City Visions II
Who grasps the substance? who 'mid shadows strays?He who within some dark-bright wood reclines,'Twixt sleep and waking, where the needled pinesHave cushioned all his couch with soft brown sprays?He notes not how the living water shines,Trembling along the cliff, a flickering haze,Brimming a wine-bright pool, nor lifts his gazeTo read the ancient wonders and the signs.Does he possess the actual, or do I,Who paint on air more than his sense receives,The glittering pine-tufts with closed eyes behold,Breathe the strong resinous perfume, see the skyQuiver like azure flame between the leaves,And open unseen gates with key of gold?
Words in this poem
- brimming a.
- Full to the brim; overflowing.
- unseen a.
- Not seen or discovered.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
City Visions II 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, City Visions II, in Admetus, and Other Poems (1867–1887), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3295, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lazarus-poems/city-visions-ii.html, id L01933.
Form and metre
City Visions II is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABBABAABCDECDE. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 89% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 21% 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 ABBABAABCDECDE straysA · reclinesB · pinesB · spraysA · shinesB · hazeA · gazeA · signsB · iC · receivesD · beholdE · skyC · leavesD · goldE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Who grasps the substance? who 'mid shadows strays? | 10 | ···/˘··/·· |
| He who within some dark-bright wood reclines, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| 'Twixt sleep and waking, where the needled pines | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Have cushioned all his couch with soft brown sprays? | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| He notes not how the living water shines, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Trembling along the cliff, a flickering haze, | 10 | /˘˘/···/˘· |
| Brimming a wine-bright pool, nor lifts his gaze | 10 | /˘········ |
| To read the ancient wonders and the signs. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Does he possess the actual, or do I, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| Who paint on air more than his sense receives, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| The glittering pine-tufts with closed eyes behold, | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Breathe the strong resinous perfume, see the sky | 11 | ···/˘˘˘/··· |
| Quiver like azure flame between the leaves, | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| And open unseen gates with key of gold? | 10 | ·/˘˘/····· |
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.