The Poets of the T`ang Dynasty
"One must begin with grandeur, paint everything expressed,soften the shades of those which are of least importance,collect all into one point of view, and carry the reader thitherwith a rapid flight."
What matter if the snowBlot out the garden? She shall still reclineUpon the scented balustrade and glowWith spring that thrills her warm blood into wine.
gaily coloured towersRise up like rainbow clouds, and many gentleAnd beautiful Immortals pass their days in peace,
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- balustrade n.
- A row of balusters topped by a rail, serving as an open parapet, as along the edge of a balcony, terrace, bridge, staircase, or the eaves of a building.
- gaily adv.
- Merrily; showily. See gaily. [From Gay.]
- coloured a.
- Having color; tinged; dyed; painted; stained.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Poets of the T`ang Dynasty 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 Poets of the T`ang Dynasty, in A Lute of Jade (1909), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #390, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lute-of-jade/the-poets-of-the-t-ang-dynasty.html, id L15558.
Form and metre
The Poets of the T`ang Dynasty is 11 lines in 3 stanzas. 86% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 55% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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.
- 2 ABAB snowA · reclineB · glowA · wineB
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| "One must begin with grandeur, paint everything expressed, | 13 | ··˘/·˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| soften the shades of those which are of least importance, | 13 | /˘········˘/˘ |
| collect all into one point of view, and carry the reader thither | 17 | ˘/········/˘·/˘/˘ |
| with a rapid flight." | 5 | ··/˘· |
| What matter if the snow | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Blot out the garden? She shall still recline | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Upon the scented balustrade and glow | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘·· |
| With spring that thrills her warm blood into wine. | 10 | ·········· |
| gaily coloured towers | 6 | /˘/˘/˘ |
| Rise up like rainbow clouds, and many gentle | 11 | ···/···/˘/˘ |
| And beautiful Immortals pass their days in peace, | 11 | ·/˘˘/˘····· |
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.