his fit on,He makes me think of Mr. Britton,I like thy Antiquary. With Ins fit on,It makes me thinkWho has--or had--within his garden wall,A miniature Stone Henge, so very smallThat sparrows find it difficult to sit on;And Dousterwivel, like Poyais' M'Gregor;And Edie Ochiltree, that old Blue Beggar,Painted so cleverly,I think thou surely knowest Mrs. Beverly!I like thy Barber--him that fir'd the Beacon--But that's a tender subject now to speak on!

I like long-arm'd Rob Roy.--His very charmsFashion'd him for renown!--In sad sincerity,The man that robs or writes must have long arms,If he's to hand his deeds down to posterity!Witness Miss Biffin's posthumous prosperity,Her poor brown crumpled mummy (nothing more)Bearing the name she bore,A thing Time's tooth is tempted to destroy!But Roys can never die--why else, in verity,Is Paris echoing with "Vive le Roy"!Aye, Rob shall live again, and deathless DiVernon, of course, shall often live again--Whilst there's a stone in Newgate, or a chain,Who can pass byNor feel the Thief's in prison and at hand?There be Old Bailey Jarvies on the stand!

I like thy Landlord's Tales!--I like that IdolOf love and Lammermoor--the blue-eyed maidThat led to church the mounted cavalcade,And then pull'd up with such a bloody bridal!Throwing equestrian Hymen on his haunches--I like the family (not silver) branchesThat hold the tapersTo light the serious legend of Montrose.--I like M'Aulay's second-sighted vapors,As if he could not walk or talk alone,Without the devil--or the Great Unknown,--Dalgetty is the dearest of Ducrows!

I like St. Leonard's Lily--drench'd with dew!I like thy Vision of the Covenanters,That bloody-minded Grahame shot and slew.I like the battle lost and won;The hurly-burlys bravely done,The warlike gallop and the warlike canters!I like that girded chieftain of the ranters,Ready to preach down heathens, or to grapple,With one eye on his sword,And one upon the Word,--How he would cram the Caledonian Chapel!I like stern Claverhouse, though he cloth dappleHis raven steed with blood of many a corse--I like dear Mrs. Headrigg, that unravelsHer texts of scripture on a trotting horse--She is so like Rae Wilson when he travels!

I like thy Kenilworth--but I'm not goingTo take a Retrospective Re-ReviewOf all thy dainty novels--merely showingThe old familiar faces of a few,The question to renew,How thou canst leave such deeds without a name,Forego the unclaim'd Dividends of fame,Forego the smiles of literary houris--Mid-Lothian's trump, and Fife's shrill note of praise,And all the Carse of Gowrie's,When thou might'st have thy statue in Cromarty--Or see thy image on Italian trays,Betwixt Queen Caroline and Buonaparte,Be painted by the Titian of R.A's,Or vie in signboards with the Royal Guelph!P'rhaps have thy bust set cheek by jowl with Homer's,P'rhaps send out plaster proxies of thyselfTo other Englands with Australian roamers--Mayhap, in Literary OwhyheeDisplace the native wooden gods, or beThe china-Lar of a Canadian shelf!

It is not modesty that bids thee hide--She never wastes her blushes out of sight:It is not to inviteThe world's decision, for thy fame is tried,--And thy fair deeds are scatter'd far and wide,Even royal heads are with thy readers reckon'd,--From men in trencher caps to trencher scholarsIn crimson collars,And learned serjeants in the Forty-Second!Whither by land or sea art thou not beckon'd?Mayhap exported from the Frith of Forth,Defying distance and its dim control;Perhaps read about Stromness, and reckon'd worthA brace of Miltons for capacious soul--Perhaps studied in the whalers, further north,And set above ten Shakspeares near the pole!

Oh, when thou writest by Aladdin's lamp,With such a giant genius at command,Forever at thy stamp,To fill thy treasury from Fairy Land,When haply thou might'st ask the pearly handOf some great British Vizier's eldest daughter,Tho' princes sought her,And lead her in procession hymeneal,Oh, why dost thou remain a Beau Ideal!Why stay, a ghost, on the Lethean Wharf,Envelop'd in Scotch mist and gloomy fogs?Why, but because thou art some puny Dwarf,Some hopeless Imp, like Biquet with the Tuft,Fearing, for all thy wit, to be rebuff'd,Or bullied by our great reviewing Gogs?

What in this masquing ageMaketh Unknowns so many and so shy?What but the critic's page?One hath a cast, he hides from the world's eye;Another hath a wen,--he won't show where;A third has sandy hair,A hunch upon his back, or legs awry,Things for a vile reviewer to espy!Another hath a mangel-wurzel nose,--Finally, this is dimpled,Like a pale crumpet face, or that is pimpled,Things for a monthly critic to expose--Nay, what is thy own case--that being small,Thou choosest to be nobody at all!

