Ballade of an Omnibus
Some men to carriages aspire;On some the costly hansoms wait;Some seek a fly, on job or hire;Some mount the trotting steed, elate.I envy not the rich and great,A wandering minstrel, poor and free,I am contented with my fate--An omnibus suffices me.
In winter days of rain and mireI find within a corner strait;The ’busmen know me and my lyreFrom Brompton to the Bull-and-Gate.When summer comes, I mount in stateThe topmost summit, whence I seeCrœsus look up, compassionate--An omnibus suffices me.
I mark, untroubled by desire,Lucullus’ phaeton and its freight.The scene whereof I cannot tire,The human tale of love and hate,The city pageant, early and lateUnfolds itself, rolls by, to beA pleasure deep and delicate.An omnibus suffices me.
Princess, your splendour you require,I, my simplicity; agreeNeither to rate lower nor higher.An omnibus suffices me.
Words in this poem
- aspire v. t.
- To aspire to; to long for; to try to reach; to mount to.
- steed n.
- A horse, especially a spirited horse for state of war; -- used chiefly in poetry or stately prose. [OE. stede, AS. steda a stud-horse, war horse, fr. stod a stud of breeding steeds; akin to G. stute a mare, Icel. stedda, sto, a stud. *163. See Stud of horses.]
- elate a.
- Lifted up; raised; elevated. [L. elatus elevated, fig., elated, proud (the figure, perh., being borrowed from a prancing horse); e out + latus (used as p. p. of ferre to bear), for tlatus, a]
- omnibus n.
- A long four-wheeled carriage, having seats for many people; especially, one with seats running lengthwise, used in conveying passengers short distances. [L., for all, dat. pl. from omnis all. Cf. Bus.]
- phaeton n.
- A four-wheeled carriage (with or without a top), open, or having no side pieces, in front of the seat. It is drawn by one or two horses. [F. phaéton a kind of carriage, fr. Phaéthon Phaëthon, the son of Helios. See Phaëthon.]
- whereof adv.
- Of which; of whom; formerly, also, with which; -- used relatively.
- pageant n.
- A theatrical exhibition; a spectacle. [OE. pagent, pagen, originally, a movable scaffold or stage, hence, what was exhibited on it, fr. LL. pagina, akin to pangere to fasten; cf. L. pagina page, leaf]
- princess n.
- A female prince; a woman having sovereign power, or the rank of a prince. [F. princesse. See Prince, and cf. Princesse.]
- splendour n.
- Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Ballade of an Omnibus is in the public domain. This text is taken from A London Plane-Tree, and Other Verse, Project Gutenberg ebook #56974; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Amy Levy, Ballade of an Omnibus, in A London Plane-Tree, and Other Verse (1889), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56974, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/levy-london-plane-tree/ballade-of-an-omnibus.html, id L21524.
Form and metre
Ballade of an Omnibus is 28 lines in 4 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABABBCBC, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
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 ABABBCBC aspireA · waitB · hireA · elateB · greatB · freeC · fateB · meC
- 2 ABABBCBC mireA · straitB · lyreA · gateB · stateB · seeC · compassionateB · meC
- 3 ABABBCBC desireA · freightB · tireA · hateB · lateB · beC · delicateB · meC
- 4 ABAB requireA · agreeB · higherA · meB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Some men to carriages aspire; | 8 | ···/˘˘˘/ |
| On some the costly hansoms wait; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Some seek a fly, on job or hire; | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Some mount the trotting steed, elate. | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| I envy not the rich and great, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A wandering minstrel, poor and free, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| I am contented with my fate-- | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| An omnibus suffices me. | 8 | ·/˘˘˘/˘· |
| In winter days of rain and mire | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| I find within a corner strait; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The ’busmen know me and my lyre | 8 | ········ |
| From Brompton to the Bull-and-Gate. | 8 | ········ |
| When summer comes, I mount in state | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The topmost summit, whence I see | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Crœsus look up, compassionate-- | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| An omnibus suffices me. | 8 | ·/˘˘˘/˘· |
| I mark, untroubled by desire, | 9 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| Lucullus’ phaeton and its freight. | 8 | ········ |
| The scene whereof I cannot tire, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| The human tale of love and hate, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The city pageant, early and late | 9 | ·/˘/˘/˘·· |
| Unfolds itself, rolls by, to be | 8 | ˘/˘/···· |
| A pleasure deep and delicate. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| An omnibus suffices me. | 8 | ·/˘˘˘/˘· |
| Princess, your splendour you require, | 9 | /˘·/˘·˘/˘ |
| I, my simplicity; agree | 8 | ··˘/˘˘˘/ |
| Neither to rate lower nor higher. | 9 | /˘··/˘·/˘ |
| An omnibus suffices me. | 8 | ·/˘˘˘/˘· |
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