The Inheritance
While I within her secret garden walked,The flowers, that in her presence must be dumb,With me, their fellow-servant, softly talked,Attending till the Flower of flowers should come.Then, since at Court I had arrived but late,I was by love made boldTo ask that of my lady's high estateI might be told,And glories of her blood, perpetuateIn histories old.
Then they, who know the chronicle of Earth,Spoke of her loveliness, that like a flameFar-handed down from noble birth to birth,Gladdened the world for ages ere she came."Yea, yea," they said, "from Summer's royal sunComes that immortal line,And was create not for this age aloneNor wholly thine,Being indeed a flower whose root is oneWith Life Divine.
"To the sweet buds that of herself are partAlready she this portion hath bequeathed,As, not less surely, into thy proud heartHer nobleness, O poet, she hath breathed,That her inheritance by them and theeThe world may keep alway,When the still sunlight of her eyes shall beLost to the day,And even the fragrance of her memoryFading away."
Words in this poem
- perpetuate v. t.
- To make perpetual; to cause to endure, or to be continued, indefinitely; to preserve from extinction or oblivion; to eternize. [L. perpetuatus, p.p. of perpetuare to perpetuate. See Perpetual.]
- 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.]
- loveliness n.
- The state or quality of being lovely. [From Lovely.]
- nobleness n.
- The quality or state of being noble; greatness; dignity; magnanimity; elevation of mind, character, or station; nobility; grandeur; stateliness.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- fading n.
- An Irish dance; also, the burden of a song.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Inheritance is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems: New and Old, Project Gutenberg ebook #24405; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Henry John Newbolt, The Inheritance, in Poems: New and Old (1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #24405, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/newbolt-poems/the-inheritance.html, id L11464.
Form and metre
The Inheritance is 30 lines in 3 stanzas of 10 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.5 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 40% 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 ABABCDCDCD walkedA · dumbB · talkedA · comeB · lateC · boldD · estateC · toldD · perpetuateC · oldD
- 2 ABABCD-DCD earthA · flameB · birthA · cameB · sunC · lineD · alone · thineD · oneC · divineD
- 3 A-A-B-BC-C partA · bequeathed · heartA · breathed · theeB · alway · beB · dayC · memory · awayC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| While I within her secret garden walked, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| The flowers, that in her presence must be dumb, | 10 | ·/···/˘··· |
| With me, their fellow-servant, softly talked, | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Attending till the Flower of flowers should come. | 10 | ˘/˘··/·/·· |
| Then, since at Court I had arrived but late, | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| I was by love made bold | 6 | ······ |
| To ask that of my lady's high estate | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| I might be told, | 4 | ···· |
| And glories of her blood, perpetuate | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| In histories old. | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| Then they, who know the chronicle of Earth, | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| Spoke of her loveliness, that like a flame | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Far-handed down from noble birth to birth, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Gladdened the world for ages ere she came. | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| "Yea, yea," they said, "from Summer's royal sun | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Comes that immortal line, | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| And was create not for this age alone | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| Nor wholly thine, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Being indeed a flower whose root is one | 10 | /˘/·/˘···· |
| With Life Divine. | 4 | ··˘/ |
| "To the sweet buds that of herself are part | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Already she this portion hath bequeathed, | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| As, not less surely, into thy proud heart | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Her nobleness, O poet, she hath breathed, | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘··· |
| That her inheritance by them and thee | 10 | ··˘/˘˘···· |
| The world may keep alway, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| When the still sunlight of her eyes shall be | 10 | ···/······ |
| Lost to the day, | 4 | ···· |
| And even the fragrance of her memory | 11 | ·/˘·/˘··/˘˘ |
| Fading away." | 4 | /˘˘/ |
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.