Well, thou art prudent, with such puny bones--E'en like Elshender, the mysterious elf,That shadowy revelation of thyself--To build thee a small hut of haunted stones--For certainly the first pernicious manThat ever saw thee, would quickly draw theeIn some vile literary caravan--Shown for a shillingWould be thy killing,Think of Crachami's miserable span!No tinier frame the tiny spark could dwell inThan there it fell in--But when she felt herself a show, she triedTo shrink from the world's eye, poor dwarf! and died!

O since it was thy fortune to be bornA dwarf on some Scotch Inch, and then to flinchFrom all the Gog-like jostle of great men,Still with thy small crow penAmuse and charm thy lonely hours forlorn--Still Scottish story daintily adorn,Be still a shade--and when this age is fled,When we poor sons and daughters of realityAre in our graves forgotten and quite dead,And Time destroys our mottoes of morality--The lithographic hand of Old MortalityShall still restore thy emblem on the stone,A featureless death's head,And rob Oblivion ev'n of the Unknown!

Words in this poem 79

hast: , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
howbeit conj.: Be it as it may; nevertheless; notwithstanding; although; albeit; yet; but; however. [How + be + it.]
batch n.: The quantity of bread baked at one time. [OE. bache, bacche, fr. AS. bacan to bake; cf. G. gebäck and D. baksel. See Bake, v. t.]
nonentity n.: Nonexistence; the negation of being.
invisibly adv.: In an invisible manner, Denham.
nobody n.: No person; no one; not anybody. [No, a. + body.]
maybe adv.: Perhaps; possibly; peradventure. [For it may be.]
walter v. i.: To roll or wallow; to welter. [Obs. or Prov. Eng. & Scot.] [See Welter.]
curious a.: Difficult to please or satisfy; solicitous to be correct; careful; scrupulous; nice; exact. [OF. curios, curius, F. curieux, L. curiosus careful, inquisitive, fr. cura care. See Cure.]
folks n.: In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
mister n.: A trade, art, or occupation. [OF. mistier trade, office, ministry, need, F. métier trade, fr. L. ministerium service, office, ministry. See Ministry, Mystery trade.]
tricksy a.: Exhibiting artfulness; trickish. [From Trick.]
corps n.: The human body, whether living or dead. See Corpse, 1. [F., fr. L. corpus body. See Corpse.]
bogie n.: A four-wheeled truck, having a certain amount of play around a vertical axis, used to support in part a locomotive on a railway track.
gumption n.: Capacity; shrewdness; common sense. [OE. gom, gome, attention; akin to AS. geómian, gyman, to regard, observe, gyme care, OS. gomean to heed, Goth. gaumjan to see, notice.]
platter n.: One who plats or braids. [From Plat to braid.]
scrawl v. t.: To draw or mark awkwardly and irregularly; to write hastily and carelessly; to scratch; to scribble; as, to scrawl a letter. [Probably corrupted from scrabble.]
barmecide n.: One who proffers some illusory advantage or benefit. Also used as an adj.: Barmecidal. [A prince of the Barmecide family, who, as related in the "Arabian Nights' Tales", pretended to set before the hungry Shacabac food, on which the latter pretende]
curiosity n.: The state or quality or being curious; nicety; accuracy; exactness; elaboration. [OE. curiouste, curiosite, OF. curioseté, curiosité, F. curiosit, fr. L. curiositas, fr. curiosus. See Currious, and cf. Curio.]
gammon n.: The buttock or tight of a hog, salted and smoked or dried; the lower end of a flitch. Goldsmith. [OF. gambon, F. jambon, fr. OF. gambe leg, F. jambe. See Gambol, n., and cf. Ham.]
wherever adv.: At or in whatever place; wheresoever.
absentee n.: One who absents himself from his country, office, post, or duty; especially, a landholder who lives in another country or district than that where his estate is situated; as, an Irish absentee.
wherefore adv.: For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
nameless a.: Without a name; not having been given a name; as, a nameless star.
morn n.: The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
illegible a.: Incapable of being read; not legible; as, illegible handwriting; an illegible inscription.
simulation n.: The act of simulating, or assuming an appearance which is feigned, or not true; -- distinguished from dissimulation, which disguises or conceals what is true. [F. simulation, L. simulatio.]
starvation n.: The act of starving, or the state of being starved.
overalls n.: A kind of loose trousers worn over others to protect them from soiling.
clang v. t.: To strike together so as to produce a ringing metallic sound. [L. clangere; akin to Gr. clank.]
dirk n.: A kind of dagger or poniard; -- formerly much used by the Scottish Highlander. Dirk knife, a clasp knife having a large, dirklike blade. [Ir. duirc.]
gauger n.: One who gauges; an officer whose business it is to ascertain the contents of casks.
dandie n.: One of a breed of small terriers; -- called also Dandie Dinmont.
dinmont n.: A wether sheep between one and two years old.
miniature n.: Originally, a painting in colors such as those in mediæval manuscripts; in modern times, any very small painting, especially a portrait. [It. miniatura, fr. L. miniare. See Miniate, v.,Minium.]
cleverly adv.: In a clever manner.
barber n.: One whose occupation it is to shave or trim the beard, and to cut and dress the hair of his patrons. Barber's itch. See under Itch. [OE. barbour, OF. barbeor, F. barbier, as if fr. an assumed L. barbator, fr. barba beard. See 1st Barb.]
posthumous a.: Born after the death of the father, or taken from the dead body of the mother; as, a posthumous son or daughter. [L. posthumus, postumus, properly, last; hence, late born (applied to children born after the father's death, or after he had made his will), superl. of posterus]
