Roses Only
ambitious civilisation might produce: for you, unaided to attemptthrough sheer reserve, to confute presumptions resulting fromobservation, is idle. You cannot make usthink you a delightful happen-so. But rose, if you arebrilliant, it is not because your petals are thewithout-which-nothing of pre-eminence.You would look, minusthorns—like a what-is-this, a mere
peculiarity. They are not proof against a worm, the elements, ormildew but what about the predatory hand? What is brilliancewithout co-ordination? Guarding theinfinitesimal pieces of your mind, compelling audience tothe remark that it is better to be forgotten than to be rememberedtoo violently,your thorns are the best part of you.
Words in this poem
- mildew n.
- A growth of minute powdery or webby fungi, whitish or of different colors, found on various diseased or decaying substances. [AS. meledeáw; akin to OHG. militou, G. mehlthau, mehltau; prob. orig. meaning, honeydew; cf. Goth. milip honey. See Mellifluous, and Dew.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Roses Only is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #62833; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Marianne Moore, Roses Only, in Poems (1921), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #62833, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/moore-poems/roses-only.html, id L02626.
Form and metre
Roses Only is 15 lines in 2 stanzas. 81% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 12.6 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 80% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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---A- attempt · from · usA · are · the · eminence · minusA · mere
- 2 --AA--A or · brilliance · theA · toA · remembered · violently · youA
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| ambitious civilisation might produce: for you, unaided to attempt | 19 | ˘/˘······˘/··˘/˘·˘/ |
| through sheer reserve, to confute presumptions resulting from | 14 | ··˘/···˘/˘˘/˘· |
| observation, is idle. You cannot make us | 12 | ·˘/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| think you a delightful happen-so. But rose, if you are | 14 | ···˘/˘/˘······ |
| brilliant, it is not because your petals are the | 12 | /˘······/˘·· |
| without-which-nothing of pre-eminence. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| You would look, minus | 5 | ···/˘ |
| thorns—like a what-is-this, a mere | 8 | ········ |
| peculiarity. They are not proof against a worm, the elements, or | 19 | ˘·˘/˘˘·········/˘˘· |
| mildew but what about the predatory hand? What is brilliance | 16 | /······/˘·˘···/˘ |
| without co-ordination? Guarding the | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘· |
| infinitesimal pieces of your mind, compelling audience to | 18 | ·˘˘/˘˘/˘···˘/˘/˘˘· |
| the remark that it is better to be forgotten than to be remembered | 19 | ·˘/···/˘··˘/˘···˘/˘ |
| too violently, | 5 | ·/˘˘˘ |
| your thorns are the best part of you. | 8 | ········ |
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.