Marian
SHE can be as wise as we,And wiser when she wishes;She can knit with cunning wit,And dress the homely dishes.She can flourish staff or pen,And deal a wound that lingers;She can talk the talk of men,And touch with thrilling fingers.
Match her ye across the sea,Natures fond and fiery;Ye who zest the turtle’s nestWith the eagle’s eyrie.Soft and loving is her soul,Swift and lofty soaring;Mixing with its dove-like dolePassionate adoring.
Such a she who’ll match with me?In flying or pursuing,Subtle wiles are in her smilesTo set the world a-wooing.She is steadfast as a star,And yet the maddest maiden:She can wage a gallant war,And give the peace of Eden.
Words in this poem
- homely a.
- Belonging to, or having the characteristics of, home; domestic; familiar; intimate. [From Home, n.]
- thrilling a.
- Causing a thrill; causing tremulous excitement; deeply moving; as, a thrilling romance.
- zest n.
- A piece of orange or lemon peel, or the aromatic oil which may be squeezed from such peel, used to give flavor to liquor, etc. [F. zeste, probably fr. L. schistos split, cleft, divided, Gr. Schism.]
- eyrie n.
- The nest of a bird of prey or other large bird that builds in a lofty place; aerie. [See Aerie]
- wage v. i.
- To bind one's self; to engage.
- eden n.
- The garden where Adam and Eve first dwelt; hence, a delightful region or residence. [Heb. eden delight, pleasure; also, a place of pleasure, Eden.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Marian is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems — Volume 1, Project Gutenberg ebook #1381; 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 Meredith, Marian, in Poems, Volume I (1851–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1381, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/meredith-poems/marian.html, id L13201.
Form and metre
Marian is 24 lines in 3 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.9 syllables. 12 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 12% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic 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 -A-ABCBC we · wishesA · wit · dishesA · penB · lingersC · menB · fingersC
- 2 ----ABAB sea · fiery · nest · eyrie · soulA · soaringB · doleA · adoringB
- 3 -A-A---- me · pursuingA · smiles · wooingA · star · maiden · war · eden
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| SHE can be as wise as we, | 7 | ······· |
| And wiser when she wishes; | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| She can knit with cunning wit, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And dress the homely dishes. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| She can flourish staff or pen, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And deal a wound that lingers; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| She can talk the talk of men, | 7 | ······· |
| And touch with thrilling fingers. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Match her ye across the sea, | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| Natures fond and fiery; | 7 | /˘··/˘˘ |
| Ye who zest the turtle’s nest | 7 | ····/˘· |
| With the eagle’s eyrie. | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| Soft and loving is her soul, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Swift and lofty soaring; | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| Mixing with its dove-like dole | 7 | /˘····· |
| Passionate adoring. | 6 | /˘˘˘/˘ |
| Such a she who’ll match with me? | 7 | ······· |
| In flying or pursuing, | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| Subtle wiles are in her smiles | 7 | /˘····· |
| To set the world a-wooing. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| She is steadfast as a star, | 7 | ··/···· |
| And yet the maddest maiden: | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| She can wage a gallant war, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And give the peace of Eden. | 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.