verity n.: The quality or state of being true, or real; consonance of a statement, proposition, or other thing, with fact; truth; reality. [F. vérité, L. veritas, fr. verus true. See Very.]
vive a.: Lively; animated; forcible. [L. vivus: cf. F. vif. See Vivid.]
shall v. i.: To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
deathless a.: Not subject to death, destruction, or extinction; immortal; undying; imperishable; as, deathless beings; deathless fame.
idol n.: An image or representation of anything. [OE. idole, F. idole, L. idolum, fr. Gr. Wit, and cf. Eidolon.]
cavalcade n.: A procession of persons on horseback; a formal, pompous march of horsemen by way of parade. [F. cavalcade, fr. It. cavalcata, fr. cavalcare to go on horseback, fr. LL. caballicare, fr. L. caballus an inferior horse, Gr. Cavalier, Cavalry.]
equestrian a.: Of or pertaining to horses or horsemen, or to horsemanship; as, equestrian feats, or games. [L. equester, from eques horseman, fr. equus horse: cf. F. équestre. See Equine.]
hymen n.: A fold of muscous membrane often found at the orifice of the vagina; the vaginal membrane.
bravely adv.: In a brave manner; courageously; gallantly; valiantly; splendidly; nobly.
caledonian a.: Of or pertaining to Caledonia or Scotland; Scottish; Scotch.
dapple n.: One of the spots on a dappled animal. [Cf. Icel. depill a spot, a dot, a dog with spots over the eyes, dapi a pool, and E. dimple.]
steed n.: A horse, especially a spirited horse for state of war; -- used chiefly in poetry or stately prose. [OE. stede, AS. steda a stud-horse, war horse, fr. stod a stud of breeding steeds; akin to G. stute a mare, Icel. stedda, sto, a stud. *163. See Stud of horses.]
corse n.: A living body or its bulk. [OF. cors, F. corps. See Corpse.]
dainty n.: Value; estimation; the gratification or pleasure taken in anything. [OE. deinie, dainte, deintie, deyntee, OF. deintié delicacy, orig., dignity, honor, fr. L. dignitas, fr. dignus worthy. See Deign, and cf. Dignity.]
forego v. t.: To quit; to relinquish; to leave. [See Forgo.]
carse n.: Low, fertile land; a river valley. Jomieson. [Of Celtic origin; cf. W. cars bog, fen. carsen reed, Armor. kars, korsen, bog plant, reed.]
betwixt prep.: In the space which separates; between. [OE. betwix, bitwix, rarely bitwixt, AS. betweox, betweohs, betweoh, betwih; pref. be- by + a form fr. AS. twa two. See Between.]
caroline n.: A silver coin once current in some parts of Italy, worth about seven cents. Simmonds. [F. carin; cf. It. carlino; -- so called from Carlo (Charles) VI. of Naples.]
guelph n.: One of a faction in Germany and Italy, in the 12th and 13th centuries, which supported the House of Guelph and the pope, and opposed the Ghibellines, or faction of the German emperors. [It. Guelfo, from Welf, the name of a German family.]
mayhap adv.: Perhaps; peradventure. [Prov. or Dialectic]
canadian a.: Of or pertaining to Canada.
trencher n.: One who trenches; esp., one who cuts or digs ditches. [OE. trencheoir, F. tranchoir, fr. trancher to cut, carve. See Trench, v. t.]
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.]
frith n.: A forest; a woody place. Drayton. [OE. frith peace, protection, land inclosed for hunting, park, forest, AS. fri peace; akin to freno peace, protection, asylum, G. friede peace, Icel. fri, and fr]
haply adv.: By hap, chance, luck, or accident; perhaps; it may be.
hymeneal a.: Of or pertaining to marriage; as, hymeneal rites. [L. hymeneius, a., also Hymenaeus, n., Hymen, Gr. hyménéal, hyménéen.]
ghost n.: The spirit; the soul of man. [OE. gast, gost, soul, spirit, AS. gast breath, spirit, soul; akin to OS. g spirit, soul, D. geest, G. geist, and prob. to E. gaze, ghastly.]
lethean a.: Of or pertaining to Lethe; resembling in effect the water of Lethe. Milton. Barrow.
puny a.: Imperfectly developed in size or vigor; small and feeble; inferior; petty. [F. puîté younger, later born, OF. puisné; puis afterwards (L. post; see Post-) + né born, L. natus. See Natal, and cf. Puisne.]
hunch n.: A hump; a protuberance. [Perh. akin to huckle; cf. hump, hunch, bunch, hunk.]
reviewer n.: One who reviews or reëxamines; an inspector; one who examines publications critically, and publishes his opinion upon their merits; a professional critic of books.
crumpet n.: A kind of large. thin muffin or cake, light and spongy, and cooked on a griddle or spider. [Prob. from W. crempog, crammwgth, a pancake or fritter.]
pimpled a.: Having pimples. Johnson.
haunted a.: Inhabited by, or subject to the visits of, apparitions; frequented by a ghost.
dwell v. i.: To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
amuse v. t.: To occupy or engage the attention of; to lose in deep thought; to absorb; also, to distract; to bewilder. [F. amuser to make stay, to detain, to amuse, ad) + OF. muser. See Muse, v.]
forlorn a.: Deserted abandoned; lost. [OE., p.p. of forlesen to lose utterly, AS. forleósan (p.p. forloren); pref. for- + leósan (in comp.) to lose; cf. D. verliezen to lose, G. verlieren, Sw. förlor]
daintily adv.: In a dainty manner; nicely; scrupulously; fastidiously; deliciously; prettily.
mortality n.: The condition or quality of being mortal; subjection to death or to the necessity of dying. [L. mortalitas: cf. F. mortalité.]
featureless a.: Having no distinct or distinctive features.
oblivion n.: The act of forgetting, or the state of being forgotten; cessation of remembrance; forgetfulness. [L. oblivio, akin to oblivisci to forget: cf. OF. oblivion.]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

