La Paloma in London
About Soho we went before the light;We went, unresting six, craving new fun,New scenes, new raptures, for the fevered nightOf rollicking laughter, drink and song, was done.The vault was void, but for the dawn’s great starThat shed upon our path its silver flame,When La Paloma on a low guitarAbruptly from a darkened casement came--Harlem! All else shut out, I saw the hall,And you in your red shoulder sash come dancingWith Val against me languid by the wall,Your burning coffee-colored eyes keen glancingAslant at mine, proud in your golden glory!I loved you, Cuban girl, fond sweet Diory.
Words in this poem
- soho interj.
- Ho; -- a word used in calling from a distant place; a sportsman's halloo.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- casement n.
- A window sash opening on hinges affixed to the upright side of the frame into which it is fitted. (Poetically) A window. [Shortened fr. encasement. See Incase 1st Case, and cf. Incasement.]
- glancing a.
- Shooting, as light.
- aslant adv.
- Toward one side; in a slanting direction; obliquely. [Pref. a- + slant.]
- cuban a.
- Of or pertaining to Cuba or its inhabitants.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
La Paloma in London is in the public domain. This text is taken from Harlem shadows, Project Gutenberg ebook #64989; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Claude McKay, La Paloma in London, in Harlem Shadows (1922), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #64989, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/mckay-harlem-shadows/la-paloma-in-london.html, id L01397.
Form and metre
La Paloma in London is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 36% 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 ABABCDCDEFEF-- lightA · funB · nightA · doneB · starC · flameD · guitarC · cameD · hallE · dancingF · wallE · glancingF · glory · diory
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 |
|---|---|---|
| About Soho we went before the light; | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| We went, unresting six, craving new fun, | 10 | ··˘/˘·/˘·· |
| New scenes, new raptures, for the fevered night | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Of rollicking laughter, drink and song, was done. | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| The vault was void, but for the dawn’s great star | 10 | ·········· |
| That shed upon our path its silver flame, | 10 | ····/··/˘· |
| When La Paloma on a low guitar | 10 | ··˘/˘···˘/ |
| Abruptly from a darkened casement came-- | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Harlem! All else shut out, I saw the hall, | 10 | /˘········ |
| And you in your red shoulder sash come dancing | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| With Val against me languid by the wall, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Your burning coffee-colored eyes keen glancing | 11 | ·/˘/˘/˘··/˘ |
| Aslant at mine, proud in your golden glory! | 11 | ˘/·····/˘/˘ |
| I loved you, Cuban girl, fond sweet Diory. | 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.