Magnetism
By the impulse of my will,By the red flame in my blood,By me nerves' electric thrill,By the passion of my mood,My concentrated desire,My undying, desperate love,I ignore Fate, I defy her,Iron-hearted Death I move.When the town lies numb with sleep,Here, round-eyed I sit; my breathQuickly stirred, my flesh a-creep,And I force the gates of death.I nor move nor speak--you'd deemFrom my quiet face and hands,I were tranced--but in her dream,SHE responds, she understands.I have power on what is not,Or on what has ceased to be,From that deep, earth-hollowed spot,I can lift her up to me.And, or ere I am awareThrough the closed and curtained door,Comes my lady white and fair,And embraces me once more.Though the clay clings to her gown,Yet all heaven is in her eyes;Cool, kind fingers press mine eyes,To my soul her soul replies.But when breaks the common dawn,And the city wakes--behold!My shy phantom is withdrawn,And I shiver lone and cold.And I know when she has left,She is stronger far than I,And more subtly spun her weft,Than my human wizardry.Though I force her to my will,By the red flame in my blood,By my nerves' electric thrill,By the passion of my mood,Yet all day a ghost am I.Nerves unstrung, spent will, dull brain.I achieve, attain, but die,And she claims me hers again.
Words in this poem
- undying a.
- Not dying; imperishable; unending; immortal; as, the undying souls of men.
- desperate a.
- Without hope; given to despair; hopeless. [L. desperatus, p. p. of desperare. See Despair, and cf. Desperado.]
- ignore v. t.
- To be ignorant of or not acquainted with. [L. ignorare; pref. in- not + the root of gnarus knowing, noscere to become acquainted with. See Know, and cf. Narrate.]
- defy v. t.
- To renounce or dissolve all bonds of affiance, faith, or obligation with; to reject, refuse, or renounce. [F. défier, OF. deffier, desfier, LL. disfidare to disown faith or fidelity, to dissolve the bond of allegiance, as between the vassal and his lord; hence, to ch]
- deem v. t.
- To decide; to judge; to sentence; to condemn. [OE. demen to judge, condemn, AS. d, fr. d doom; akin to OFries. d, OS. ad, D. doemen, OHG. tuommen, Icel. dæma, Sw. dömma, Dan. dömme, Goth. d. See Doom, n., an]
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- subtly adv.
- In a subtle manner; slyly; artfully; cunningly.
- wizardry n.
- The character or practices o
- ghost n.
- The spirit; the soul of man. [OE. gast, gost, soul, spirit, AS. gast breath, spirit, soul; akin to OS. g spirit, soul, D. geest, G. geist, and prob. to E. gaze, ghastly.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Magnetism 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, Magnetism, in Admetus, and Other Poems (1867–1887), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3295, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lazarus-poems/magnetism.html, id L01911.
Form and metre
Magnetism is 44 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.1 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 7% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 A-A--B-BCDCDEFEFGHGHIJIJ-KKKLMLMN-N-O-O-P-P- willA · blood · thrillA · mood · desire · loveB · her · moveB · sleepC · breathD · creepC · deathD · deemE · handsF · dreamE · understandsF · notG · beH · spotG · meH · awareI · doorJ · fairI · moreJ · gown · eyesK · eyesK · repliesK · dawnL · beholdM · withdrawnL · coldM · leftN · i · weftN · wizardry · willO · blood · thrillO · mood · iP · brain · dieP · again
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| By the impulse of my will, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| By the red flame in my blood, | 7 | ······· |
| By me nerves' electric thrill, | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| By the passion of my mood, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| My concentrated desire, | 8 | ·/˘·˘˘/˘ |
| My undying, desperate love, | 7 | ·˘/˘/˘· |
| I ignore Fate, I defy her, | 8 | ·˘/··˘/· |
| Iron-hearted Death I move. | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| When the town lies numb with sleep, | 7 | ······· |
| Here, round-eyed I sit; my breath | 7 | ······· |
| Quickly stirred, my flesh a-creep, | 7 | /˘····· |
| And I force the gates of death. | 7 | ······· |
| I nor move nor speak--you'd deem | 7 | ······· |
| From my quiet face and hands, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| I were tranced--but in her dream, | 7 | ······· |
| SHE responds, she understands. | 7 | ·˘/··˘/ |
| I have power on what is not, | 7 | ··/···· |
| Or on what has ceased to be, | 7 | ······· |
| From that deep, earth-hollowed spot, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| I can lift her up to me. | 7 | ······· |
| And, or ere I am aware | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Through the closed and curtained door, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Comes my lady white and fair, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And embraces me once more. | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| Though the clay clings to her gown, | 7 | ······· |
| Yet all heaven is in her eyes; | 7 | ··/···· |
| Cool, kind fingers press mine eyes, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| To my soul her soul replies. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| But when breaks the common dawn, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And the city wakes--behold! | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| My shy phantom is withdrawn, | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| And I shiver lone and cold. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And I know when she has left, | 7 | ······· |
| She is stronger far than I, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And more subtly spun her weft, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Than my human wizardry. | 7 | ··/˘/˘˘ |
| Though I force her to my will, | 7 | ······· |
| By the red flame in my blood, | 7 | ······· |
| By my nerves' electric thrill, | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| By the passion of my mood, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Yet all day a ghost am I. | 7 | ······· |
| Nerves unstrung, spent will, dull brain. | 7 | ······· |
| I achieve, attain, but die, | 7 | ·˘/˘/·· |
| And she claims me hers again. | 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.