The Beloved Disciple I
One do I see and twelve; but second thereMethinks I know thee, thou beloved one;Not from thy nobler port, for there are noneMore quiet-featured: some there are who bearTheir message on their brows, while others wearA look of large commission, nor will shunThe fiery trial, so their work is done;But thou hast parted with thine eyes in prayer--Unearthly are they both; and so thy lipsSeem like the porches of the spirit land;For thou hast laid a mighty treasure byUnlocked by Him in Nature, and thine eyeBurns with a vision and apocalypseThy own sweet soul can hardly understand.
Words in this poem
- methinks v.
- It seems to me; I think. See Me. [AS. þyncan to seem, me þynceedh, me þuhte, OE. me thinketh, me thoughte; akin to G. dünken to seem, denken to think, and E. think. See Me, and Think.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- unearthly a.
- Not terrestrial; supernatural; preternatural; hence, weird; appalling; terrific; as, an unearthly sight or sound.
- apocalypse n.
- The revelation delivered to St. John, in the isle of Patmos, near the close of the first century, forming the last book of the New Testament. [L. apocalypsis, Gr. apocalypse.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Beloved Disciple I is in the public domain. This text is taken from The poetical works of George MacDonald in two volumes — Volume 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #9984; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: George MacDonald, The Beloved Disciple I, in A Microcosm in Terza Rima, and Other Poems (1893), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9984, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/macdonald-poems/the-beloved-disciple-i.html, id L22452.
Form and metre
The Beloved Disciple I is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABBAABBACDEECD. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 ABBAABBACDEECD thereA · oneB · noneB · bearA · wearA · shunB · doneB · prayerA · lipsC · landD · byE · eyeE · apocalypseC · understandD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| One do I see and twelve; but second there | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Methinks I know thee, thou beloved one; | 10 | ˘/····˘/˘· |
| Not from thy nobler port, for there are none | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| More quiet-featured: some there are who bear | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Their message on their brows, while others wear | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| A look of large commission, nor will shun | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| The fiery trial, so their work is done; | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| But thou hast parted with thine eyes in prayer-- | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Unearthly are they both; and so thy lips | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| Seem like the porches of the spirit land; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| For thou hast laid a mighty treasure by | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Unlocked by Him in Nature, and thine eye | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| Burns with a vision and apocalypse | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Thy own sweet soul can hardly understand. | 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.