In the Park
Laughing, "To-night," I said to him, "the ParkHas turned the garden of a symbolist.Those old great trees that rise above the mist,Gold with the light of evening, and the darkStill water, where the dying sun evokesAn echoed glory--here I recognizeThose ancient gardens mirrored by the eyesOf poets that hate the world of common folks,Like you and me and that thin pious crowd,Which yonder sings its hymns, so humbly proudOf holiness. The garden of escapeLies here; a small green world, and still the brideOf quietness, although an imminent rapeRoars ceaselessly about on every side."
Words in this poem
- symbolist n.
- One who employs symbols.
- 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.]
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- humbly adv.
- With humility; lowly.
- imminent a.
- Threatening to occur immediately; near at hand; impending; -- said especially of misfortune or peril. [L. imminens, p. pr. of imminere to project; pref. im- in + minere (in comp.) to jut, project. See Eminent.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
In the Park is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Defeat of Youth, and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #24364; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Aldous Huxley, In the Park, in The Defeat of Youth, and Other Poems (1918), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #24364, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/huxley-defeat-of-youth/in-the-park.html, id L22002.
Form and metre
In the Park is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABBACDDCEEFGFG. 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 ABBACDDCEEFGFG parkA · symbolistB · mistB · darkA · evokesC · recognizeD · eyesD · folksC · crowdE · proudE · escapeF · brideG · rapeF · sideG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Laughing, "To-night," I said to him, "the Park | 10 | /˘········ |
| Has turned the garden of a symbolist. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| Those old great trees that rise above the mist, | 10 | ·········· |
| Gold with the light of evening, and the dark | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Still water, where the dying sun evokes | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| An echoed glory--here I recognize | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Those ancient gardens mirrored by the eyes | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| Of poets that hate the world of common folks, | 11 | ·/˘·····/˘· |
| Like you and me and that thin pious crowd, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Which yonder sings its hymns, so humbly proud | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Of holiness. The garden of escape | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘·˘/ |
| Lies here; a small green world, and still the bride | 10 | ·········· |
| Of quietness, although an imminent rape | 10 | ·/˘···/˘˘· |
| Roars ceaselessly about on every side." | 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.