The Ghost
Down the street as I was drifting with the city's human tide,Came a ghost, and for a moment walked in silence by my side --Now my heart was hard and bitter, and a bitter spirit he,So I felt no great aversion to his ghostly company.Said the Shade: 'At finer feelings let your lip in scorn be curled,'Self and Pelf', my friend, has ever been the motto for the world.'
And he said: 'If you'd be happy, you must clip your fancy's wings,Stretch your conscience at the edges to the size of earthly things;Never fight another's battle, for a friend can never knowWhen he'll gladly fly for succour to the bosom of the foe.At the power of truth and friendship let your lip in scorn be curled --'Self and Pelf', my friend, remember, is the motto of the world.
'Where Society is mighty, always truckle to her rule;Never send an 'i' undotted to the teacher of a school;Only fight a wrong or falsehood when the crowd is at your back,And, till Charity repay you, shut the purse, and let her pack;At the fools who would do other let your lip in scorn be curled,'Self and Pelf', my friend, remember, that's the motto of the world.
'Ne'er assail the shaky ladders Fame has from her niches hung,Lest unfriendly heels above you grind your fingers from the rung;Or the fools who idle under, envious of your fair renown,Heedless of the pain you suffer, do their worst to shake you down.At the praise of men, or censure, let your lip in scorn be curled,'Self and Pelf', my friend, remember, is the motto of the world.
'Flowing founts of inspiration leave their sources parched and dry,Scalding tears of indignation sear the hearts that beat too high;Chilly waters thrown upon it drown the fire that's in the bard;And the banter of the critic hurts his heart till it grows hard.At the fame your muse may offer let your lip in scorn be curled,'Self and Pelf', my friend, remember, that's the motto of the world.
'Shun the fields of love, where lightly, to a low and mocking tune,Strong and useful lives are ruined, and the broken hearts are strewn.Not a farthing is the value of the honest love you hold;Call it lust, and make it serve you! Set your heart on nought but gold.At the bliss of purer passions let your lip in scorn be curled --'Self and Pelf', my friend, shall ever be the motto of the world.'
Then he ceased and looked intently in my face, and nearer drew;But a sudden deep repugnance to his presence thrilled me through;Then I saw his face was cruel, by the look that o'er it stole,Then I felt his breath was poison, by the shuddering of my soul,Then I guessed his purpose evil, by his lip in sneering curled,And I knew he slandered mankind, by my knowledge of the world.
But he vanished as a purer brighter presence gained my side --'Heed him not! there's truth and friendshipin this wondrous world,' she cried,And of those who cleave to virtue in their climbing for renown,Only they who faint or falter from the height are shaken down.At a cynic's baneful teaching let your lip in scorn be curled!'Brotherhood and Love and Honour!' is the motto for the world.'
Words in this poem 17
- ghost n.
- The spirit; the soul of man. [OE. gast, gost, soul, spirit, AS. gast breath, spirit, soul; akin to OS. g spirit, soul, D. geest, G. geist, and prob. to E. gaze, ghastly.]
- aversion n.
- A turning away. [L. aversio: cf. F. aversion. See Avert.]
- ghostly a.
- Relating to the soul; not carnal or secular; spiritual; as, a ghostly confessor. [OE. gastlich, gostlich, AS. gastlic. See Ghost.]
- conscience n.
- Knowledge of one's own thoughts or actions; consciousness. [F. conscience, fr. L. conscientia, fr. consciens, p.pr. of conscire to know, to be conscious; con- + scire to know. See Science.]
- gladly adv.
- Preferably; by choice. [From Glad, a.]
- succour v. t.
- tiono run to, or run to support; hence, to help or relieve when in difficulty, want, or distress; to assist and deliver from suffering; to relieve; as, to succor a besieged city. [OE. socouren, OF. sucurre, soucourre, secorre, F. secourir, L. succurrere, succursum, to run under, run to the aid of, help, succor; sub under + currere to run.]
- truckle n.
- A small wheel or caster. Hudibras. [Dim. of truck a wheel; or from the kindred L. trochlea a block, sheaf containing one or more pulleys. See Truck a wheel.]
- rung n.
- A floor timber in a ship. [OE. ronge, AS. hrung, a staff, rod, pole; akin to G. runge a short, thick piece of iron or wood, OD. ronghe a prop, support, Icel. röng a rib in a ship, Goth. H]
- envious a.
- Malignant; mischievous; spiteful. [OF. envios, F. envieux, fr. L. invidiosus, fr. invidia envy. See Envy, and cf. Invidious.]
- lust v. i.
- To list; to like. [AS. lystan. See Lust, n., and cf. List to choose.]
- 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,]
- intently adv.
- In an intent manner; as, the eyes intently fixed.
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
- wondrous adv.
- In a wonderful or surprising manner or degree; wonderfully. [OE. wonders, adv. (later also adj.). See Wonder, n., and cf. -wards.]
- falter v. t.
- To thrash in the chaff; also, to cleanse or sift, as barley.
- baneful a.
- Having poisonous qualities; deadly; destructive; injurious; noxious; pernicious.
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Ghost is in the public domain. This text is taken from In the Days When the World Was Wide, and Other Verses, Project Gutenberg ebook #214; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Henry Lawson, The Ghost, in In the Days When the World Was Wide (1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #214, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lawson-world-was-wide/the-ghost.html, id L23248.
Form and metre
The Ghost is 49 lines in 8 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is AABBCC, complete in 6 of its 8 stanzas. The metre is trochaic octameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
See other poems in trochaic octameter.
