Section Two
"Many's the heart that's breakingIf we could read them allAfter the ball is over." (An old song.)
Scornfully, gailyThe bandmaster sways,Changing the strainThat the wild band plays.With a red and royal intoxication,A tangle of soundsAnd a syncopation,Sweeping and bendingFrom side to side,Master of dreams,With a peacock pride.A lord of the delicate flowers of delightHe drives compunctionBack through the night.Dreams he's a soldierPlumed and spurred,And valiant ladsArise at his word,Flaying the soberThoughts he hates,Driving them backFrom the dream-town gates.How can the languorousDancers knowThe red dreams comeWhen the good dreams go?"'Tis theOf love,"Call the silver joy-bells,"NIGHTOf love,"Call the silver joy-bells."Honey and wine,Honey and wine.Sing low, now, violins,Sing, sing low,Blow gently, wood-wind,Mellow and slow.Like midnight poppiesThe sweethearts bloom.Their eyes flash power,Their lips are dumb.Faster and fasterTheir pulses come,Though softer nowThe drum-beats fall.Honey and wine,Honey and wine.'Tis the firemen's ball,'Tis the firemen's ball.
"I am slain,"Cries true-loveThere in the shadow."And I die,"Cries true-love,There laid low."When the fire-dreams come,The wise dreams go."And now great gongs whang,Sharper, faster,And kettledrums rattleAnd hide the shameWith a swish and a swirkIn dead love's name.Red and crimsonAnd scarlet and roseMagical poppiesThe sweethearts bloom.The scarlet staysWhen the rose-flush goes,And love lies lowIn a marble tomb."'Tis theOf doom,"Call the ding-dong doom-bells."NIGHTOf Doom,"Call the ding-dong doom-bells.Hark how the piccolos still make cheer."'Tis a moonlight night in the spring of the year."
Words in this poem
- gaily adv.
- Merrily; showily. See gaily. [From Gay.]
- bandmaster n.
- The conductor of a musical band.
- tangle v. t.
- To unite or knit together confusedly; to interweave or interlock, as threads, so as to make it difficult to unravel the knot; to entangle; to ravel. [A frequentative fr. tang seaweed; hence, to twist like seaweed. See Tang seaweed, and cf. Tangle, n.]
- syncopation n.
- The act of syncopating; the contraction of a word by taking one or more letters or syllables from the middle; syncope.
- compunction n.
- A pricking; stimulation. [OF. compunction, F. componction, L. compunctio, fr. compungere, compunctum, to prick; com- + pungere to prick, sting. See Pungent.]
- valiant a.
- Vigorous in body; strong; powerful; as, a valiant fencer. [OE. valiant, F. vaillant, OF. vaillant, valant, originally p. pr. of OF. & F. valoir to be worth, L. valere to be strong. See Wield, and cf. Avail, Convalesce, ]
- languorous a.
- Producing, or tending to produce, languor; characterized by languor. [From Languor: cf. F. langoureux.]
- whang n.
- A leather thong. [Cf. Thong.]
- swish v. t.
- To flourish, so as to make the sound swish. Coleridge. [From the sound. Cf. Swash.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Section Two 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 Two, in The Congo and Other Poems (1914), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1021, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lindsay-congo/section-two.html, id L18356.
Form and metre
Section Two is 83 lines in 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic dimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 4.6 syllables. 16 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 37% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic dimeter.
