Opposition
Of fret, of dark, of thorn, of chill,Complain no more; for these, O heart,Direct the random of the willAs rhymes direct the rage of art.
The lute's fixt fret, that runs athwartThe strain and purpose of the string,For governance and nice consortDoth bar his wilful wavering.
The dark hath many dear avails;The dark distils divinest dews;The dark is rich with nightingales,With dreams, and with the heavenly Muse.
Bleeding with thorns of petty strife,I'll ease (as lovers do) my smartWith sonnets to my lady LifeWrit red in issues from the heart.
What grace may lie within the chillOf favor frozen fast in scorn!When Good's a-freeze, we call it Ill!This rosy Time is glacier-born.
Of fret, of dark, of thorn, of chill,Complain thou not, O heart; for theseBank-in the current of the willTo uses, arts, and charities.
Words in this poem
- governance n.
- Exercise of authority; control; government; arrangement. [F. gouvernance.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Opposition 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, Opposition, in Poems (1884), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #579, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lanier-poems/opposition.html, id L07622.
Form and metre
Opposition is 24 lines in 6 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 33% 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 chillA · heartB · willA · artB
- 2 ABAB athwartA · stringB · consortA · waveringB
- 3 ABAB availsA · dewsB · nightingalesA · museB
- 4 ABAB strifeA · smartB · lifeA · heartB
- 5 ABAB chillA · scornB · illA · bornB
- 6 ABAB chillA · theseB · willA · charitiesB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Of fret, of dark, of thorn, of chill, | 8 | ········ |
| Complain no more; for these, O heart, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Direct the random of the will | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| As rhymes direct the rage of art. | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| The lute's fixt fret, that runs athwart | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The strain and purpose of the string, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| For governance and nice consort | 8 | ·/˘˘··˘/ |
| Doth bar his wilful wavering. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| The dark hath many dear avails; | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| The dark distils divinest dews; | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| The dark is rich with nightingales, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| With dreams, and with the heavenly Muse. | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| Bleeding with thorns of petty strife, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| I'll ease (as lovers do) my smart | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| With sonnets to my lady Life | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Writ red in issues from the heart. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| What grace may lie within the chill | 8 | ········ |
| Of favor frozen fast in scorn! | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| When Good's a-freeze, we call it Ill! | 8 | ········ |
| This rosy Time is glacier-born. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Of fret, of dark, of thorn, of chill, | 8 | ········ |
| Complain thou not, O heart; for these | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Bank-in the current of the will | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To uses, arts, and charities. | 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.