On Violet's Wafers, Sent Me When I Was ILL
Fine-tissued as her finger-tips, and whiteAs all her thoughts; in shape like shields of prize,As if before young Violet's dreaming eyesStill blazed the two great Theban bucklers brightThat swayed the random of that furious fightWhere Palamon and Arcite made assizeFor Emily; fresh, crisp as her replies,That, not with sting, but pith, do oft inviteMore trial of the tongue; simple, like her,Well fitting lowlihood, yet fine as well,-- The queen's no finer; rich (though gossamer)In help to him they came to, which may tellHow rich that him SHE'LL come to; thus men see,Like Violet's self e'en Violet's wafers be.
Words in this poem
- theban a.
- Of or pertaining to Thebes. Theban year (Anc. Chron.), the Egyptian year of 365 days and 6 hours. J. Bryant. [L. Thebanus.]
- swayed a.
- Bent down, and hollow in the back; sway-backed; -- said of a horse.
- assize n.
- An assembly of knights and other substantial men, with a bailiff or justice, in a certain place and at a certain time, for public business. [OE. assise, asise, OF. assise, F. assises, assembly of judges, the decree pronounced by them, tax, impost, fr. assis, assise, p. p. of asseoir, fr. L. assid to ]
- gossamer n.
- A fine, filmy substance, like cobwebs, floating in the air, in calm, clear weather, especially in autumn. It is seen in stubble fields and on furze or low bushes, and is formed by small spiders. [OE. gossomer, gossummer, gosesomer, perh. for goose summer, from its downy appearance, or perh. for God's summer, cf. G. mariengarr gossamer, properly Mary's ya]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On Violet's Wafers, Sent Me When I Was ILL 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, On Violet's Wafers, Sent Me When I Was ILL, in Poems (1884), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #579, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lanier-poems/on-violet-s-wafers-sent-me-when-i-was-ill.html, id L07653.
Form and metre
On Violet's Wafers, Sent Me When I Was ILL is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 50% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABBAABBA-C-CDD whiteA · prizeB · eyesB · brightA · fightA · assizeB · repliesB · inviteA · her · wellC · gossamer · tellC · seeD · beD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Fine-tissued as her finger-tips, and white | 10 | ·/···/˘··· |
| As all her thoughts; in shape like shields of prize, | 10 | ·········· |
| As if before young Violet's dreaming eyes | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Still blazed the two great Theban bucklers bright | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| That swayed the random of that furious fight | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Where Palamon and Arcite made assize | 10 | ········˘/ |
| For Emily; fresh, crisp as her replies, | 10 | ·/˘˘····˘/ |
| That, not with sting, but pith, do oft invite | 10 | ········˘/ |
| More trial of the tongue; simple, like her, | 10 | ·/˘···/˘·· |
| Well fitting lowlihood, yet fine as well, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| -- The queen's no finer; rich (though gossamer) | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| In help to him they came to, which may tell | 10 | ·········· |
| How rich that him SHE'LL come to; thus men see, | 10 | ·········· |
| Like Violet's self e'en Violet's wafers be. | 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.