Blue
THE earth again like a ship steams out of the darksea overThe edge of the blue, and the sun stands up to seeus glideSlowly into another day; slowly the roverVessel of darkness takes the rising tide.
I, on the deck, am startled by this dawn confrontingMe who am issued amazed from the darkness,strippedAnd quailing here in the sunshine, delivered fromhauntingThe night unsounded whereon our days are shipped.
Feeling myself undawning, the day's light playingupon me,I who am substance of shadow, I all compactOf the stuff of the night, finding myself all wronglyAmong the crowds of things in the sunshine jostledand racked.
I with the night on my lips, I sigh with the silenceof death;And what do I care though the very stones shouldcry me unreal, though the cloudsShine in conceit of substance upon me, who am lessthan the rain.Do I not know the darkness within them? Whatare they but shrouds?
The clouds go down the sky with a wealthy easeCasting a shadow of scorn upon me for my share indeath; but IHold my own in the midst of them, darkling, defyThe whole of the day to extinguish the shadow I lifton the breeze.
Yea, though the very clouds have vantage overme,Enjoying their glancing flight, though my love isdead,I still am not homeless here, I've a tent by dayOf darkness where she sleeps on her perfect bed.
And I know the host, the minute sparkling of darknessWhich vibrates untouched and virile through thegrandeur of night,But which, when dawn crows challenge, assaultingthe vivid motesOf living darkness, bursts fretfully, and is bright:
Runs like a fretted arc-lamp into light,Stirred by conflict to shining, which elseWere dark and whole with the night.
Runs to a fret of speed like a racing wheel,Which else were aslumber along with the wholeOf the dark, swinging rhythmic instead of a-reel.
Is chafed to anger, bursts into rage like thunder;Which else were a silent grasp that held theheavensArrested, beating thick with wonder.
Leaps like a fountain of blue sparks leapingIn a jet from out of obscurity,Which erst was darkness sleeping.
Runs into streams of bright blue drops,Water and stones and stars, and myriadsOf twin-blue eyes, and crops
Of floury grain, and all the hosts of day,All lovely hosts of ripples caused by frettingThe Darkness into play.
Words in this poem
- rover n.
- One who practices robbery on the seas; a pirate. [D. roover a robber. See Rove, v. i.]
- confronting n.
- dealing with (a person or problem) directly; taking the bull by the horns.
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- whereon adv.
- On which; -- used relatively; as, the earth whereon we live.
- darkling a.
- Becoming dark or gloomy; frowing.
- defy v. t.
- To renounce or dissolve all bonds of affiance, faith, or obligation with; to reject, refuse, or renounce. [F. défier, OF. deffier, desfier, LL. disfidare to disown faith or fidelity, to dissolve the bond of allegiance, as between the vassal and his lord; hence, to ch]
- vantage v. t.
- To profit; to aid.
- glancing a.
- Shooting, as light.
- homeless a.
- Destitute of a home. [AS.hamleas.]
- rhythmic a.
- Pertaining to, or of the nature of, rhythm DAy and night I worked my rhythmic thought. Mrs. Browning. [Gr. rhythmicus, F. rhythmique.]
- floury a.
- Of or resembling flour; mealy; covered with flour. Dickens.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Blue is in the public domain. This text is taken from Amores: Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #22531; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: D. H. Lawrence, Blue, in Amores (1916), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22531, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lawrence-amores/blue.html, id L13594.
