On the Banks of Jo-yeh
They gather lilies down the stream,A net of willows drooping lowHides boat from boat; and to and froSweet whispered confidences seem'Mid laughing trills to flow.
In the green deeps a shaft of goldLimns their elaborate attire;Through silken sleeves the winds aspire,Embalmed, to stray, and, growing bold,Swell them to their desire.
But who are these, the cavaliersThat gleam along the river-side?By three, by five they prance with prideBeyond the willow-line that sheersOver the trellised tide.
A charger neighs; one turns to start,Crushing the kingcups as he flies,And one pale maiden vainly triesTo hush the tumult in her heartAnd veil the secret of her eyes.
Words in this poem
- aspire v. t.
- To aspire to; to long for; to try to reach; to mount to.
- trellised a.
- Having a trellis or trellises.
- charger n.
- One who, or that which charges.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On the Banks of Jo-yeh is in the public domain. This text is taken from A Lute of Jade, Project Gutenberg ebook #390, the L. Cranmer-Byng translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Various, On the Banks of Jo-yeh, in A Lute of Jade (1909), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #390, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lute-of-jade/on-the-banks-of-jo-yeh.html, id L15579.
Form and metre
On the Banks of Jo-yeh is 20 lines in 4 stanzas of 5 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABBAB, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.8 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 45% 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 ABBAB streamA · lowB · froB · seemA · flowB
- 2 AB-AB goldA · attireB · aspire · boldA · desireB
- 3 ABBAB cavaliersA · sideB · prideB · sheersA · tideB
- 4 ABBAB startA · fliesB · triesB · heartA · eyesB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| They gather lilies down the stream, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| A net of willows drooping low | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| Hides boat from boat; and to and fro | 8 | ········ |
| Sweet whispered confidences seem | 9 | ·/˘˘/˘˘˘· |
| 'Mid laughing trills to flow. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| In the green deeps a shaft of gold | 8 | ········ |
| Limns their elaborate attire; | 8 | ··˘/˘˘/˘ |
| Through silken sleeves the winds aspire, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Embalmed, to stray, and, growing bold, | 9 | ˘/˘···/˘· |
| Swell them to their desire. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| But who are these, the cavaliers | 8 | ······˘/ |
| That gleam along the river-side? | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| By three, by five they prance with pride | 8 | ········ |
| Beyond the willow-line that sheers | 8 | ···/···· |
| Over the trellised tide. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| A charger neighs; one turns to start, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Crushing the kingcups as he flies, | 8 | /˘······ |
| And one pale maiden vainly tries | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| To hush the tumult in her heart | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And veil the secret of her eyes. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
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.