Ode to the Great Unknown is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Thomas Hood, Project Gutenberg ebook #15652; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: Thomas Hood, Ode to the Great Unknown, in The Song of the Shirt, and Other Poems (1826–1845), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #15652, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hood-poetical-works/ode-to-the-great-unknown.html, id L20124.

Form and metre

Ode to the Great Unknown is 274 lines in 17 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).

See other poems in iambic pentameter.

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 ABCBACDDEFFEGHHGIIJJJKLLKMMK unknown^A · death^B · incog^C · breath^B · blown^A · fog^C · none^D · son^D · still^E · batch^F · hatch^F · nil^E · vauxhall^G · curl^H · girl^H · wall^G · nonentity^I · identity^I · sight^J · bright^J · light^J · nokes^K · which^L · niche^L · hoax^K · scott^M · not^M · folks^K
2 ABABCCCDDCEFFEGGHHIJJKKI saw^A · history^B · paw^A · mystery^B · lane^C · brain^C · talisman^C · moon^D · noon^D · caravan^C · light^E · crape^F · shape^F · knight^E · age^G · stage^G · presumption^H · gumption^H · north^I · mask^J · ask^J · platter^K · matter^K · forth^I
3 ABABCCDEEDFFGHHGGIGI- hunger^A · gammon^B · monger^A · salmon^B · it^C · it^C · abstractical^D · shelf^E · thyself^E · practical^D · style^F · nile^F · bred^G · disemboguing^H · disembroguing^H · head^G · dead^G · absentee^I · fled^G · degree^I · —
4 ABABBACCDEDCE gang^A · it^B · pang^A · it^B · it^B · hang^A · plann'd^C · hand^C · on^D · invaders^E · colton^D · land^C · crusaders^E
5 AABBCCDEEDF-FF born^A · morn^A · wicket^B · ticket^B · foreseeing^C · being^C · ridden^D · back^E · pack^E · hidden^D · simulation^F · bidden · continuation^F · starvation^F
6 ABABCDCDCDCEE breeding^A · ago^B · reading^A · ivanhoe^B · clattering^C · king^D · flattering^C · ring^D · clang^C · string^D · twang^C · clan^E · pan^E
7 AABBCCDDEE son^A · sampson^A · porson^B · orson^B · gauger^C · major^C · defender^D · endor^D · it^E · it^E
8 AAA-BBACCDDAA on^A · britton^A · on^A · think · wall^B · small^B · on^A · m'gregor^C · beggar^C · cleverly^D · beverly^D · beacon^A · on^A
9 ABABBCCDBDEFFEGG charms^A · sincerity^B · arms^A · posterity^B · prosperity^B · more^C · bore^C · destroy^D · verity^B · roy^D · di^E · again^F · chain^F · by^E · hand^G · stand^G
10 ABBA-CDCDEEC idol^A · maid^B · cavalcade^B · bridal^A · haunches · branches^C · tapers^D · montrose^C · vapors^D · alone^E · unknown^E · ducrows^C
11 A-ABBCCD--DDEFEF dew^A · covenanters · slew^A · won^B · done^B · canters^C · ranters^C · grapple^D · sword · word · chapel^D · dapple^D · corse^E · unravels^F · horse^E · travels^F
12 ABABBCC-D--D--EDED--E going^A · review^B · showing^A · few^B · renew^B · name^C · fame^C · houris · praise^D · gowrie's · cromarty · trays^D · buonaparte · r.a's · guelph^E · homer's^D · thyself^E · roamers^D · owhyhee · be · shelf^E
13 ABBAACDDCCEF-FEF hide^A · sight^B · invite^B · tried^A · wide^A · reckon'd^C · scholars^D · collars^D · second^C · beckon'd^C · forth^E · control^F · worth · soul^F · north^E · pole^F
14 ABABB--CCDEDFFE lamp^A · command^B · stamp^A · land^B · hand^B · daughter · her · hymeneal^C · ideal^C · wharf^D · fogs^E · dwarf^D · tuft^F · rebuff'd^F · gogs^E
15 ABABCCB-DEEDFF age^A · shy^B · page^A · eye^B · where^C · hair^C · awry^B · espy · nose^D · dimpled^E · pimpled^E · expose^D · small^F · all^F
16 ABBAC-CDDCEEFF bones^A · elf^B · thyself^B · stones^A · man^C · thee · caravan^C · shilling^D · killing^D · span^C · in^E · in^E · tried^F · died^F
17 A-BBAACDCDDECE born^A · flinch · men^B · pen^B · forlorn^A · adorn^A · fled^C · reality^D · dead^C · morality^D · mortality^D · stone^E · head^C · unknown^E