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 breakingA · all · songA
- 2 -ABAB-B-C-CD-D-E-E-F-F-G-G---------H-H---I-I-J--JJ gaily · swaysA · strainB · playsA · intoxicationB · sounds · syncopationB · bending · sideC · dreams · prideC · delightD · compunction · nightD · soldier · spurredE · lads · wordE · sober · hatesF · back · gatesF · languorous · knowG · come · goG · the · love · bells · night · love · bells · wine · wine · violins · lowH · wind · slowH · poppies · bloom · power · dumbI · faster · comeI · now · fallJ · wine · wine · ballJ · ballJ
- 3 -AB-AB-B---C-C-DDEDDBE-EF-EFGG slain · loveA · shadowB · die · loveA · lowB · come · goB · whang · faster · rattle · shameC · swirk · nameC · crimson · roseD · poppiesD · bloomE · staysD · goesD · lowB · tombE · the · doomE · bellsF · night · doomE · bellsF · cheerG · yearG
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 dimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| "Many's the heart that's breaking | 7 | /˘···/˘ |
| If we could read them all | 6 | ······ |
| After the ball is over." (An old song.) | 9 | ········· |
| Scornfully, gaily | 5 | ···/˘ |
| The bandmaster sways, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Changing the strain | 4 | /˘·· |
| That the wild band plays. | 5 | ····· |
| With a red and royal intoxication, | 11 | ····/˘˘·˘/˘ |
| A tangle of sounds | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| And a syncopation, | 6 | ··/˘·˘ |
| Sweeping and bending | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| From side to side, | 4 | ···· |
| Master of dreams, | 4 | /˘·· |
| With a peacock pride. | 5 | ··/·· |
| A lord of the delicate flowers of delight | 10 | ····/˘/·˘/ |
| He drives compunction | 5 | ··˘/˘ |
| Back through the night. | 4 | ···· |
| Dreams he's a soldier | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Plumed and spurred, | 3 | ··· |
| And valiant lads | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Arise at his word, | 5 | ˘/··· |
| Flaying the sober | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| Thoughts he hates, | 3 | ··· |
| Driving them back | 4 | /˘·· |
| From the dream-town gates. | 5 | ····· |
| How can the languorous | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Dancers know | 3 | /˘· |
| The red dreams come | 4 | ···· |
| When the good dreams go? | 5 | ····· |
| "'Tis the | 2 | ·· |
| Of love," | 2 | ·· |
| Call the silver joy-bells, | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| "NIGHT | 1 | · |
| Of love," | 2 | ·· |
| Call the silver joy-bells. | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| "Honey and wine, | 4 | /˘·· |
| Honey and wine. | 4 | /˘·· |
| Sing low, now, violins, | 6 | ···˘˘/ |
| Sing, sing low, | 3 | ··· |
| Blow gently, wood-wind, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Mellow and slow. | 4 | /˘·· |
| Like midnight poppies | 5 | ·/·/˘ |
| The sweethearts bloom. | 4 | ·/·· |
| Their eyes flash power, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Their lips are dumb. | 4 | ···· |
| Faster and faster | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| Their pulses come, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Though softer now | 4 | ·/˘· |
| The drum-beats fall. | 4 | ···· |
| Honey and wine, | 4 | /˘·· |
| Honey and wine. | 4 | /˘·· |
| 'Tis the firemen's ball, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| 'Tis the firemen's ball. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| "I am slain," | 3 | ··· |
| Cries true-love | 3 | ··· |
| There in the shadow. | 5 | ···/· |
| "And I die," | 3 | ··· |
| Cries true-love, | 3 | ··· |
| There laid low. | 3 | ··· |
| "When the fire-dreams come, | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| The wise dreams go." | 4 | ···· |
| And now great gongs whang, | 5 | ····· |
| Sharper, faster, | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| And kettledrums rattle | 6 | ····/˘ |
| And hide the shame | 4 | ···· |
| With a swish and a swirk | 6 | ······ |
| In dead love's name. | 4 | ···· |
| Red and crimson | 4 | ··/˘ |
| And scarlet and rose | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Magical poppies | 5 | /˘˘/˘ |
| The sweethearts bloom. | 4 | ·/·· |
| The scarlet stays | 4 | ·/˘· |
| When the rose-flush goes, | 5 | ····· |
| And love lies low | 4 | ···· |
| In a marble tomb. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| "'Tis the | 2 | ·· |
| Of doom," | 2 | ·· |
| Call the ding-dong doom-bells. | 6 | ······ |
| "NIGHT | 1 | · |
| Of Doom," | 2 | ·· |
| Call the ding-dong doom-bells. | 6 | ······ |
| Hark how the piccolos still make cheer. | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| "'Tis a moonlight night in the spring of the year." | 11 | ··/········ |
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.