Genius
Woe unto him! the child of this sad earth,Who, in a troubled world, unjust and blind,Bears Genius--treasure of celestial birth,Within his solitary soul enshrined.Woe unto him! for Envy's pangs impure,Like the undying vultures', will be drivenInto his noble heart, that must endurePangs for each triumph; and, still unforgiven,Suffer Prometheus' doom, who ravished fire from Heaven.
Still though his destiny on earth may beGrief and injustice; who would not endureWith joyful calm, each proffered agony;Could he the prize of Genius thus ensure?What mortal feeling kindled in his soulThat clear celestial flame, so pure and high,O'er which nor time nor death can have control,Would in inglorious pleasures basely flyFrom sufferings whose reward is Immortality?No! though the clamors of the envious crowdPursue the son of Genius, he will rise
From the dull clod, borne by an effort proudBeyond the reach of vulgar enmities.'Tis thus the eagle, with his pinions spread,Reposing o'er the tempest, from that heightSees the clouds reel and roll above our head,While he, rejoicing in his tranquil flight,More upward soars sublime in heaven's eternal light.
Words in this poem
- undying a.
- Not dying; imperishable; unending; immortal; as, the undying souls of men.
- ensure v. t.
- To make sure. See Insure.
- inglorious a.
- Not glorious; not bringing honor or glory; not accompanied with fame, honor, or celebrity; obscure; humble; as, an inglorious life of ease. [L. inglorious; pref. in- not + gloria glory, fame: cf. F. inglorieux. See Glory.]
- basely adv.
- In a base manner; with despicable meanness; dishonorably; shamefully.
- envious a.
- Malignant; mischievous; spiteful. [OF. envios, F. envieux, fr. L. invidiosus, fr. invidia envy. See Envy, and cf. Invidious.]
- clod n.
- A lump or mass, especially of earth, turf, or clay. [OE. clodde, latter form of clot. See Clot.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Genius is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #8775, the various hands translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Victor Hugo, Genius, in Poems (1888), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8775, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hugo-poems/genius.html, id L26702.
Form and metre
Genius is 27 lines in 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%).
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 ABABCDCD- earthA · blindB · birthA · enshrinedB · impureC · drivenD · endureC · unforgivenD · heaven
- 2 -A-ABCBC--- be · endureA · agony · ensureA · soulB · highC · controlB · flyC · immortality · crowd · rise
- 3 --ABABB proud · enmities · spreadA · heightB · headA · flightB · lightB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Woe unto him! the child of this sad earth, | 10 | ·········· |
| Who, in a troubled world, unjust and blind, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| Bears Genius--treasure of celestial birth, | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Within his solitary soul enshrined. | 10 | ···/˘·˘·˘/ |
| Woe unto him! for Envy's pangs impure, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Like the undying vultures', will be driven | 11 | ··˘/˘/˘··/˘ |
| Into his noble heart, that must endure | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Pangs for each triumph; and, still unforgiven, | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| Suffer Prometheus' doom, who ravished fire from Heaven. | 13 | /˘˘/˘˘····/·/ |
| Still though his destiny on earth may be | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Grief and injustice; who would not endure | 10 | ··˘/˘···˘/ |
| With joyful calm, each proffered agony; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| Could he the prize of Genius thus ensure? | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| What mortal feeling kindled in his soul | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| That clear celestial flame, so pure and high, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| O'er which nor time nor death can have control, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Would in inglorious pleasures basely fly | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| From sufferings whose reward is Immortality? | 11 | ·/˘·˘/··˘/˘ |
| No! though the clamors of the envious crowd | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Pursue the son of Genius, he will rise | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| From the dull clod, borne by an effort proud | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Beyond the reach of vulgar enmities. | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| 'Tis thus the eagle, with his pinions spread, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Reposing o'er the tempest, from that height | 10 | /·˘··/˘··· |
| Sees the clouds reel and roll above our head, | 10 | ········/· |
| While he, rejoicing in his tranquil flight, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| More upward soars sublime in heaven's eternal light. | 13 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘˘/˘· |
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.