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 pentameter. How this is done.

Line	Syl.	Stress
Thou Great Unknown!	4	··˘/
I do not mean Eternity, nor Death,	10	····˘/˘˘··
That vast incog!	4	··˘/
For I suppose thou hast a living breath,	10	··˘/···/˘·
Howbeit we know not from whose lungs 'tis blown,	11	˘/˘········
Thou man of fog!	4	····
Parent of many children--child of none!	10	/˘·/˘/˘···
Nobody's son!	4	/···
Nobody's daughter--but a parent still!	10	/··/˘··/˘·
Still but an ostrich parent of a batch	10	···/˘/˘···
Of orphan eggs,--left to the world to hatch	10	·/˘·······
Superlative Nil!	5	˘/˘˘·
A vox and nothing more,--yet not Vauxhall;	10	···/˘···/·
A head in papers, yet without a curl!	10	···/˘·····
Not the Invisible Girl!	7	··˘/˘˘·
No hand--but a handwriting on a wall--	10	····/·˘···
A popular nonentity,	8	·/˘˘˘/˘˘
Still call'd the same,--without identity!	10	······˘/˘˘
A lark, heard out of sight,--	6	······
A nothing shin'd upon,--invisibly bright,	11	·/˘···˘/˘˘·
"Dark with excess of light!"	6	··/···
Constable's literary John-a-nokes--	10	/˘˘/˘·˘···
The real Scottish wizard--and not which,	9	··/˘/˘···
Nobody--in a niche;	6	/·····
Every one's hoax!	5	/˘˘··
Maybe Sir Walter Scott--	6	/˘·/˘·
Perhaps not!	3	˘/·
Why dost thou so conceal and puzzle curious folks?	12	····˘/·/˘/˘·
Thou,--whom the second-sighted never saw,	10	···/˘/˘/˘·
The Master Fiction of fictitious history!	11	·/˘/˘·˘/˘/˘
Chief Nong-tong-paw!	4	····
No mister in the world--and yet all mystery!	11	·/˘······/˘
The "tricksy spirit" of a Scotch Cock Lane--	10	·/˘/˘·····
A novel Junius puzzling the world's brain--	10	·/˘/˘/˘···
A man of Magic--yet no talisman!	10	···/˘··/˘˘
A man of clair obscure--not he o' the moon!	11	····˘/·····
A star--at noon.	4	····
A non-descriptus in a caravan,	10	·······/˘·
A private--of no corps--a northern light	10	·/˘····/˘·
In a dark lantern,--Bogie in a crape--	10	···/˘/˘···
A figure--but no shape;	6	·/˘···
A vizor--and no knight;	6	·/˘···
The real abstract hero of the age;	9	··/·/˘···
The staple Stranger of the stage;	8	·/˘/˘···
A Some One made in every man's presumption,	11	·····/˘·˘/˘
Frankenstein's monster--but instinct with gumption;	11	/˘·/˘·/˘·/˘
Another strange state captive in the north,	10	˘/˘··/˘···
Constable-guarded in an iron mask--	10	/˘˘/˘··/˘·
Still let me ask,	4	····
Hast thou no silver platter,	7	···/˘/˘
No door-plate, or no card--or some such matter,	11	·········/˘
To scrawl a name upon, and then cast forth?	10	··········
Thou Scottish Barmecide, feeding the hunger	11	·/˘/˘˘/˘·/˘
Of Curiosity with airy gammon!	11	··˘/˘˘·/˘/˘
Thou mystery-monger,	6	·/˘˘/˘
Dealing it out like middle cut of salmon,	11	/˘···/˘··/˘
That people buy and can't make head or tail of it;	12	·/˘·········
(Howbeit that puzzle never hurts the sale of it;)	12	˘/˘·/˘/·····
Thou chief of authors mystic and abstractical,	12	···/˘/˘·····
That lay their proper bodies on the shelf--	10	···/˘/˘···
Keeping thyself so truly to thyself,	10	/˘˘/·/˘·˘/
Thou Zimmerman made practical!	8	·/˘˘·/˘˘
Thou secret fountain of a Scottish style,	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
That, like the Nile,	4	····
Hideth its source wherever it is bred,	10	····˘/˘···
But still keeps disemboguing	7	·······
(Not disembroguing)	5	·····
Thro' such broad sandy mouths without a head!	10	···/˘·····
Thou disembodied author--not yet dead,--	10	·˘˘/˘/˘···
The whole world's literary Absentee!	10	···/˘·˘·˘/
Ah! wherefore hast thou fled,	6	·/˘···
Thou learned Nemo--wise to a degree,	10	··˘/˘···˘/
Anonymous LL.D.!	6	˘/˘˘··
