They Part
And if, my friend, you'd have it end,There's naught to hear or tell.But need you try to black my eyeIn wishing me farewell?
Though I admit an edgèd witIn woe is warranted.May I be frank? ... Such words as "----"Are better left unsaid.
There's rosemary for you and me;But is it usual, dear.To hire a man, and fill a vanBy way of souvenir?
Words in this poem
- souvenir n.
- That which serves as a reminder; a remembrancer; a memento; a keepsake. [F., fr. souvenir to remember, fr. L. subvenire to come up, come to mind; sub under + venire to come, akin to E. come. See Come, and cf. Subvention.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
They Part is in the public domain. This text is taken from Enough Rope: Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #68353; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Dorothy Parker, They Part, in Enough Rope (1926), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #68353, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/parker-enough-rope/they-part.html, id L27360.
Form and metre
They Part is 12 lines in 3 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
See other poems in common measure.
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 end · tellA · eye · farewellA
- 2 -A-A wit · warrantedA · as · unsaidA
- 3 -A-A me · dearA · van · souvenirA
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| And if, my friend, you'd have it end, | 8 | ········ |
| There's naught to hear or tell. | 6 | ······ |
| But need you try to black my eye | 8 | ········ |
| In wishing me farewell? | 6 | ·/˘··/ |
| Though I admit an edgèd wit | 7 | ··˘/··· |
| In woe is warranted. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| May I be frank? ... Such words as "----" | 7 | ······· |
| Are better left unsaid. | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| There's rosemary for you and me; | 8 | ·/·˘···· |
| But is it usual, dear. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| To hire a man, and fill a van | 8 | ·/······ |
| By way of souvenir? | 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.