Italy
There is a country in my mind,Lovelier than a poet blindCould dream of, who had never knownThis world of drought and dust and stoneIn all its ugliness: a placeFull of an all but human grace;Whose dells retain the printed formOf heavenly sleep, and seem yet warmFrom some pure body newly risen;Where matter is no more a prison,But freedom for the soul to knowIts native beauty. For things glowThere with an inward truth and areAll fire and colour like a star.And in that land are domes and towersThat hang as light and bright as flowersUpon the sky, and seem a birthRather of air than solid earth.
Sometimes I dream that walking thereIn the green shade, all unawareAt a new turn of the golden glade,I shall see her, and as though afraidShall halt a moment and almost fallFor passing faintness, like a manWho feels the sudden spirit of PanBrimming his narrow soul with allThe illimitable world. And she,Turning her head, will let me seeThe first sharp dawn of her surpriseTurning to welcome in her eyes.And I shall come and take my loverAnd looking on her re-discoverAll her beauty:--her dark hairAnd the little ears beneath it, whereRoses of lucid shadow sleep;Her brooding mouth, and in the deepWells of her eyes reflected stars ...
Oh, the imperishable thingsThat hands and lips as well as wordsShall speak! Oh movement of white wings,Oh wheeling galaxies of birds ...!
Words in this poem
- ugliness n.
- The quality or state of being ugly.
- unaware a.
- Not aware; not noticing; giving no heed; thoughtless; inattentive.
- glade n.
- An open passage through a wood; a grassy open or cleared space in a forest. [Prob. of Scand. origin, and akin to glad, a.; cf. also W. golead, goleuad, a lighting, illumination, fr. goleu light, clear, bright, goleu fwlch glade, lit., a ]
- 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,]
- faintness n.
- The state of being faint; loss of strength, or of consciousness, and self-control.
- brimming a.
- Full to the brim; overflowing.
- wheeling n.
- The act of conveying anything, or traveling, on wheels, or in a wheeled vehicle.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Italy 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, Italy, in The Defeat of Youth, and Other Poems (1918), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #24364, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/huxley-defeat-of-youth/italy.html, id L22017.
Form and metre
Italy is 41 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 78% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, other poems in iambic 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHII mindA · blindA · knownB · stoneB · placeC · graceC · formD · warmD · risenE · prisonE · knowF · glowF · areG · starG · towersH · flowersH · birthI · earthI
- 2 AABBCDDCEEFFGGAAHH- thereA · unawareA · gladeB · afraidB · fallC · manD · panD · allC · sheE · seeE · surpriseF · eyesF · loverG · discoverG · hairA · whereA · sleepH · deepH · stars
- 3 ABAB thingsA · wordsB · wingsA · birdsB
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| There is a country in my mind, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Lovelier than a poet blind | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Could dream of, who had never known | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| This world of drought and dust and stone | 8 | ········ |
| In all its ugliness: a place | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Full of an all but human grace; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Whose dells retain the printed form | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Of heavenly sleep, and seem yet warm | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| From some pure body newly risen; | 9 | ···/˘/˘/˘ |
| Where matter is no more a prison, | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| But freedom for the soul to know | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Its native beauty. For things glow | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| There with an inward truth and are | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| All fire and colour like a star. | 8 | ·/·/˘··· |
| And in that land are domes and towers | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| That hang as light and bright as flowers | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Upon the sky, and seem a birth | 8 | ········ |
| Rather of air than solid earth. | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Sometimes I dream that walking there | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| In the green shade, all unaware | 8 | ······˘/ |
| At a new turn of the golden glade, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| I shall see her, and as though afraid | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Shall halt a moment and almost fall | 9 | ···/˘·/·· |
| For passing faintness, like a man | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Who feels the sudden spirit of Pan | 8 | ···/˘/·· |
| Brimming his narrow soul with all | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| The illimitable world. And she, | 9 | ·˘/˘˘˘··· |
| Turning her head, will let me see | 8 | /˘······ |
| The first sharp dawn of her surprise | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Turning to welcome in her eyes. | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| And I shall come and take my lover | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| And looking on her re-discover | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| All her beauty:--her dark hair | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And the little ears beneath it, where | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Roses of lucid shadow sleep; | 8 | /˘·/˘/·· |
| Her brooding mouth, and in the deep | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Wells of her eyes reflected stars ... | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Oh, the imperishable things | 8 | ··˘/˘˘˘· |
| That hands and lips as well as words | 8 | ········ |
| Shall speak! Oh movement of white wings, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Oh wheeling galaxies of birds ...! | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
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.