Destiny
Paris, from throats of iron, silver, brass,Joy-thundering cannon, blent with chiming bells,And martial strains, the full-voiced paean swells.The air is starred with flags, the chanted massThrongs all the churches, yet the broad streets swarmWith glad-eyed groups who chatter, laugh, and pass,In holiday confusion, class with class,And over all the spring, the sun-floods warm!In the Imperial palace that March morn,The beautiful young mother lay and smiled;For by her side just breathed the Prince, her child,Heir to an empire, to the purple born,Crowned with the Titan's name that stirs the heartLike a blown clarion--one more Bonaparte.
Born to the purple, lying stark and dead,Transfixed with poisoned spears, beneath the sunOf brazen Africa! Thy grave is one,Fore-fated youth (on whom were visitedFollies and sins not thine), whereat the world,Heartless howe'er it be, will pause to singA dirge, to breathe a sigh, a wreath to flingOf rosemary and rue with bay-leaves curled.Enmeshed in toils ambitious, not thine own,Immortal, loved boy-Prince, thou tak'st thy standWith early doomed Don Carlos, hand in handWith mild-browed Arthur, Geoffrey's murdered son.Louis the Dauphin lifts his thorn-ringed head,And welcomes thee, his brother, 'mongst the dead.
Words in this poem
- blent p. p.
- Blinded. Also (Chaucer), 3d sing. pres. Blindeth.
- starred a.
- Adorned or studded with stars; bespangled. [From Star.]
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- stark adv.
- Wholly; entirely; absolutely; quite; as, stark mind.
- whereat adv.
- At which; upon which; whereupon; -- used relatively.
- heartless a.
- Without a heart.
- dirge n.
- A piece of music of a mournful character, to accompany funeral rites; a funeral hymn. [Contraction of Lat. dirige, direct thou (imperative of dirigere), the first word of a funeral hymn (Lat. transl. of Psalm v. 8) beginning, "Dirige, Domine, in c]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Destiny 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, Destiny, in Poems, Volume I (1867–1887), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3295, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lazarus-poems/destiny.html, id L01924.
Form and metre
Destiny is 28 lines in 2 stanzas of 14 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 32% 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 ABBACAACDEEDFF brassA · bellsB · swellsB · massA · swarmC · passA · classA · warmC · mornD · smiledE · childE · bornD · heartF · bonaparteF
- 2 ABBACDDC-EEBAA deadA · sunB · oneB · visitedA · worldC · singD · flingD · curledC · own · standE · handE · sonB · headA · deadA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Paris, from throats of iron, silver, brass, | 10 | /˘···/˘/˘· |
| Joy-thundering cannon, blent with chiming bells, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| And martial strains, the full-voiced paean swells. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| The air is starred with flags, the chanted mass | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Throngs all the churches, yet the broad streets swarm | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| With glad-eyed groups who chatter, laugh, and pass, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| In holiday confusion, class with class, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| And over all the spring, the sun-floods warm! | 10 | ·········· |
| In the Imperial palace that March morn, | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| The beautiful young mother lay and smiled; | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘··· |
| For by her side just breathed the Prince, her child, | 10 | ·········· |
| Heir to an empire, to the purple born, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Crowned with the Titan's name that stirs the heart | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Like a blown clarion--one more Bonaparte. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Born to the purple, lying stark and dead, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Transfixed with poisoned spears, beneath the sun | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| Of brazen Africa! Thy grave is one, | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘···· |
| Fore-fated youth (on whom were visited | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| Follies and sins not thine), whereat the world, | 10 | /˘····˘/·· |
| Heartless howe'er it be, will pause to sing | 10 | /˘········ |
| A dirge, to breathe a sigh, a wreath to fling | 10 | ·········· |
| Of rosemary and rue with bay-leaves curled. | 10 | ·/·˘······ |
| Enmeshed in toils ambitious, not thine own, | 10 | ˘/··˘/˘··· |
| Immortal, loved boy-Prince, thou tak'st thy stand | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| With early doomed Don Carlos, hand in hand | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| With mild-browed Arthur, Geoffrey's murdered son. | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Louis the Dauphin lifts his thorn-ringed head, | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| And welcomes thee, his brother, 'mongst the dead. | 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.