Thou nameless captain of the nameless gang	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
That do--and inquests cannot say who did it!	11	···/·/˘····
Wert thou at Mrs. Donatty's death-pang?	10	···/˘·····
Hast thou made gravy of Weare's watch--or hid it?	11	···/˘······
Hast thou a Blue-Beard chamber? Heaven forbid it!	11	·····/˘/˘/·
I should be very loth to see thee hang!	10	···/˘·····
I hope thou hast an alibi well plann'd,	10	·····/˘···
An innocent, altho' an ink-black hand.	10	·/˘˘˘/····
Tho' that hast newly turn'd thy private bolt on	11	···/˘··/˘··
The curiosity of all invaders--	11	··˘/˘˘··˘/˘
I hope thou art merely closeted with Colton,	11	····/˘/˘·/˘
Who knows a little of the Holy Land,	10	···/˘··/˘·
Writing thy next new novel--The Crusaders!	11	/˘···/˘·˘/˘
Perhaps thou wert even born	7	˘/··/˘·
To be Unknown.--Perhaps hung, some foggy morn,	11	··˘/˘/··/˘·
At Captain Coram's charitable wicket,	11	·/˘/·/˘˘˘/˘
Pinn'd to a ticket	5	···/˘
That Fate had made illegible, foreseeing	11	····˘/˘˘˘/˘
The future great unmentionable being.--	11	·/˘·˘/˘˘˘/˘
Perhaps thou hast ridden	6	˘/··/˘
A scholar poor on St. Augustine's Back,	10	·/˘···/˘··
Like Chatterton, and found a dusty pack	10	·/˘˘···/˘·
Of Rowley novels in an old chest hidden;	11	·/˘/˘····/˘
A little hoard of clever simulation,	11	·/˘··/˘·˘/˘
That took the town--and Constable has bidden	11	·····/˘˘·/˘
Some hundred pounds for a continuation--	11	·/˘···˘·˘/˘
To keep and clothe thee in genteel starvation.	11	······˘/˘/˘
I like thy Waverley--first of thy breeding;	11	···/˘˘···/˘
I like its modest "sixty years ago,"	10	···/˘/˘·˘/
As if it was not meant for ages' reading.	11	·······/˘/˘
I don't like Ivanhoe,	6	···/˘·
Tho' Dymoke does--it makes him think of clattering	11	·········/˘
In iron overalls before the king	10	·/˘/˘·····
Secure from battering, to ladies flattering,	11	˘/·/˘·/˘/˘˘
Tuning, his challenge to the gauntlet's ring--	10	/˘·/˘··/˘·
Oh better far than all that anvil clang	10	·/˘····/˘·
It was to hear thee touch the famous string	10	·······/˘·
Of Robin Hood's tough bow and make it twang,	10	·/˘·······
Rousing him up, all verdant, with his clan,	10	/˘···/˘···
Like Sagittarian Pan!	6	······
I like Guy Mannering--but not that sham son	10	···/˘·····
Of Brown:--I like that literary Sampson,	11	·····/˘·˘/˘
Nine-tenths a Dyer, with a smack of Porson.	10	···/······
I like Dirk Hatteraick, that rough sea Orson	11	·········/˘
That slew the Gauger;	5	···/˘
And Dandie Dinmont, like old Ursa Major;	11	·/˘/˘··/˘/˘
And Merrilies, young Bertram's old defender,	11	·/˘˘·/˘·˘/˘
That Scottish Witch of Endor,	7	·/˘····
That doom'd thy fame. She was the Witch, I take it,	11	···········
To tell a great man's fortune--or to make it!	11	·····/˘····
I like thy Antiquary. With his fit on,	11	···/˘˘˘····
He makes me think of Mr. Britton,	9	·····/˘/˘
I like thy Antiquary. With Ins fit on,	11	···/˘˘˘····
It makes me think	4	····
Who has--or had--within his garden wall,	10	·······/˘·
A miniature Stone Henge, so very small	10	·/˘····/˘·
That sparrows find it difficult to sit on;	10	·/˘··/˘···
And Dousterwivel, like Poyais' M'Gregor;	9	·········
And Edie Ochiltree, that old Blue Beggar,	11	·/˘······/˘
Painted so cleverly,	6	/˘·/˘˘
I think thou surely knowest Mrs. Beverly!	11	···/˘/˘/˘/˘
I like thy Barber--him that fir'd the Beacon--	11	···/˘··/·/˘
But that's a tender subject now to speak on!	11	···/˘/˘····
I like long-arm'd Rob Roy.--His very charms	10	·······/˘·
Fashion'd him for renown!--In sad sincerity,	11	/˘··˘/··˘/˘
The man that robs or writes must have long arms,	10	··········
If he's to hand his deeds down to posterity!	11	········˘/˘
