Epilogue
Forth in the sunlit, rain-bathed air we stepped,Sweet with the dripping grass and flowering vine,And saw through irised clouds the pale sun shine.Back o'er the hills the rain-mist slowly creptLike a transparent curtain's slivery sheen;And fronting us the painted bow was arched,Whereunder the majestic cloud-shapes marched:In the wet, yellow light the dazzling greenOf lawn and bush and tree seemed stained with blue.Our hearts o'erflowed with peace. With smiles we spakeOf partings in the past, of courage new,Of high achievement, of the dreams that makeA wonder and a glory of our days,And all life's music but a hymn of praise.
Words in this poem
- sunlit a.
- Lighted by the sun.
- dripping n.
- A falling in drops, or the sound so made.
- irised a.
- Having colors like those of the rainbow; iridescent. Holmes. [See Iris.]
- sheen v. i.
- To shine; to glisten.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Epilogue 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, Epilogue, in Admetus, and Other Poems (1867–1887), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3295, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lazarus-poems/epilogue.html, id L01922.
Form and metre
Epilogue is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABBACDDCEFEFGG. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 29% 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 ABBACDDCEFEFGG steppedA · vineB · shineB · creptA · sheenC · archedD · marchedD · greenC · blueE · spakeF · newE · makeF · daysG · praiseG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Forth in the sunlit, rain-bathed air we stepped, | 10 | ···/······ |
| Sweet with the dripping grass and flowering vine, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And saw through irised clouds the pale sun shine. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Back o'er the hills the rain-mist slowly crept | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Like a transparent curtain's slivery sheen; | 11 | ··˘/˘/˘···· |
| And fronting us the painted bow was arched, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Whereunder the majestic cloud-shapes marched: | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| In the wet, yellow light the dazzling green | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Of lawn and bush and tree seemed stained with blue. | 10 | ·········· |
| Our hearts o'erflowed with peace. With smiles we spake | 10 | /········· |
| Of partings in the past, of courage new, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Of high achievement, of the dreams that make | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| A wonder and a glory of our days, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·/· |
| And all life's music but a hymn of praise. | 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.