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 AA--BB tideA · sideA · he · company · curledB · worldB
- 2 AABBCC wingsA · thingsA · knowB · foeB · curledC · worldC
- 3 AABBCC ruleA · schoolA · backB · packB · curledC · worldC
- 4 AABBCC hungA · rungA · renownB · downB · curledC · worldC
- 5 AABBCC dryA · highA · bardB · hardB · curledC · worldC
- 6 AABBCC tuneA · strewnA · holdB · goldB · curledC · worldC
- 7 AABBCC drewA · throughA · stoleB · soulB · curledC · worldC
- 8 A-ABBCC sideA · friendship · criedA · renownB · downB · curledC · worldC
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 trochaic octameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Down the street as I was drifting with the city's human tide, | 15 | ······/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Came a ghost, and for a moment walked in silence by my side -- | 15 | ······/˘··/˘··· |
| Now my heart was hard and bitter, and a bitter spirit he, | 15 | ······/˘··/˘/˘· |
| So I felt no great aversion to his ghostly company. | 15 | ·····˘/˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| Said the Shade: 'At finer feelings let your lip in scorn be curled, | 15 | ····/˘/˘······· |
| 'Self and Pelf', my friend, has ever been the motto for the world.' | 15 | ······/˘··/˘··· |
| And he said: 'If you'd be happy, you must clip your fancy's wings, | 15 | ······/˘····/˘· |
| Stretch your conscience at the edges to the size of earthly things; | 15 | ··/˘··/˘····/˘· |
| Never fight another's battle, for a friend can never know | 15 | /˘·˘/˘/˘····/˘· |
| When he'll gladly fly for succour to the bosom of the foe. | 15 | ··/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| At the power of truth and friendship let your lip in scorn be curled -- | 15 | ··/···/˘······· |
| 'Self and Pelf', my friend, remember, is the motto of the world. | 15 | ·····˘/˘··/˘··· |
| 'Where Society is mighty, always truckle to her rule; | 15 | ·˘/˘˘·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| Never send an 'i' undotted to the teacher of a school; | 15 | /˘········/˘··· |
| Only fight a wrong or falsehood when the crowd is at your back, | 15 | /˘····/········ |
| And, till Charity repay you, shut the purse, and let her pack; | 15 | ··/˘˘˘/········ |
| At the fools who would do other let your lip in scorn be curled, | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| 'Self and Pelf', my friend, remember, that's the motto of the world. | 15 | ·····˘/˘··/˘··· |
| 'Ne'er assail the shaky ladders Fame has from her niches hung, | 15 | ·˘/·/˘/˘····/˘· |
| Lest unfriendly heels above you grind your fingers from the rung; | 15 | ·˘/˘······/˘··· |
| Or the fools who idle under, envious of your fair renown, | 15 | ····/˘··/˘···˘/ |
| Heedless of the pain you suffer, do their worst to shake you down. | 15 | /˘····/˘······· |
| At the praise of men, or censure, let your lip in scorn be curled, | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| 'Self and Pelf', my friend, remember, is the motto of the world. | 15 | ·····˘/˘··/˘··· |
| 'Flowing founts of inspiration leave their sources parched and dry, | 15 | /˘···˘/˘··/˘··· |
| Scalding tears of indignation sear the hearts that beat too high; | 15 | /˘···˘/˘······· |
| Chilly waters thrown upon it drown the fire that's in the bard; | 15 | /˘/˘······/···· |
| And the banter of the critic hurts his heart till it grows hard. | 15 | ··/˘··/˘······· |
| At the fame your muse may offer let your lip in scorn be curled, | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| 'Self and Pelf', my friend, remember, that's the motto of the world. | 15 | ·····˘/˘··/˘··· |
| 'Shun the fields of love, where lightly, to a low and mocking tune, | 15 | ······/˘····/˘· |
| Strong and useful lives are ruined, and the broken hearts are strewn. | 15 | ··/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| Not a farthing is the value of the honest love you hold; | 15 | ··/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| Call it lust, and make it serve you! Set your heart on nought but gold. | 15 | ··············· |
| At the bliss of purer passions let your lip in scorn be curled -- | 15 | ····/˘/˘······· |
| 'Self and Pelf', my friend, shall ever be the motto of the world.' | 15 | ······/˘··/˘··· |
| Then he ceased and looked intently in my face, and nearer drew; | 15 | ·····˘/˘····/˘· |
| But a sudden deep repugnance to his presence thrilled me through; | 15 | ··/˘······/˘··· |
| Then I saw his face was cruel, by the look that o'er it stole, | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| Then I felt his breath was poison, by the shuddering of my soul, | 15 | ······/˘··/˘··· |
| Then I guessed his purpose evil, by his lip in sneering curled, | 15 | ····/˘/˘····/˘· |
| And I knew he slandered mankind, by my knowledge of the world. | 15 | ····/˘//··/˘··· |
| But he vanished as a purer brighter presence gained my side -- | 15 | ··/˘··/˘/˘/˘··· |
| 'Heed him not! there's truth and friendship | 8 | ······/˘ |
| in this wondrous world,' she cried, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And of those who cleave to virtue in their climbing for renown, | 15 | ······/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Only they who faint or falter from the height are shaken down. | 15 | /˘····/˘····/˘· |
| At a cynic's baneful teaching let your lip in scorn be curled! | 15 | ··/˘/˘/˘······· |
| 'Brotherhood and Love and Honour!' is the motto for the world.' | 15 | /˘····/˘··/˘··· |
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.