Witness Miss Biffin's posthumous prosperity,	11	/˘···/˘˘/˘˘
Her poor brown crumpled mummy (nothing more)	10	···/˘/˘/˘·
Bearing the name she bore,	6	/˘····
A thing Time's tooth is tempted to destroy!	10	·····/˘·˘/
But Roys can never die--why else, in verity,	11	···/····/˘˘
Is Paris echoing with "Vive le Roy"!	10	·/˘/˘˘····
Aye, Rob shall live again, and deathless Di	10	····˘/·/˘·
Vernon, of course, shall often live again--	10	/˘···/˘·˘/
Whilst there's a stone in Newgate, or a chain,	10	·····/˘···
Who can pass by	4	····
Nor feel the Thief's in prison and at hand?	10	·····/˘···
There be Old Bailey Jarvies on the stand!	10	···/˘/˘···
I like thy Landlord's Tales!--I like that Idol	11	···/·····/˘
Of love and Lammermoor--the blue-eyed maid	10	··········
That led to church the mounted cavalcade,	10	·····/˘/˘·
And then pull'd up with such a bloody bridal!	11	·······/˘/˘
Throwing equestrian Hymen on his haunches--	11	/˘˘/˘/˘····
I like the family (not silver) branches	11	···/˘˘·/˘/˘
That hold the tapers	5	···/˘
To light the serious legend of Montrose.--	10	···/˘/˘·/·
I like M'Aulay's second-sighted vapors,	10	····/˘/˘/˘
As if he could not walk or talk alone,	10	········˘/
Without the devil--or the Great Unknown,--	10	···/˘···˘/
Dalgetty is the dearest of Ducrows!	10	·····/˘···
I like St. Leonard's Lily--drench'd with dew!	10	···/˘/˘···
I like thy Vision of the Covenanters,	11	···/˘··/˘˘˘
That bloody-minded Grahame shot and slew.	10	·/˘/˘·····
I like the battle lost and won;	8	···/˘···
The hurly-burlys bravely done,	8	·/˘/˘/˘·
The warlike gallop and the warlike canters!	11	·/·/˘··/·/˘
I like that girded chieftain of the ranters,	11	···/˘/˘····
Ready to preach down heathens, or to grapple,	11	/˘···/˘··/˘
With one eye on his sword,	6	······
And one upon the Word,--	6	······
How he would cram the Caledonian Chapel!	11	······˘/˘/˘
I like stern Claverhouse, though he cloth dapple	11	·········/˘
His raven steed with blood of many a corse--	10	·/˘····/··
I like dear Mrs. Headrigg, that unravels	11	···/˘···˘/˘
Her texts of scripture on a trotting horse--	10	···/˘··/˘·
She is so like Rae Wilson when he travels!	11	·····/˘··/˘
I like thy Kenilworth--but I'm not going	11	···/˘····/˘
To take a Retrospective Re-Review	10	····˘/˘··/
Of all thy dainty novels--merely showing	11	···/˘/˘/˘/˘
The old familiar faces of a few,	10	··˘/˘/˘···
The question to renew,	6	·/˘·˘/
How thou canst leave such deeds without a name,	10	··········
Forego the unclaim'd Dividends of fame,	10	˘/·˘//˘···
Forego the smiles of literary houris--	11	˘/···/˘·˘··
Mid-Lothian's trump, and Fife's shrill note of praise,	10	·/˘·······
And all the Carse of Gowrie's,	6	······
When thou might'st have thy statue in Cromarty--	11	·····/·····
Or see thy image on Italian trays,	10	···/˘·˘/˘·
Betwixt Queen Caroline and Buonaparte,	10	˘/·/˘·····
Be painted by the Titian of R.A's,	10	·/˘··/˘···
Or vie in signboards with the Royal Guelph!	10	·······/˘·
P'rhaps have thy bust set cheek by jowl with Homer's,	11	·········/˘
P'rhaps send out plaster proxies of thyself	10	···/˘/˘·˘/
To other Englands with Australian roamers--	11	·/˘/˘·˘/˘··
Mayhap, in Literary Owhyhee	10	/˘·/˘·˘···
Displace the native wooden gods, or be	10	˘/·/˘/˘···
The china-Lar of a Canadian shelf!	10	·/˘···˘/˘·
It is not modesty that bids thee hide--	10	···/˘˘····
She never wastes her blushes out of sight:	10	·/˘··/˘···
It is not to invite	6	····˘/
The world's decision, for thy fame is tried,--	10	··˘/˘·····
And thy fair deeds are scatter'd far and wide,	10	·····/˘···
Even royal heads are with thy readers reckon'd,--	11	//˘····/˘/˘
