Sonnet XXII
My soul is a stiff pageant, man by man,Of some Egyptian art than Egypt older,Found in some tomb whose rite no guess can scan,Where all things else to coloured dust did moulder.Whate’er its sense may mean, its age is twinTo that of priesthoods whose feet stood near God,When knowledge was so great that ’twas a sinAnd man’s mere soul too man for its abode.But when I ask what means that pageant IAnd would look at it suddenly, I loseThe sense I had of seeing it, nor can tryAgain to look, nor hath my memory a useThat seems recalling, save that it recallsAn emptiness of having seen those walls.
Words in this poem
- pageant n.
- A theatrical exhibition; a spectacle. [OE. pagent, pagen, originally, a movable scaffold or stage, hence, what was exhibited on it, fr. LL. pagina, akin to pangere to fasten; cf. L. pagina page, leaf]
- scan v. t.
- To mount by steps; to go through with step by step. [L. scandere, scansum, to climb, to scan, akin to Skr. skand to spring, leap: cf. F. scander. Cf. Ascend, Descend, Scale a ladder.]
- coloured a.
- Having color; tinged; dyed; painted; stained.
- moulder n.
- One who, or that which, molds or forms into shape; specifically (Founding), one skilled in the art of making molds for castings.
- abode n.
- Act of waiting; delay. [OE. abad, abood, fr. abiden to abide. See Abide. For the change of vowel, cf. abode, imp. of abide.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet XXII is in the public domain. This text is taken from 35 Sonnets, Project Gutenberg ebook #19978; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Fernando Pessoa, Sonnet XXII, in 35 Sonnets (1918), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #19978, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/pessoa-35-sonnets/sonnet-xxii.html, id L23651.
Form and metre
Sonnet XXII is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABABCDCDEFEFGG, the pattern of the English sonnet. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%).
See other English sonnets, 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 ABABCDCDEFEFGG manA · olderB · scanA · moulderB · twinC · godD · sinC · abodeD · iE · loseF · tryE · useF · recallsG · wallsG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| My soul is a stiff pageant, man by man, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Of some Egyptian art than Egypt older, | 11 | ··˘/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Found in some tomb whose rite no guess can scan, | 10 | ·········· |
| Where all things else to coloured dust did moulder. | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| Whate’er its sense may mean, its age is twin | 11 | ˘˘/········ |
| To that of priesthoods whose feet stood near God, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| When knowledge was so great that ’twas a sin | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And man’s mere soul too man for its abode. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| But when I ask what means that pageant I | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And would look at it suddenly, I lose | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| The sense I had of seeing it, nor can try | 10 | ·····/···· |
| Again to look, nor hath my memory a use | 11 | ˘/·····/˘·· |
| That seems recalling, save that it recalls | 10 | ··˘/˘···˘/ |
| An emptiness of having seen those walls. | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘··· |
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.