Dreyfus II
Oh, import deep as life is, deep as time!There is a Something sacred and sublime,Moving behind the worlds, beyond our ken,Weighing the stars, weighing the deeds of men.
Take heart, O soul of sorrow, and be strong:There is One greater than the whole world’s wrong.Be hushed before the high benignant PowerThat goes untarrying to the reckoning hour.
O men that forge the fetter, it is vain:There is a Still Hand stronger than your chain.‘Tis no avail to bargain, sneer, and nod,And shrug the shoulder for reply to God.
Words in this poem
- benignant a.
- Kind; gracious; favorable. [LL. benignans, p. pr. of benignare, from L. benignus. See Benign.]
- shrug v. t.
- To draw up or contract (the shoulders), especially by way of expressing dislike, dread, doubt, or the like. [Probably akin to shrink, p. p. shrunk; cf. Dan. skrugge, skrukke, to stoop, dial. Sw. skrukka, skruga, to crouch.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Dreyfus II is in the public domain. This text is taken from Lincoln & other poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #54527; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Edwin Markham, Dreyfus II, in Lincoln and Other Poems (1901), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #54527, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/markham-lincoln/dreyfus-ii.html, id L10809.
Form and metre
Dreyfus II is 12 lines in 3 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABB. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 8% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 AABB timeA · sublimeA · kenB · menB
- 2 AABB strongA · wrongA · powerB · hourB
- 3 AABB vainA · chainA · nodB · godB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Oh, import deep as life is, deep as time! | 10 | ·˘/······· |
| There is a Something sacred and sublime, | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Moving behind the worlds, beyond our ken, | 10 | /˘······/· |
| Weighing the stars, weighing the deeds of men. | 10 | /˘··/˘···· |
| Take heart, O soul of sorrow, and be strong: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| There is One greater than the whole world’s wrong. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Be hushed before the high benignant Power | 11 | ······˘/˘/˘ |
| That goes untarrying to the reckoning hour. | 10 | ·······/˘/ |
| O men that forge the fetter, it is vain: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| There is a Still Hand stronger than your chain. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| ‘Tis no avail to bargain, sneer, and nod, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| And shrug the shoulder for reply to God. | 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.