The Barge-Tower
With shoulders back and breast astrain,And bathed in sweat which falls like rain,Through midday heat with gasping song,He drags the heavy barge along.He falls and rises with a groan,His song becomes a husky moan....But now the barge at anchor lies,A giant's sleep has sealed his eyes;And in the bath at break of dayHe drives the clinging sweat away.Then leisurely along the quayHe strolls refreshed, and roubles threeAre sewn into his girdle wide;Some coppers jingle at his side.He thinks awhile, and then he goesTowards the tavern. There he throwsSome hard-earned farthings on the seat;He drinks, and revels in the treat,The sense of perfect ease and rest.Soon with the cross he signs his breast:The journey home begins to-day.And cheerfully he goes away;On presents spends a coin or so:For wife some scarlet calico,A scarf for sister, tinsel toysFor eager little girls and boys.God guide him home--'tis many a mile--And let him rest a little while....
The barge-tower's fateLead the thoughts of young GrishaTo dwell on the wholeOf mysterious Russia--The fate of her people.For long he was rovingAbout on the bank,Feeling hot and excited,His brain overflowingWith new and new verses.
Words in this poem
- husky a.
- Abounding with husks; consisting of husks. [From Husk, n.]
- quay n.
- A mole, bank, or wharf, formed toward the sea, or at the side of a harbor, river, or other navigable water, for convenience in loading and unloading vessels. [F. quai. See Key quay.]
- jingle v. i.
- To sound with a fine, sharp, rattling, clinking, or tinkling sound; as, sleigh bells jingle. [OE. gingelen, ginglen; prob. akin to E. chink; cf. also E. jangle.]
- awhile adv.
- For a while; for some time; for a short time. [Adj. a + while time, interval.]
- cheerfully adv.
- In a cheerful manner, gladly.
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Barge-Tower is in the public domain. This text is taken from Who Can Be Happy and Free in Russia?, Project Gutenberg ebook #9619; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Nikolai Nekrasov, The Barge-Tower, in Who Can Be Happy and Free in Russia? (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/nekrasov-who-can-be-happy/the-barge-tower.html, id L25524.
Form and metre
The Barge-Tower is 38 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
See other poems in iambic 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 AABBCCDDEEEEFFGGHHIIEEJJKKLL astrainA · rainA · songB · alongB · groanC · moanC · liesD · eyesD · dayE · awayE · quayE · threeE · wideF · sideF · goesG · throwsG · seatH · treatH · restI · breastI · dayE · awayE · soJ · calicoJ · toysK · boysK · mileL · whileL
- 2 --A-A----- fate · grisha · wholeA · russia · peopleA · roving · bank · excited · overflowing · verses
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| With shoulders back and breast astrain, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And bathed in sweat which falls like rain, | 8 | ········ |
| Through midday heat with gasping song, | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| He drags the heavy barge along. | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| He falls and rises with a groan, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| His song becomes a husky moan.... | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| But now the barge at anchor lies, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A giant's sleep has sealed his eyes; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And in the bath at break of day | 8 | ········ |
| He drives the clinging sweat away. | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Then leisurely along the quay | 8 | ·/˘˘˘/·· |
| He strolls refreshed, and roubles three | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Are sewn into his girdle wide; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Some coppers jingle at his side. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| He thinks awhile, and then he goes | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Towards the tavern. There he throws | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Some hard-earned farthings on the seat; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| He drinks, and revels in the treat, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The sense of perfect ease and rest. | 8 | ···˘/··· |
| Soon with the cross he signs his breast: | 8 | ········ |
| The journey home begins to-day. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| And cheerfully he goes away; | 8 | ·/˘˘··˘/ |
| On presents spends a coin or so: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| For wife some scarlet calico, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| A scarf for sister, tinsel toys | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| For eager little girls and boys. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| God guide him home--'tis many a mile-- | 8 | ·····/·· |
| And let him rest a little while.... | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The barge-tower's fate | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Lead the thoughts of young Grisha | 7 | ······· |
| To dwell on the whole | 5 | ····· |
| Of mysterious Russia-- | 7 | ·˘/˘˘/˘ |
| The fate of her people. | 6 | ····/˘ |
| For long he was roving | 6 | ····/˘ |
| About on the bank, | 5 | ····· |
| Feeling hot and excited, | 7 | /˘··˘/˘ |
| His brain overflowing | 6 | ··/˘·˘ |
| With new and new verses. | 6 | ····/˘ |
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.