Form and metre
Blue is 63 lines in 13 stanzas. 89% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.7 syllables. 18 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 60% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 -A-BAB dark · overA · see · glideB · roverA · tideB
- 2 --A--A confronting · darkness · strippedA · from · haunting · shippedA
- 3 --A--A playing · me · compactA · wrongly · jostled · rackedA
- 4 ---A---A silence · death · should · cloudsA · less · rain · what · shroudsA
- 5 A-BB-A easeA · in · iB · defyB · lift · breezeA
- 6 ---A-A over · me · is · deadA · day · bedA
- 7 --A--A darkness · the · nightA · assaulting · motes · brightA
- 8 A-A lightA · else · nightA
- 9 A-A wheelA · whole · reelA
- 10 A--A thunderA · the · heavens · wonderA
- 11 A-A leapingA · obscurity · sleepingA
- 12 A-A dropsA · myriads · cropsA
- 13 A-A dayA · fretting · playA
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| THE earth again like a ship steams out of the dark | 12 | ··˘/········ |
| sea over | 3 | ··· |
| The edge of the blue, and the sun stands up to see | 12 | ············ |
| us glide | 2 | ·· |
| Slowly into another day; slowly the rover | 13 | /˘··˘/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| Vessel of darkness takes the rising tide. | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| I, on the deck, am startled by this dawn confronting | 13 | ·····/˘···˘/˘ |
| Me who am issued amazed from the darkness, | 11 | ···/˘˘/··/˘ |
| stripped | 1 | · |
| And quailing here in the sunshine, delivered from | 12 | ·/˘···/·˘/˘· |
| haunting | 2 | /˘ |
| The night unsounded whereon our days are shipped. | 11 | ··˘/˘˘//··· |
| Feeling myself undawning, the day's light playing | 12 | /˘·/······/˘ |
| upon me, | 3 | ··· |
| I who am substance of shadow, I all compact | 12 | ···/˘·/···˘/ |
| Of the stuff of the night, finding myself all wrongly | 13 | ······/˘·/·/˘ |
| Among the crowds of things in the sunshine jostled | 12 | ········/·/˘ |
| and racked. | 2 | ·· |
| I with the night on my lips, I sigh with the silence | 13 | ···········/˘ |
| of death; | 2 | ·· |
| And what do I care though the very stones should | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| cry me unreal, though the clouds | 7 | ··˘/··· |
| Shine in conceit of substance upon me, who am less | 13 | ··˘/·/˘······ |
| than the rain. | 3 | ··· |
| Do I not know the darkness within them? What | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| are they but shrouds? | 4 | ···· |
| The clouds go down the sky with a wealthy ease | 11 | ········/˘· |
| Casting a shadow of scorn upon me for my share in | 14 | /˘·/·········· |
| death; but I | 3 | ··· |
| Hold my own in the midst of them, darkling, defy | 12 | ········/˘˘/ |
| The whole of the day to extinguish the shadow I lift | 14 | ······˘/˘·/··· |
| on the breeze. | 3 | ··· |
| Yea, though the very clouds have vantage over | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| me, | 1 | · |
| Enjoying their glancing flight, though my love is | 11 | ˘/˘·/˘····· |
| dead, | 1 | · |
| I still am not homeless here, I've a tent by day | 12 | ····/˘······ |
| Of darkness where she sleeps on her perfect bed. | 11 | ·/˘·····˘/· |
| And I know the host, the minute sparkling of darkness | 13 | ······/˘/˘·/˘ |
| Which vibrates untouched and virile through the | 10 | ·/˘˘/·/˘·· |
| grandeur of night, | 4 | ˘/·· |
| But which, when dawn crows challenge, assaulting | 10 | ·····/˘˘/˘ |
| the vivid motes | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Of living darkness, bursts fretfully, and is bright: | 12 | ·/˘/˘······· |
| Runs like a fretted arc-lamp into light, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Stirred by conflict to shining, which else | 10 | ·˘·˘/·/˘·· |
| Were dark and whole with the night. | 7 | ······· |
| Runs to a fret of speed like a racing wheel, | 11 | ········/˘· |
| Which else were aslumber along with the whole | 11 | ······˘/··· |
| Of the dark, swinging rhythmic instead of a-reel. | 12 | ···/˘/˘˘/··· |
| Is chafed to anger, bursts into rage like thunder; | 12 | ···/˘·····/˘ |
| Which else were a silent grasp that held the | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| heavens | 2 | /˘ |
| Arrested, beating thick with wonder. | 9 | ˘/˘/˘··/˘ |
| Leaps like a fountain of blue sparks leaping | 10 | ···/˘···/˘ |
| In a jet from out of obscurity, | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
| Which erst was darkness sleeping. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Runs into streams of bright blue drops, | 8 | ········ |
| Water and stones and stars, and myriads | 10 | /˘·····/˘˘ |
| Of twin-blue eyes, and crops | 6 | ······ |
| Of floury grain, and all the hosts of day, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| All lovely hosts of ripples caused by fretting | 11 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| The Darkness into play. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
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.