Joust Second
A-many sweet eyes wept and wept,A-many bosoms heaved again;A-many dainty dead hopes sleptWith yonder Heart-knight prone o' the plain.
Yet stars will burn through any mists,And the ladies' eyes, through rains of fate,Still beamed upon the bloody listsAnd lit the joust of Love and Hate.
O strange! or ere a trumpet blew,Or ere a challenge-word was given,A knight leapt down i' the lists; none knewWhether he sprang from earth or heaven.
His cheek was soft as a lily-bud,His grey eyes calmed his youth's alarm;Nor helm nor hauberk nor even a hoodHad he to shield his life from harm.
No falchion from his baldric swung,He wore a white rose in its place.No dagger at his girdle hung,But only an olive-branch, for grace.
And "Come, thou poor mistaken knight,"Cried Love, unarmed, yet dauntless there,"Come on, God pity thee! -- I fightSans sword, sans shield; yet, Hate, beware!"
Spurred furious Hate; he foamed at mouth,His breath was hot upon the air,His breath scorched souls, as a dry droughtWithers green trees and burns them bare.
Straight drives he at his enemy,His hairy hands grip lance in rest,His lance it gleams full bitterly,God! -- gleams, true-point, on Love's bare breast!
Love's grey eyes glow with a heaven-heat,Love lifts his hand in a saintly prayer;Look! Hate hath fallen at his feet!Look! Hate hath vanished in the air!
Then all the throng looked kind on all;Eyes yearned, lips kissed, dumb souls were freed;Two magic maids' hands lifted a pallAnd the dead knight, Heart, sprang on his steed.
Then Love cried, "Break me his lance, each knight!Ye shall fight for blood-athirst Fame no more!"And the knights all doffed their mailed mightAnd dealt out dole on dole to the poor.
Then dove-flights sanctified the plain,And hawk and sparrow shared a nest.And the great sea opened and swallowed Pain,And out of this water-grave floated Rest!
Words in this poem 16
- 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.]
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- beamed a.
- Furnished with beams, as the head of a stag.
- falchion n.
- A broad-bladed sword, slightly curved, shorter and lighter than the ordinary sword; -- used in the Middle Ages. [OE. fauchon, OF. fauchon, LL. fälcio, fr. L. falx, falcis, a sickle, cf. Gr. falcon; cf. It. falcione. Cf. Defalcation.]
- baldric n.
- A broad belt, sometimes richly ornamented, worn over one shoulder, across the breast, and under the opposite arm; less properly, any belt. [Also spelt bawdrick.] [OE. baudric, bawdrik, through OF. (cf. F. baudrier and LL. baldringus, baldrellus), from OHG. balderich, cf. balz, palz, akin to E. belt. See Belt, n.]
- unarmed a.
- Not armed or armored; having no arms or weapons. [Pref. un- not + armed.]
- dauntless a.
- Incapable of being daunted; undaunted; bold; fearless; intrepid.
- sans prep.
- Without; deprived or destitute of. Rarely used as an English word. [F., from L. sine without.]
- beware v. t.
- To avoid; to take care of; to have a care for.
- withers n.
- The ridge between the shoulder bones of a horse, at the base of the neck. See Illust. of Horse. [Properly, the parts which resist the pull or strain in drawing a load; fr. OE. wither resistance, AS. withre, fr. wither against; akin to G. widerrist withers. ]
- bitterly adv.
- In a bitter manner.
- saintly a.
- Like a saint; becoming a holy person.
- 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.]
- 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,]
- mailed a.
- Protected by an external coat, or covering, of scales or plates.
- sanctified a.
- Made holy; also, made to have the air of sanctity; sanctimonious.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Joust Second is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Sidney Lanier, Project Gutenberg ebook #579; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Sidney Lanier, Joust Second, in Poems (1884), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #579, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lanier-poems/joust-second.html, id L07692.
Form and metre
Joust Second is 48 lines in 12 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 8 of its 12 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%). 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.7 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 17% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 ABAB weptA · againB · sleptA · plainB
- 2 ABAB mistsA · fateB · listsA · hateB
- 3 A-A- blewA · given · knewA · heaven
- 4 ABAB budA · alarmB · hoodA · harmB
- 5 ABAB swungA · placeB · hungA · graceB
- 6 ABAB knightA · thereB · fightA · bewareB
- 7 -A-A mouth · airA · drought · bareA
- 8 -A-A enemy · restA · bitterly · breastA
- 9 ABAB heatA · prayerB · feetA · airB
- 10 ABAB allA · freedB · pallA · steedB
- 11 A-A- knightA · more · mightA · poor
- 12 ABAB plainA · nestB · painA · restB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A-many sweet eyes wept and wept, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A-many bosoms heaved again; | 9 | ·/˘/˘·˘˘/ |
| A-many dainty dead hopes slept | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| With yonder Heart-knight prone o' the plain. | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Yet stars will burn through any mists, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And the ladies' eyes, through rains of fate, | 9 | ··/······ |
| Still beamed upon the bloody lists | 9 | ··˘···/˘· |
| And lit the joust of Love and Hate. | 8 | ········ |
| O strange! or ere a trumpet blew, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Or ere a challenge-word was given, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| A knight leapt down i' the lists; none knew | 9 | ········· |
| Whether he sprang from earth or heaven. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| His cheek was soft as a lily-bud, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| His grey eyes calmed his youth's alarm; | 9 | ····˘··˘/ |
| Nor helm nor hauberk nor even a hood | 10 | ···/˘·/˘·· |
| Had he to shield his life from harm. | 8 | ········ |
| No falchion from his baldric swung, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| He wore a white rose in its place. | 8 | ········ |
| No dagger at his girdle hung, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| But only an olive-branch, for grace. | 9 | ·/˘·/˘··· |
| And "Come, thou poor mistaken knight," | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Cried Love, unarmed, yet dauntless there, | 9 | ··˘/˘·/˘· |
| "Come on, God pity thee! -- I fight | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Sans sword, sans shield; yet, Hate, beware!" | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Spurred furious Hate; he foamed at mouth, | 10 | ·˘/˘˘····· |
| His breath was hot upon the air, | 8 | ········ |
| His breath scorched souls, as a dry drought | 9 | ···˘····· |
| Withers green trees and burns them bare. | 8 | /˘······ |
| Straight drives he at his enemy, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| His hairy hands grip lance in rest, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| His lance it gleams full bitterly, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| God! -- gleams, true-point, on Love's bare breast! | 8 | ········ |
| Love's grey eyes glow with a heaven-heat, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Love lifts his hand in a saintly prayer; | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Look! Hate hath fallen at his feet! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Look! Hate hath vanished in the air! | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| Then all the throng looked kind on all; | 9 | ·····˘··· |
| Eyes yearned, lips kissed, dumb souls were freed; | 10 | ··˘··˘···· |
| Two magic maids' hands lifted a pall | 9 | ·/˘··/˘·· |
| And the dead knight, Heart, sprang on his steed. | 9 | ········· |
| Then Love cried, "Break me his lance, each knight! | 9 | ········· |
| Ye shall fight for blood-athirst Fame no more!" | 10 | ·····˘/··· |
| And the knights all doffed their mailed might | 10 | ·····˘··˘· |
| And dealt out dole on dole to the poor. | 9 | ········· |
| Then dove-flights sanctified the plain, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| And hawk and sparrow shared a nest. | 9 | ···/˘·˘·· |
| And the great sea opened and swallowed Pain, | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| And out of this water-grave floated Rest! | 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.