An Apologue
No man had ever heard a nightingale,When once a keen-eyed naturalist was stirredTo study and define--what is a bird,To classify by rote and book, nor failTo mark its structure and to note the scaleWhereon its song might possibly be heard.Thus far, no farther;--so he spake the word.When of a sudden,--hark, the nightingale!
Oh deeper, higher than he could divineThat all-unearthly, untaught strain! He sawThe plain, brown warbler, unabashed. "Not mine"(He cried) "the error of this fatal flaw.No bird is this, it soars beyond my line,Were it a bird, 't would answer to my law."
Words in this poem
- naturalist n.
- One versed in natural science; a student of natural history, esp. [Cf. F. naturaliste.]
- rote v. t.
- To learn or repeat by rote.
- whereon adv.
- On which; -- used relatively; as, the earth whereon we live.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
An Apologue 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, An Apologue, in Poems, Volume I (1867–1887), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3295, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lazarus-poems/an-apologue.html, id L19119.
Form and metre
An Apologue is 14 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 43% 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 ABBCCBBA nightingaleA · stirredB · birdB · failC · scaleC · heardB · wordB · nightingaleA
- 2 ABABAB divineA · sawB · mineA · flawB · lineA · lawB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| No man had ever heard a nightingale, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| When once a keen-eyed naturalist was stirred | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| To study and define--what is a bird, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| To classify by rote and book, nor fail | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| To mark its structure and to note the scale | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Whereon its song might possibly be heard. | 10 | ˘/···/˘˘·· |
| Thus far, no farther;--so he spake the word. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| When of a sudden,--hark, the nightingale! | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| Oh deeper, higher than he could divine | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| That all-unearthly, untaught strain! He saw | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| The plain, brown warbler, unabashed. "Not mine" | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| (He cried) "the error of this fatal flaw. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| No bird is this, it soars beyond my line, | 10 | ·········· |
| Were it a bird, 't would answer to my law." | 11 | ······/˘··· |
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.