The Conqueror Worm
Lo! ’tis a gala nightWithin the lonesome latter years!An angel throng, bewinged, bedightIn veils, and drowned in tears,Sit in a theatre, to seeA play of hopes and fears,While the orchestra breathes fitfullyThe music of the spheres.
Mimes, in the form of God on high,Mutter and mumble low,And hither and thither fly—Mere puppets they, who come and goAt bidding of vast formless thingsThat shift the scenery to and fro,Flapping from out their Condor wingsInvisible Woe!
That motley drama—oh, be sureIt shall not be forgot!With its Phantom chased for evermore,By a crowd that seize it not,Through a circle that ever returneth inTo the self-same spot,And much of Madness, and more of Sin,And Horror the soul of the plot.
But see, amid the mimic routA crawling shape intrude!A blood-red thing that writhes from outThe scenic solitude!It writhes!—it writhes!—with mortal pangsThe mimes become its food,And the angels sob at vermin fangsIn human gore imbued.
Out—out are the lights—out all!And, over each quivering form,The curtain, a funeral pall,Comes down with the rush of a storm,And the angels, all pallid and wan,Uprising, unveiling, affirmThat the play is the tragedy “Man,”And its hero the Conqueror Worm.
Words in this poem
- gala n.
- Pomp, show, or festivity. Macaulay. Gala day, a day of mirth and festivity; a holiday. [F. gala show, pomp, fr. It. gala finery, gala; of German origin. See Gallant.]
- lonesome a.
- Secluded from society; not frequented by human beings; solitary.
- bedight v. t.
- To bedeck; to array or equip; to adorn.
- theatre n.
- An edifice in which dramatic performances or spectacles are exhibited for the amusement of spectators; anciently uncovered, except the stage, but in modern times roofed. [F. thé\'83tre, L. theatrum, Gr. dhya to meditate, think. Cf. Theory.]
- mumble v. t.
- To speak with the lips partly closed, so as to render the sounds inarticulate and imperfect; to utter words in a grumbling indistinct manner, indicating discontent or displeasure; to mutter. [OE. momelen; cf. D. mompelen, mommelen, G. mummelen, Sw. mumla, Dan. mumle. Cf. Mum, a., Mumm, Mump, v.]
- formless a.
- Shapeless; without a determinate form; wanting regularity of shape.
- condor n.
- A very large bird of the Vulture family (Sarcorhamphus gryphus), found in the most elevated parts of the Andes. [Sp. condor, fr. Peruvian cuntur.]
- 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,]
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- scenic a.
- Of or pertaining to scenery; of the nature of scenery; theatrical. [L. scaenicus, scenicus, Gr. scénique. See Scene.]
- vermin n.
- An animal, in general. [OE. vermine, F. vermine, from L. vermis a worm; cf. LL. vermen a worm, L. verminosus full of worms. See Vermicular, Worm.]
- uprising n.
- Act of rising; also, a steep place; an ascent.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Conqueror Worm is in the public domain. This text is taken from The poetical works of Edgar Allan Poe, Project Gutenberg ebook #79019; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Edgar Allan Poe, The Conqueror Worm, in The Complete Poetical Works (1827–1849), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #79019, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poe-poems/the-conqueror-worm.html, id L04157.
Form and metre
The Conqueror Worm is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABABCBCB, in 2 of the 5 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.5 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 35% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABAB-B-B nightA · yearsB · bedightA · tearsB · see · fearsB · fitfully · spheresB
- 2 ABABCBCB highA · lowB · flyA · goB · thingsC · froB · wingsC · woeB
- 3 -A-ABABA sure · forgotA · evermore · notA · inB · spotA · sinB · plotA
- 4 ABABCBCB routA · intrudeB · outA · solitudeB · pangsC · foodB · fangsC · imbuedB
- 5 ABAB-C-C allA · formB · pallA · stormB · wan · affirmC · man · wormC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lo! ’tis a gala night | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Within the lonesome latter years! | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| An angel throng, bewinged, bedight | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| In veils, and drowned in tears, | 7 | ····˘·· |
| Sit in a theatre, to see | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| A play of hopes and fears, | 6 | ······ |
| While the orchestra breathes fitfully | 9 | ··/˘˘·/˘˘ |
| The music of the spheres. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Mimes, in the form of God on high, | 8 | ········ |
| Mutter and mumble low, | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| And hither and thither fly— | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| Mere puppets they, who come and go | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| At bidding of vast formless things | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| That shift the scenery to and fro, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Flapping from out their Condor wings | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Invisible Woe! | 5 | ˘/˘˘· |
| That motley drama—oh, be sure | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| It shall not be forgot! | 6 | ····˘/ |
| With its Phantom chased for evermore, | 9 | ··/˘··/˘· |
| By a crowd that seize it not, | 7 | ······· |
| Through a circle that ever returneth in | 10 | ··/˘·/˘/˘· |
| To the self-same spot, | 5 | ····· |
| And much of Madness, and more of Sin, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| And Horror the soul of the plot. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But see, amid the mimic rout | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| A crawling shape intrude! | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| A blood-red thing that writhes from out | 8 | ········ |
| The scenic solitude! | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| It writhes!—it writhes!—with mortal pangs | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The mimes become its food, | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| And the angels sob at vermin fangs | 9 | ··/˘··/˘· |
| In human gore imbued. | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| Out—out are the lights—out all! | 7 | ······· |
| And, over each quivering form, | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| The curtain, a funeral pall, | 8 | ·/˘·/˘˘· |
| Comes down with the rush of a storm, | 8 | ········ |
| And the angels, all pallid and wan, | 9 | ··/˘·/˘·· |
| Uprising, unveiling, affirm | 8 | ˘/˘˘/˘˘/ |
| That the play is the tragedy “Man,” | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And its hero the Conqueror Worm. | 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.