Anarchy
I saw a city filled with lust and shame,Where men, like wolves, slunk through the grim half-light;And sudden, in the midst of it, there cameOne who spoke boldly for the cause of Right.
And speaking, fell before that brutish raceLike some poor wren that shrieking eagles tear,While brute Dishonour, with her bloodless faceStood by and smote his lips that moved in prayer.
"Speak not of God! In centuries that wordHath not been uttered! Our own king are we."And God stretched forth his finger as He heardAnd o'er it cast a thousand leagues of sea.
Words in this poem
- lust v. i.
- To list; to like. [AS. lystan. See Lust, n., and cf. List to choose.]
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- boldly adv.
- In a bold manner. [AS. bealdlice.]
- brutish a.
- Pertaining to, or resembling, a brute or brutes; of a cruel, gross, and stupid nature; coarse; unfeeling; unintelligent.
- dishonour n.
- Lack of honor; disgrace; ignominy; shame; reproach. [OE. deshonour, dishonour, OF. deshonor, deshonur, F. déshonneur; pref. des- (L. dis-) + honor, honur, F. honneur, fr. L. honor. See Honor.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Anarchy is in the public domain. This text is taken from In Flanders Fields, and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #353; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John McCrae, Anarchy, in In Flanders Fields, and Other Poems (1919), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #353, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/mccrae-flanders/anarchy.html, id L17049.
Form and metre
Anarchy is 12 lines in 3 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 42% 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 ABAB shameA · lightB · cameA · rightB
- 2 ABAB raceA · tearB · faceA · prayerB
- 3 ABAB wordA · weB · heardA · seaB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I saw a city filled with lust and shame, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Where men, like wolves, slunk through the grim half-light; | 10 | ·········· |
| And sudden, in the midst of it, there came | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| One who spoke boldly for the cause of Right. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And speaking, fell before that brutish race | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Like some poor wren that shrieking eagles tear, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| While brute Dishonour, with her bloodless face | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Stood by and smote his lips that moved in prayer. | 10 | ·········· |
| "Speak not of God! In centuries that word | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| Hath not been uttered! Our own king are we." | 10 | ···/˘/···· |
| And God stretched forth his finger as He heard | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And o'er it cast a thousand leagues of sea. | 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.