Section Three
I once knew a teacher,Who turned from desire,Who said to the young men"Wine is a fire."Who said to the merchants:--"Gold is a flameThat sears and torturesIf you play at the game."I once knew a teacherWho turned from desireWho said to the soldiers,"Hate is a fire."Who said to the statesmen:--"Power is a flameThat flays and blistersIf you play at the game."I once knew a teacherWho turned from desire,Who said to the lordly,
"Pride is a fire."Who thus warned the revellers:--"Life is a flame.Be cold as the dewWould you win at the gameWith hearts like the stars,With hearts like the stars."SO BEWARE,SO BEWARE,Clear the streets,Clear the streets,
Words in this poem
- beware v. t.
- To avoid; to take care of; to have a care for.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Section Three is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Congo, and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #1021; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Vachel Lindsay, Section Three, in The Congo and Other Poems (1914), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1021, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lindsay-congo/section-three.html, id L18357.
Form and metre
Section Three is 30 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 5.2 syllables. 16 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 33% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
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-B-C-CAB-B-C-CAB- teacherA · desireB · men · fireB · merchants · flameC · tortures · gameC · teacherA · desireB · soldiers · fireB · statesmen · flameC · blisters · gameC · teacherA · desireB · lordly
- 2 --A-ABBCCDD fire · revellers · flameA · dew · gameA · starsB · starsB · bewareC · bewareC · streetsD · streetsD
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I once knew a teacher, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Who turned from desire, | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| Who said to the young men | 6 | ······ |
| "Wine is a fire." | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Who said to the merchants:-- | 6 | ····/˘ |
| "Gold is a flame | 4 | ···· |
| That sears and tortures | 5 | ···/˘ |
| If you play at the game." | 6 | ······ |
| I once knew a teacher | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Who turned from desire | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| Who said to the soldiers, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| "Hate is a fire." | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Who said to the statesmen:-- | 6 | ····/˘ |
| "Power is a flame | 5 | /˘··· |
| That flays and blisters | 5 | ···/˘ |
| If you play at the game." | 6 | ······ |
| I once knew a teacher | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Who turned from desire, | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| Who said to the lordly, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| "Pride is a fire." | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Who thus warned the revellers:-- | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| "Life is a flame. | 4 | ···· |
| Be cold as the dew | 5 | ····· |
| Would you win at the game | 6 | ······ |
| With hearts like the stars, | 5 | ····· |
| With hearts like the stars." | 5 | ····· |
| SO BEWARE, | 3 | ·˘/ |
| SO BEWARE, | 3 | ·˘/ |
| Clear the streets, | 3 | ··· |
| Clear the streets, | 3 | ··· |
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.