Out of the Window
In the middle of countries, far from hills and sea,Are the little places one passes by in trainsAnd never stops at; where the skies extendUninterrupted, and the level plainsStretch green and yellow and green without an end.And behind the glass of their Grand ExpressFolk yawn away a province through,With nothing to think of, nothing to do,Nothing even to look at--never a "view"In this damned wilderness.But I look out of the window and findMuch to satisfy the mind.Mark how the furrows, formed and wheeledIn a motion orderly and staid,Sweep, as we pass, across the fieldLike a drilled army on parade.And here's a market-garden, barredWith stripe on stripe of varied greens ...Bright potatoes, flower starred,And the opacous colour of beans.Each line deliberately swingsTowards me, till I see a straightGreen avenue to the heart of things,The glimpse of a sudden opened gatePiercing the adverse walls of fate ...A moment only, and then, fast, fast,The gate swings to, the avenue closes;Fate laughs, and once more interposesIts barriers.The train has passed.
Words in this poem
- folk 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.]
- damned a.
- Sentenced to punishment in a future state; condemned; consigned to perdition.
- starred a.
- Adorned or studded with stars; bespangled. [From Star.]
- avenue n.
- A way or opening for entrance into a place; a passage by which a place may by reached; a way of approach or of exit. [F. avenue, fr. avenir to come to, L. advenire. See Advene.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Out of the Window 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, Out of the Window, in The Defeat of Youth, and Other Poems (1918), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #24364, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/huxley-defeat-of-youth/out-of-the-window.html, id L22013.
Form and metre
Out of the Window is 30 lines in a single stanza. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic pentameter.
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 -ABABCDDDCEEFGFGHIHIJKJKKLMM-L sea · trainsA · extendB · plainsA · endB · expressC · throughD · doD · viewD · wildernessC · findE · mindE · wheeledF · staidG · fieldF · paradeG · barredH · greensI · starredH · beansI · swingsJ · straightK · thingsJ · gateK · fateK · fastL · closesM · interposesM · barriers · passedL
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 |
|---|---|---|
| In the middle of countries, far from hills and sea, | 12 | ··/˘·/˘····· |
| Are the little places one passes by in trains | 12 | ··/˘/˘·/˘··· |
| And never stops at; where the skies extend | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Uninterrupted, and the level plains | 10 | ·˘˘/˘··/˘· |
| Stretch green and yellow and green without an end. | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| And behind the glass of their Grand Express | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Folk yawn away a province through, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| With nothing to think of, nothing to do, | 10 | ·/˘···/˘·· |
| Nothing even to look at--never a "view" | 10 | /˘/···/˘·· |
| In this damned wilderness. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| But I look out of the window and find | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| Much to satisfy the mind. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Mark how the furrows, formed and wheeled | 10 | ···/˘·˘··˘ |
| In a motion orderly and staid, | 9 | ··/˘/˘˘·· |
| Sweep, as we pass, across the field | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Like a drilled army on parade. | 9 | ···˘/˘·˘/ |
| And here's a market-garden, barred | 9 | ···/˘/˘·˘ |
| With stripe on stripe of varied greens ... | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Bright potatoes, flower starred, | 7 | ·˘/˘/˘· |
| And the opacous colour of beans. | 9 | ··˘/˘/˘·· |
| Each line deliberately swings | 8 | ··˘/˘˘˘· |
| Towards me, till I see a straight | 8 | ········ |
| Green avenue to the heart of things, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| The glimpse of a sudden opened gate | 10 | ····/˘/˘˘· |
| Piercing the adverse walls of fate ... | 8 | /˘·˘/··· |
| A moment only, and then, fast, fast, | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| The gate swings to, the avenue closes; | 10 | ·····/˘·/˘ |
| Fate laughs, and once more interposes | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Its barriers. | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| The train has passed. | 4 | ···· |
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.