From the Jaalam Independent Blunderbuss
Zekle crep' up, quite unbeknown,An' peeked in thru the winder,An' there sot Huldy all alone,'ith no one nigh to hender.
Agin' the chimbly crooknecks hung,An' in amongst 'em rustedThe ole queen's-arm thet gran'ther YoungFetched back frum Concord busted.
The wannut logs shot sparkles outTowards the pootiest, bless her!An' leetle fires danced all aboutThe chiny on the dresser.
The very room, coz she wuz in,Looked warm frum floor to ceilin',An' she looked full ez rosy aginEz th' apples she wuz peelin'.
She heerd a foot an' knowed it, tu,Araspin' on the scraper,--All ways to once her feelins flewLike sparks in burnt-up paper.
He kin' o' l'itered on the mat,Some doubtfle o' the seekle;His heart kep' goin' pitypat,But hern went pity Zekle.
An' yet she gin her cheer a jerkEz though she wished him furder,An' on her apples kep' to workEz ef a wager spurred her.
"You want to see my Pa, I spose?""Wal, no; I come designin'--""To see my Ma? She's sprinklin' clo'esAgin tomorrow's i'nin'."
He stood a spell on one foot fustThen stood a spell on tother,An' on which one he felt the wustHe couldn't ha' told ye, nuther.
Sez he, "I'd better call agin;"Sez she, "think likely, Mister;"The last word pricked him like a pin,An'--wal, he up and kist her.
When Ma bimeby upon 'em slips,Huldy sot pale ez ashes,All kind o' smily round the lipsAn' teary round the lashes.
Her blood riz quick, though, like the tideDown to the Bay o' Fundy,An' all I know is they wuz criedIn meetin', come nex Sunday.
Satis multis sese emptores futuros libri professis, Georgius Nichols,Cantabrigiensis, opus emittet de parte gravi sed adhuc neglecta historiænaturalis, cum titulo sequenti, videlicet:
Conatus ad Delineationem naturalem nonnihil perfectiorem ScarabœiBombilatoris, vulgo dicti |Humbug|, ab |Homero Wilbur|, ArtiumMagistro, Societatis historico-naturalis Jaalamensis Præside,(Secretario, Socioque (eheu!) singulo,) multarumque aliarum Societatumeruditarum (sive ineruditarum) tarn domesticarum quam transmarinarumSocio--forsitan futuro.
SOCIETIES,
The ploughman's whistle, or the trivial flute,Finds more respect than great Apollo's lute.Quarles's Emblems, b. ii. e. 8.
Margaritas, munde porcine, calcâsti: en, siliquas accipe.Jac. Car. Fil. ad Pub. Leg. § 1.
Words in this poem 17
- unbeknown a.
- Not known; unknown.
- winder v. i.
- To wither; to fail. Holland.
- amongst prep.
- Mixed or mingled; surrounded by. [OE. amongist, amonges, amonge, among, AS. onmang, ongemang, gemang, in a crowd or mixture. For the ending -st see Amidst. See Mingle.]
- dresser n.
- One who dresses; one who put in order or makes ready for use; one who on clothes or ornaments.
- scraper n.
- An instrument with which anything is scraped. Specifically: (a) An instrument by which the soles of shoes are cleaned from mud and the like, by drawing them across it.
- hern n.
- A heron; esp., the common European heron.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- fust v. i.
- To become moldy; to smell ill.
- mister n.
- A trade, art, or occupation. [OF. mistier trade, office, ministry, need, F. métier trade, fr. L. ministerium service, office, ministry. See Ministry, Mystery trade.]
- kist n.
- A chest; hence, a coffin. Jamieson. [See Chest.]
- teary a.
- Wet with tears; tearful.
- opus n.
- A work; specif. (Mus.), a musical composition. [L. See Opera.]
- videlicet adv.
- To wit; namely; -- often abbreviated to viz. [L., contr. fr. videre licet, literally, it is easy to see, one may or can see.]
- conatus n.
- A natural tendency inherent in a body to develop itself; an attempt; an effort. [L., fr. conatus, p. p. of conari to attempt.]
- tarn n.
- A mountain lake or pool. [OE. terne, Icel. tjörn.]
- trivial a.
- Found anywhere; common. [L. trivialis, properly, that is in, or belongs to, the crossroads or public streets; hence, that may be found everywhere, common, fr. trivium a place where thre]
- porcine a.
- Of or pertaining to swine; characteristic of the hog. [L. porcinus, from porcus a swine. See Pork.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
From the Jaalam Independent Blunderbuss is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems of James Russell Lowell With biographical sketch by Nathan Haskell Dole, Project Gutenberg ebook #38520; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: James Russell Lowell, From the Jaalam Independent Blunderbuss, in Poems (1844–1888), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #38520, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lowell-james-russell-poems/from-the-jaalam-independent-blunderbuss.html, id L13763.
