Endicott. Impossible!
He stood there in the crowdWith Nicholas Upsall, when the laws were readTo-day against the Quakers, and I heard himDenounce and vilipend them as unjust,And cruel, wicked, and abominable.
Ungrateful son! O God! thou layest upon meA burden heavier than I can bear!Surely the power of Satan must be greatUpon the earth, if even the electAre thus deceived and fall away from grace!
Worshipful sir! I meant no harm--
'T is well.You've done your duty, though you've done it roughly,And every word you've uttered since you cameHas stabbed me to the heart!
I do beseechYour Worship's pardon!
He whom I have nurturedAnd brought up in the reverence of the Lord!The child of all my hopes and my affections!He upon whom I leaned as a sure staffFor my old age! It is God's chastisementFor leaning upon any arm but His!
Words in this poem
- denounce v. t.
- To make known in a solemn or official manner; to declare; to proclaim (especially an evil). [F. dénoncer, OF. denoncier, fr. L. denuntiare, denunciare; de- + nunciare, nuntiare, to announce, report, nuntius a messenger, message. See Nuncio, and cf. Denu]
- vilipend v. t.
- To value lightly; to depreciate; to slight; to despise. [L. vilipendere; vilis vile + pendere to weigh, to value: cf. F. vilipender.]
- ungrateful a.
- Not grateful; not thankful for favors; making no returns, or making ill return for kindness, attention, etc.; ingrateful. South.
- worshipful a.
- Entitled to worship, reverence, or high respect; claiming respect; worthy of honor; -- often used as a term of respect, sometimes ironically.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Endicott. Impossible! is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Project Gutenberg ebook #1365; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Endicott. Impossible!, in The Complete Poetical Works (1839–1882), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-poems/endicott-impossible.html, id L17956.
Form and metre
Endicott. Impossible! is 23 lines in 6 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.8 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 48% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter, other poems in blank verse.
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| He stood there in the crowd | 6 | ······ |
| With Nicholas Upsall, when the laws were read | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| To-day against the Quakers, and I heard him | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| Denounce and vilipend them as unjust, | 10 | ˘/·/˘˘··˘/ |
| And cruel, wicked, and abominable. | 11 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘˘˘ |
| Ungrateful son! O God! thou layest upon me | 11 | ˘/˘········ |
| A burden heavier than I can bear! | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘···· |
| Surely the power of Satan must be great | 10 | /˘·/·/˘··· |
| Upon the earth, if even the elect | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Are thus deceived and fall away from grace! | 10 | ··˘/··˘/·· |
| Worshipful sir! I meant no harm-- | 8 | /˘˘····· |
| 'T is well. | 3 | ··· |
| You've done your duty, though you've done it roughly, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| And every word you've uttered since you came | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Has stabbed me to the heart! | 6 | ······ |
| I do beseech | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Your Worship's pardon! | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| He whom I have nurtured | 6 | ····/˘ |
| And brought up in the reverence of the Lord! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The child of all my hopes and my affections! | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| He upon whom I leaned as a sure staff | 10 | ·········· |
| For my old age! It is God's chastisement | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| For leaning upon any arm but His! | 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.