From men in trencher caps to trencher scholars	11	···/˘··/˘/˘
In crimson collars,	5	·/˘/˘
And learned serjeants in the Forty-Second!	10	······/˘/˘
Whither by land or sea art thou not beckon'd?	11	/˘·······/˘
Mayhap exported from the Frith of Forth,	10	/˘˘/˘·····
Defying distance and its dim control;	10	˘/˘/˘···˘/
Perhaps read about Stromness, and reckon'd worth	11	˘/······/˘·
A brace of Miltons for capacious soul--	10	···/˘·˘/˘·
Perhaps studied in the whalers, further north,	11	˘//˘··/˘/˘·
And set above ten Shakspeares near the pole!	10	··········
Oh, when thou writest by Aladdin's lamp,	10	···/˘·˘/˘·
With such a giant genius at command,	10	···/˘/˘·˘/
Forever at thy stamp,	6	˘/˘···
To fill thy treasury from Fairy Land,	10	···/˘˘·/˘·
When haply thou might'st ask the pearly hand	10	·/˘····/˘·
Of some great British Vizier's eldest daughter,	11	···/˘··/˘/˘
Tho' princes sought her,	5	·/˘··
And lead her in procession hymeneal,	10	····˘/˘···
Oh, why dost thou remain a Beau Ideal!	10	····˘/··˘/
Why stay, a ghost, on the Lethean Wharf,	10	······˘/˘·
Envelop'd in Scotch mist and gloomy fogs?	10	˘/˘····/˘·
Why, but because thou art some puny Dwarf,	10	·······/˘·
Some hopeless Imp, like Biquet with the Tuft,	10	·/˘·······
Fearing, for all thy wit, to be rebuff'd,	10	/˘······˘/
Or bullied by our great reviewing Gogs?	10	·/˘·/·˘/˘·
What in this masquing age	6	······
Maketh Unknowns so many and so shy?	10	··˘/·/˘···
What but the critic's page?	6	···/˘·
One hath a cast, he hides from the world's eye;	10	··········
Another hath a wen,--he won't show where;	10	˘/˘·······
A third has sandy hair,	6	···/˘·
A hunch upon his back, or legs awry,	10	········˘/
Things for a vile reviewer to espy!	10	····˘/˘·/˘
Another hath a mangel-wurzel nose,--	10	˘/˘··/˘/˘·
Finally, this is dimpled,	7	/˘˘··/˘
Like a pale crumpet face, or that is pimpled,	11	···/˘····/˘
Things for a monthly critic to expose--	10	···/˘/˘·˘/
Nay, what is thy own case--that being small,	10	·······/˘·
Thou choosest to be nobody at all!	10	·/˘··/····
Well, thou art prudent, with such puny bones--	10	···/˘··/˘·
E'en like Elshender, the mysterious elf,	10	······˘/˘·
That shadowy revelation of thyself--	10	·/˘·˘/˘·˘/
To build thee a small hut of haunted stones--	10	·······/˘·
For certainly the first pernicious man	10	·/˘˘··˘/˘·
That ever saw thee, would quickly draw thee	10	·/˘···/˘··
In some vile literary caravan--	10	···/˘·˘/˘·
Shown for a shilling	5	···/˘
Would be thy killing,	5	···/˘
Think of Crachami's miserable span!	10	·····/˘˘˘·
No tinier frame the tiny spark could dwell in	11	·/˘··/˘····
Than there it fell in--	5	·····
But when she felt herself a show, she tried	10	····˘/····
To shrink from the world's eye, poor dwarf! and died!	10	··········
O since it was thy fortune to be born	10	·····/˘···
A dwarf on some Scotch Inch, and then to flinch	10	··········
From all the Gog-like jostle of great men,	10	·····/˘···
Still with thy small crow pen	6	······
Amuse and charm thy lonely hours forlorn--	10	˘/···/˘/˘/
Still Scottish story daintily adorn,	10	·/˘/˘/˘˘˘/
Be still a shade--and when this age is fled,	10	··········
When we poor sons and daughters of reality	11	·····/˘·˘/˘
Are in our graves forgotten and quite dead,	10	··/·˘/˘···
And Time destroys our mottoes of morality--	11	··˘///˘·˘/˘
The lithographic hand of Old Mortality	11	··˘/˘···˘/˘
Shall still restore thy emblem on the stone,	10	··˘/·/˘···
A featureless death's head,	6	·/˘˘··
And rob Oblivion ev'n of the Unknown!	10	··˘/˘···˘/

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.

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