Form and metre
From the Jaalam Independent Blunderbuss is 63 lines in 17 stanzas. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAB, in 7 of the 17 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.5 syllables. 12 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 30% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 A-A- unbeknownA · winder · aloneA · hender
- 2 ABAB hungA · rustedB · youngA · bustedB
- 3 A-A- outA · her · aboutA · dresser
- 4 ABAB inA · ceilinB · aginA · peelinB
- 5 ABAB tuA · scraperB · flewA · paperB
- 6 ABAB matA · seekleB · pitypatA · zekleB
- 7 A-A- jerkA · furder · workA · her
- 8 ABAB sposeA · designinB · clo'esA · i'ninB
- 9 ABAB fustA · totherB · wustA · nutherB
- 11 ABAB slipsA · ashesB · lipsA · lashesB
- 12 A-A- tideA · fundy · criedA · sunday
- 14 ---AA- scarabœi · artium · præside · societatumA · transmarinarumA · futuro
- 16 AA- fluteA · luteA · —
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Zekle crep' up, quite unbeknown, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| An' peeked in thru the winder, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| An' there sot Huldy all alone, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| 'ith no one nigh to hender. | 7 | ······· |
| Agin' the chimbly crooknecks hung, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| An' in amongst 'em rusted | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| The ole queen's-arm thet gran'ther Young | 8 | ········ |
| Fetched back frum Concord busted. | 7 | ···/·/˘ |
| The wannut logs shot sparkles out | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Towards the pootiest, bless her! | 7 | ······· |
| An' leetle fires danced all about | 10 | ···/˘·˘··· |
| The chiny on the dresser. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| The very room, coz she wuz in, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Looked warm frum floor to ceilin', | 7 | ······· |
| An' she looked full ez rosy agin | 10 | ···˘··/˘˘/ |
| Ez th' apples she wuz peelin'. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| She heerd a foot an' knowed it, tu, | 9 | ······˘·· |
| Araspin' on the scraper,-- | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| All ways to once her feelins flew | 8 | ········ |
| Like sparks in burnt-up paper. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| He kin' o' l'itered on the mat, | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| Some doubtfle o' the seekle; | 7 | ······· |
| His heart kep' goin' pitypat, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But hern went pity Zekle. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| An' yet she gin her cheer a jerk | 8 | ········ |
| Ez though she wished him furder, | 7 | ······· |
| An' on her apples kep' to work | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Ez ef a wager spurred her. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| "You want to see my Pa, I spose?" | 8 | ········ |
| "Wal, no; I come designin'--" | 7 | ······· |
| "To see my Ma? She's sprinklin' clo'es | 8 | ········ |
| Agin tomorrow's i'nin'." | 7 | ˘/˘/··· |
| He stood a spell on one foot fust | 8 | ········ |
| Then stood a spell on tother, | 7 | ······· |
| An' on which one he felt the wust | 8 | ········ |
| He couldn't ha' told ye, nuther. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Sez he, "I'd better call agin;" | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Sez she, "think likely, Mister;" | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| The last word pricked him like a pin, | 9 | ····˘···· |
| An'--wal, he up and kist her. | 7 | ······· |
| When Ma bimeby upon 'em slips, | 9 | ········· |
| Huldy sot pale ez ashes, | 7 | /˘···/˘ |
| All kind o' smily round the lips | 8 | ········ |
| An' teary round the lashes. | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Her blood riz quick, though, like the tide | 8 | ········ |
| Down to the Bay o' Fundy, | 7 | ······· |
| An' all I know is they wuz cried | 8 | ········ |
| In meetin', come nex Sunday. | 7 | ·····/· |
| Satis multis sese emptores futuros libri professis, Georgius Nichols, | 20 | ··/˘/˘/˘··········/˘ |
| Cantabrigiensis, opus emittet de parte gravi sed adhuc neglecta historiæ | 23 | ·····/˘················ |
| naturalis, cum titulo sequenti, videlicet: | 15 | ···········˘/˘˘ |
| Conatus ad Delineationem naturalem nonnihil perfectiorem Scarabœi | 23 | ˘/˘···················· |
| Bombilatoris, vulgo dicti |Humbug|, ab |Homero Wilbur|, Artium | 19 | ·········/·····/˘·· |
| Magistro, Societatis historico-naturalis Jaalamensis Præside, | 21 | ˘/˘·················· |
| (Secretario, Socioque (eheu!) singulo,) multarumque aliarum Societatum | 21 | ····················· |
| eruditarum (sive ineruditarum) tarn domesticarum quam transmarinarum | 24 | ························ |
| Socio--forsitan futuro. | 9 | /˘˘······ |
| SOCIETIES, | 4 | ˘/˘˘ |
| The ploughman's whistle, or the trivial flute, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Finds more respect than great Apollo's lute. | 10 | ··˘/··˘/˘· |
| Quarles's Emblems, b. ii. e. 8. | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| Margaritas, munde porcine, calcâsti: en, siliquas accipe. | 16 | ·˘/˘·/˘········· |
| Jac. Car. Fil. ad Pub. Leg. § 1. | 6 | ······ |
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.