Willie's Question III
I meant the boys at school,I did not mean my brother.Somebody first, is there the rule--It must be me or another.The Father answers.
Oh, Willie, it's all the same!They are your brothers all;For when you say, "Hallowed be thy name!"Whose Father is it you call?
Could you pray for such rule to him?Do you think that he would hear?Must he favour one in a greedy whimWhere all are his children dear?
It is right to get up and do,But why outstrip the rest?Why should one of the many be one of the few?Why should you think to be best?Willie speaks.
Then how am I to be great?I know no other way;It would be folly to sit and wait,I must up and do, you say!
The Father answers.
I do not want you to wait,For few before they dieHave got so far as begin to be great,The lesson is so high.
I will tell you the only planTo climb and not to fall:He who would rise and be greater thanHe is, must be servant of all.
Turn it each way in your mind,Try every other plan,You may think yourself great, but at length you'll findYou are not even a man.
Climb to the top of the trees,Climb to the top of the hill,Get up on the crown of the sky if you please,You'll be a small creature still.
Be admiral, poet, or king,Let praises fill both your ears,Your soul will be but a windmill thingBlown round by its hopes and fears.
Words in this poem
- somebody n.
- A person unknown or uncertain; a person indeterminate; some person.
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- outstrip v. t.
- To go faster than; to outrun; to advance beyond; to leave behing.
- windmill n.
- A mill operated by the power of the wind, usually by the action of the wind upon oblique vanes or sails which radiate from a horizontal shaft.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Willie's Question III 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, Willie's Question III, in A Microcosm in Terza Rima, and Other Poems (1893), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9984, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/macdonald-poems/willie-s-question-iii.html, id L22350.
Form and metre
Willie's Question III is 43 lines in 11 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 8 of its 11 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 78%).
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 ABAB- schoolA · brotherB · ruleA · anotherB · answers
- 2 ABAB sameA · allB · nameA · callB
- 3 ABAB himA · hearB · whimA · dearB
- 4 ABAB- doA · restB · fewA · bestB · speaks
- 5 ABAB greatA · wayB · waitA · sayB
- 7 ABAB waitA · dieB · greatA · highB
- 8 ABAB planA · fallB · thanA · allB
- 9 ABAB mindA · planB · findA · manB
- 10 ABAB treesA · hillB · pleaseA · stillB
- 11 ABAB kingA · earsB · thingA · fearsB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I meant the boys at school, | 6 | ······ |
| I did not mean my brother. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Somebody first, is there the rule-- | 8 | /˘˘····· |
| It must be me or another. | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| The Father answers. | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| Oh, Willie, it's all the same! | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| They are your brothers all; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| For when you say, "Hallowed be thy name!" | 10 | ····/˘˘··· |
| Whose Father is it you call? | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Could you pray for such rule to him? | 8 | ········ |
| Do you think that he would hear? | 7 | ······· |
| Must he favour one in a greedy whim | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| Where all are his children dear? | 7 | ····/˘· |
| It is right to get up and do, | 8 | ········ |
| But why outstrip the rest? | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Why should one of the many be one of the few? | 11 | ·····/····· |
| Why should you think to be best? | 7 | ······· |
| Willie speaks. | 3 | /˘· |
| Then how am I to be great? | 7 | ······· |
| I know no other way; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| It would be folly to sit and wait, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| I must up and do, you say! | 7 | ······· |
| The Father answers. | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| I do not want you to wait, | 7 | ······· |
| For few before they die | 6 | ······ |
| Have got so far as begin to be great, | 10 | ·····˘/··· |
| The lesson is so high. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| I will tell you the only plan | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To climb and not to fall: | 6 | ······ |
| He who would rise and be greater than | 9 | ······/˘· |
| He is, must be servant of all. | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Turn it each way in your mind, | 7 | ······· |
| Try every other plan, | 7 | ·/˘˘/˘· |
| You may think yourself great, but at length you'll find | 11 | ···˘/······ |
| You are not even a man. | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Climb to the top of the trees, | 7 | ······· |
| Climb to the top of the hill, | 7 | ······· |
| Get up on the crown of the sky if you please, | 11 | ··········· |
| You'll be a small creature still. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Be admiral, poet, or king, | 8 | ·/˘˘/˘·· |
| Let praises fill both your ears, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Your soul will be but a windmill thing | 9 | ······/·· |
| Blown round by its hopes and fears. | 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.