The House of Simon the Pharisee
A GUEST at table.Are ye deceived? Have any of the RulersBelieved on him? or do they know indeedThis man to be the very Christ? HowbeitWe know whence this man is, but when the ChristShall come, none knoweth whence he is.
Whereunto shall I liken, then, the menOf this generation? and what are they like?They are like children sitting in the markets,And calling unto one another, saying:We have piped unto you, and ye have not dancedWe have mourned unto you, and ye have not wept!This say I unto you, for John the BaptistCame neither eating bread nor drinking wineYe say he hath a devil. The Son of ManEating and drinking cometh, and ye say:Behold a gluttonous man, and a wine-bibber;Behold a friend of publicans and sinners!
A GUEST aside to SIMON.Who is that woman yonder, gliding inSo silently behind him?
It is Mary,Who dwelleth in the Tower of Magdala.
See, how she kneels there weeping, and her tearsFall on his feet; and her long, golden hairWaves to and fro and wipes them dry again.And now she kisses them, and from a boxOf alabaster is anointing themWith precious ointment, filling all the houseWith its sweet odor!
SIMON, aside,Oh, this man, forsooth,Were he indeed a Prophet, would have knownWho and what manner of woman this may beThat toucheth him! would know she is a sinner!
Simon, somewhat have I to say to thee.
Master, say on.
A certain creditorHad once two debtors; and the one of themOwed him five hundred pence; the other, fifty.They having naught to pay withal, he franklyForgave them both. Now tell me which of themWill love him most?
He, I suppose to whomHe most forgave.
Yea, thou hast rightly judged.Seest thou this woman? When thine house I entered,Thou gavest me no water for my feet,But she hath washed them with her tears, and wiped themWith her own hair. Thou gavest me no kiss;This woman hath not ceased, since I came in,To kiss my feet. My head with oil didst thouAnoint not; but this woman hath anointedMy feet with ointment. Hence I say to thee,Her sins, which have been many, are forgiven,For she loved much.
Oh, who, then, is this manThat pardoneth also sins without atonement?
Woman, thy faith hath saved thee! Go in peace!
Words in this poem
- howbeit conj.
- Be it as it may; nevertheless; notwithstanding; although; albeit; yet; but; however. [How + be + it.]
- 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,]
- liken v. t.
- To allege, or think, to be like; to represent as like; to compare; as, to liken life to a pilgrimage. [OE. liknen. See Like, a.]
- piped a.
- Formed with a pipe; having pipe or pipes; tubular.
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- magdala a.
- Designating an orange-red dyestuff obtained from naphthylamine, and called magdala red, naphthalene red, etc.
- forsooth v. t.
- To address respectfully with the term forsooth.
- sinner n.
- One who has sinned; especially, one who has sinned without repenting; hence, a persistent and incorrigible transgressor; one condemned by the law of God.
- withal adv.
- With this; with that. [With + all.]
- frankly adv.
- In a frank manner; freely.
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- rightly adv.
- Straightly; directly; in front. [AS. richtlice.]
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The House of Simon the Pharisee 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, The House of Simon the Pharisee, in The Complete Poetical Works (1839–1882), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-poems/the-house-of-simon-the-pharisee.html, id L17866.
Form and metre
The House of Simon the Pharisee is 59 lines in 13 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 87%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.1 syllables. 20 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 44% 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.
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 table · rulersA · indeed · howbeit · christ · isA
- 9 -A--A- creditor · themA · fifty · frankly · themA · most
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A GUEST at table. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Are ye deceived? Have any of the Rulers | 11 | ··˘/·/˘··/˘ |
| Believed on him? or do they know indeed | 10 | ˘/······˘/ |
| This man to be the very Christ? Howbeit | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| We know whence this man is, but when the Christ | 10 | ·········· |
| Shall come, none knoweth whence he is. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Whereunto shall I liken, then, the men | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Of this generation? and what are they like? | 11 | ···˘/˘····· |
| They are like children sitting in the markets, | 11 | ···/˘/˘··/˘ |
| And calling unto one another, saying: | 11 | ·/˘···˘/˘/˘ |
| We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced | 11 | ··········· |
| We have mourned unto you, and ye have not wept! | 11 | ··········· |
| This say I unto you, for John the Baptist | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Came neither eating bread nor drinking wine | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Ye say he hath a devil. The Son of Man | 10 | ·····/···· |
| Eating and drinking cometh, and ye say: | 10 | /˘·/˘/˘··· |
| Behold a gluttonous man, and a wine-bibber; | 11 | ˘/·/˘····/˘ |
| Behold a friend of publicans and sinners! | 11 | ˘/·······/˘ |
| A GUEST aside to SIMON. | 7 | ··˘/·/˘ |
| Who is that woman yonder, gliding in | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| So silently behind him? | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| It is Mary, | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Who dwelleth in the Tower of Magdala. | 11 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/˘ |
| See, how she kneels there weeping, and her tears | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Fall on his feet; and her long, golden hair | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Waves to and fro and wipes them dry again. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| And now she kisses them, and from a box | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Of alabaster is anointing them | 10 | ·/˘·˘·˘/˘· |
| With precious ointment, filling all the house | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| With its sweet odor! | 5 | ···/˘ |
| SIMON, aside, | 4 | /˘˘/ |
| Oh, this man, forsooth, | 5 | ···˘/ |
| Were he indeed a Prophet, would have known | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| Who and what manner of woman this may be | 11 | ···/˘·/˘··· |
| That toucheth him! would know she is a sinner! | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| Simon, somewhat have I to say to thee. | 10 | /˘//······ |
| Master, say on. | 4 | /˘·· |
| A certain creditor | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| Had once two debtors; and the one of them | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Owed him five hundred pence; the other, fifty. | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| They having naught to pay withal, he frankly | 11 | ·/˘···˘/·/˘ |
| Forgave them both. Now tell me which of them | 10 | ˘/········ |
| Will love him most? | 4 | ···· |
| He, I suppose to whom | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| He most forgave. | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Yea, thou hast rightly judged. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Seest thou this woman? When thine house I entered, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Thou gavest me no water for my feet, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| But she hath washed them with her tears, and wiped them | 11 | ··········· |
| With her own hair. Thou gavest me no kiss; | 10 | ·········· |
| This woman hath not ceased, since I came in, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| To kiss my feet. My head with oil didst thou | 10 | ·········· |
| Anoint not; but this woman hath anointed | 11 | ˘/···/˘·˘/˘ |
| My feet with ointment. Hence I say to thee, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Her sins, which have been many, are forgiven, | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| For she loved much. | 4 | ···· |
| Oh, who, then, is this man | 6 | ······ |
| That pardoneth also sins without atonement? | 11 | ·/˘/˘···˘/˘ |
| Woman, thy faith hath saved thee! Go in peace! | 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.