Laurel · Emma Lazarus · Admetus, and Other Poems

Afternoon

Emma Lazarus (1849–1887) · 1867–1887

iambic pentameter · 36 lines · from Admetus, and Other Poems

Small, shapeless drifts of cloudSail slowly northward in the soft-hued sky,With blur half-tints and rolling summits bright,By the late sun caressed; slight hazes shroudAll things afar; shineth each leaf anighWith its own warmth and light.

O'erblown by Southland airs,The summer landscape basks in utter peace:In lazy streams the lazy clouds are seen;Low hills, broad meadows, and large, clear-cut squaresOf ripening corn-fields, rippled by the breeze,With shifting shade and sheen.

Hark! and you may not hearA sound less soothing than the rustle coolOf swaying leaves, the steady wiry droneOf unseen crickets, sudden chirpings clearOf happy birds, the tinkle of the pool,Chafed by a single stone.

What vague, delicious dreams,Born of this golden hour of afternoon,And air balm-freighted, fill the soul with bliss,Transpierced like yonder clouds with lustrous gleams,Fantastic, brief as they, and, like them, spunOf gilded nothingness!

All things are well with her.'T is good to be alive, to see the lightThat plays upon the grass, to feel (and sighWith perfect pleasure) the mild breezes stirAmong the garden roses, red and white,With whiffs of fragrancy.

There is no troublous thought,No painful memory, no grave regret,To mar the sweet suggestions of the hour:The soul, at peace, reflects the peace without,Forgetting grief as sunset skies forgetThe morning's transient shower.

Words in this poem

northward a.: Toward the north; nearer to the north than to the east or west point. [AS. noredhweard.]
afar adv.: At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
sheen v. i.: To shine; to glisten.
rustle v. i.: To make a quick succession of small sounds, like the rubbing or moving of silk cloth or dry leaves. [AS. hristlan to rustle; or cf. Sw. rusta to stir, make a riot, or E. rush, v.]
wiry a.: Made of wire; like wire; drawn out like wire. [Written also wiery.]
unseen a.: Not seen or discovered.
afternoon n.: The part of the day which follows noon, between noon and evening.
yonder adv.: At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
fragrancy n.: The quality of being fragrant; sweetness of smell; a sweet smell; a pleasing odor; perfume. [L. fragrantia: cf. OF. fragrance.]
troublous a.: Full of trouble; causing trouble.

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

Afternoon is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Emma Lazarus, Volume 1, Project Gutenberg ebook #3295; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: Emma Lazarus, Afternoon, in Admetus, and Other Poems (1867–1887), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3295, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lazarus-poems/afternoon.html, id L01887.

Form and metre

Afternoon is 36 lines in 6 stanzas of 6 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABCABC, in 2 of the 6 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.8 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 36% 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 ABCABC cloud^A · sky^B · bright^C · shroud^A · anigh^B · light^C
2 A-BA-B airs^A · peace · seen^B · squares^A · breeze · sheen^B
3 ABCABC hear^A · cool^B · drone^C · clear^A · pool^B · stone^C
4 A-BA-B dreams^A · afternoon · bliss^B · gleams^A · spun · nothingness^B
5 AB-AB- her^A · light^B · sigh · stir^A · white^B · fragrancy
6 -AB-AB thought · regret^A · hour^B · without · forget^A · shower^B

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
Small, shapeless drifts of cloud	6	·/˘···
Sail slowly northward in the soft-hued sky,	10	·/˘/˘·····
With blur half-tints and rolling summits bright,	10	·····/˘/˘·
By the late sun caressed; slight hazes shroud	10	····˘/·/˘·
All things afar; shineth each leaf anigh	10	··˘//˘··˘/
With its own warmth and light.	6	······
O'erblown by Southland airs,	6	···/··
The summer landscape basks in utter peace:	10	·/˘/···/˘·
In lazy streams the lazy clouds are seen;	10	·/˘··/˘···
Low hills, broad meadows, and large, clear-cut squares	10	···/······
Of ripening corn-fields, rippled by the breeze,	10	·/˘··/˘···
With shifting shade and sheen.	6	·/˘···
Hark! and you may not hear	6	······
A sound less soothing than the rustle cool	10	···/˘··/˘·
Of swaying leaves, the steady wiry drone	10	·/˘··/˘/˘·
Of unseen crickets, sudden chirpings clear	10	·˘//˘/˘/˘·
Of happy birds, the tinkle of the pool,	10	·/˘··/˘···
Chafed by a single stone.	6	···/˘·
What vague, delicious dreams,	6	··˘/˘·
Born of this golden hour of afternoon,	10	···/˘/··˘/
And air balm-freighted, fill the soul with bliss,	10	···/˘·····
Transpierced like yonder clouds with lustrous gleams,	10	···/˘··/˘·
Fantastic, brief as they, and, like them, spun	10	˘/˘·······
Of gilded nothingness!	6	·/˘/˘˘
All things are well with her.	6	······
'T is good to be alive, to see the light	11	·····˘/····
That plays upon the grass, to feel (and sigh	10	··········
With perfect pleasure) the mild breezes stir	10	·/·/˘··/˘·
Among the garden roses, red and white,	10	···/˘/˘···
With whiffs of fragrancy.	6	······
There is no troublous thought,	6	···/˘·
No painful memory, no grave regret,	10	·/˘/˘˘··˘/
To mar the sweet suggestions of the hour:	11	····˘/˘··/˘
The soul, at peace, reflects the peace without,	10	····˘/····
Forgetting grief as sunset skies forget	10	˘/˘··/··˘/
The morning's transient shower.	7	·/˘/˘/˘

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.

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