The Influence of Religion on Chinese Poetry
Gathering the water-plantsFrom the wild luxuriance of spring,Away in the depth of a wild valleyAnon, I see a lovely girl.With green leaves the peach-trees are loaded,The breeze blows gently along the stream,Willows shade the winding path,Darting orioles collect in groups.Eagerly I press forwardAs the reality grows upon me. . . .'Tis the eternal theme,Which, though old, is ever new.*
Words in this poem
- luxuriance n.
- The state or quality of being luxuriant; rank, vigorous growth; excessive abundance produced by rank growth. [Cf. F. luxuriance.]
- anon adv.
- Straightway; at once. [OE. anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), fr. AS. on in + an one. See On and One.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Influence of Religion on Chinese Poetry 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, The Influence of Religion on Chinese Poetry, in A Lute of Jade (1909), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #390, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lute-of-jade/the-influence-of-religion-on-chinese-poetry.html, id L15559.
Form and metre
The Influence of Religion on Chinese Poetry is 12 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%). 82% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.2 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 33% 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- plants · spring · valley · girl · loaded · streamA · path · groups · forward · me · themeA · new
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Gathering the water-plants | 7 | /˘˘·/˘· |
| From the wild luxuriance of spring, | 9 | ···˘/˘˘·· |
| Away in the depth of a wild valley | 10 | ˘/······/˘ |
| Anon, I see a lovely girl. | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| With green leaves the peach-trees are loaded, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| The breeze blows gently along the stream, | 9 | ···/˘˘/·· |
| Willows shade the winding path, | 7 | /···/˘· |
| Darting orioles collect in groups. | 9 | /˘/˘·˘/·· |
| Eagerly I press forward | 7 | /˘˘··/˘ |
| As the reality grows upon me. . . . | 10 | ··˘/˘˘···· |
| 'Tis the eternal theme, | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Which, though old, is ever new.* | 7 | ····/˘· |
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.