Venus of the Louvre
Down the long hall she glistens like a star,The foam-born mother of Love, transfixed to stone,Yet none the less immortal, breathing on.Time's brutal hand hath maimed but could not mar.When first the enthralled enchantress from afarDazzled mine eyes, I saw not her alone,Serenely poised on her world-worshipped throne,As when she guided once her dove-drawn car,--But at her feet a pale, death-stricken Jew,Her life adorer, sobbed farewell to love.Here Heine wept! Here still we weeps anew,Nor ever shall his shadow lift or move,While mourns one ardent heart, one poet-brain,For vanished Hellas and Hebraic pain.
Words in this poem
- enchantress n.
- A woman versed in magical arts; a sorceress; also, a woman who fascinates. [Cf. F. enchanteresse.]
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
- serenely adv.
- In a serene manner; clearly.
- stricken p. p.
- Struck; smitten; wounded; as, the stricken deer.
- adorer n.
- One who adores; a worshiper; one who admires or loves greatly; an ardent admirer.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- hebraic a.
- Of or pertaining to the Hebrews, or to the language of the Hebrews. [L. Hebraicus, Gr. hebraïque. See Hebrew.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Venus of the Louvre 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, Venus of the Louvre, in Poems, Volume I (1867–1887), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3295, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lazarus-poems/venus-of-the-louvre.html, id L01919.
Form and metre
Venus of the Louvre is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 7% 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 AB-AABBACDCDEE starA · stoneB · on · marA · afarA · aloneB · throneB · carA · jewC · loveD · anewC · moveD · brainE · painE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Down the long hall she glistens like a star, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The foam-born mother of Love, transfixed to stone, | 11 | ···/˘··˘/·· |
| Yet none the less immortal, breathing on. | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘· |
| Time's brutal hand hath maimed but could not mar. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| When first the enthralled enchantress from afar | 11 | ···˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Dazzled mine eyes, I saw not her alone, | 10 | /˘······˘/ |
| Serenely poised on her world-worshipped throne, | 10 | ˘/˘····/˘· |
| As when she guided once her dove-drawn car,-- | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| But at her feet a pale, death-stricken Jew, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Her life adorer, sobbed farewell to love. | 10 | ··˘/˘··/·· |
| Here Heine wept! Here still we weeps anew, | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Nor ever shall his shadow lift or move, | 10 | ·/˘··/···· |
| While mourns one ardent heart, one poet-brain, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| For vanished Hellas and Hebraic pain. | 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.