She Was a Phantom of Delight
“And not too goodFor human nature’s daily food.”
She was a Phantom of delightWhen first she gleamed upon my sight;A lovely Apparition, sentTo be a moment’s ornament;Her eyes as stars of Twilight fair;Like Twilight’s, too, her dusky hair:But all things else about her drawnFrom May-time and the cheerful Dawn.A dancing Shape, an Image gay,To haunt, to startle, and waylay.
I saw her upon nearer view,A Spirit, yet a Woman too!Her household motions light and free,And steps of virgin liberty;A countenance in which did meetSweet records, promises as sweet;A Creature not too bright or goodFor human nature’s daily food;For transient sorrows, simple wiles,Praise, blame, love, kisses, tears, and smiles.
And now I see with eye sereneThe very pulse of the machine;A Being breathing thoughtful breath,A Traveller between life and death:The reason firm, the temperate will,Endurance, foresight, strength, and skill;A perfect Woman, nobly planned,To warn, to comfort, and command;And yet a Spirit still, and bright,With something of angelic light.
Words in this poem
- waylay v. t.
- To lie in wait for; to meet or encounter in the way; especially, to watch for the passing of, with a view to seize, rob, or slay; to beset in ambush. [Way + lay.]
- nobly adv.
- Of noble extraction; as, nobly born or descended.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
She Was a Phantom of Delight is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems Every Child Should Know The What-Every-Child-Should-Know-Library, Project Gutenberg ebook #16436; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Mary E. Burt, She Was a Phantom of Delight, in Poems Every Child Should Know (1904), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16436, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poems-every-child/she-was-a-phantom-of-delight.html, id L25325.
Form and metre
She Was a Phantom of Delight is 32 lines in 4 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is AABBCCDDEE, complete in 3 of its 4 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.
- 2 AABBCCDDEE delightA · sightA · sentB · ornamentB · fairC · hairC · drawnD · dawnD · gayE · waylayE
- 3 AABBCCDDEE viewA · tooA · freeB · libertyB · meetC · sweetC · goodD · foodD · wilesE · smilesE
- 4 AABBCCDDEE sereneA · machineA · breathB · deathB · willC · skillC · plannedD · commandD · brightE · lightE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| “And not too good | 4 | ···· |
| For human nature’s daily food.” | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| She was a Phantom of delight | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| When first she gleamed upon my sight; | 8 | ········ |
| A lovely Apparition, sent | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| To be a moment’s ornament; | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| Her eyes as stars of Twilight fair; | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Like Twilight’s, too, her dusky hair: | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| But all things else about her drawn | 8 | ········ |
| From May-time and the cheerful Dawn. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A dancing Shape, an Image gay, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| To haunt, to startle, and waylay. | 8 | ···/˘·/· |
| I saw her upon nearer view, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A Spirit, yet a Woman too! | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Her household motions light and free, | 8 | ·/·/˘··· |
| And steps of virgin liberty; | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| A countenance in which did meet | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Sweet records, promises as sweet; | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| A Creature not too bright or good | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| For human nature’s daily food; | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| For transient sorrows, simple wiles, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Praise, blame, love, kisses, tears, and smiles. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And now I see with eye serene | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The very pulse of the machine; | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| A Being breathing thoughtful breath, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| A Traveller between life and death: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The reason firm, the temperate will, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Endurance, foresight, strength, and skill; | 8 | /˘˘/···· |
| A perfect Woman, nobly planned, | 8 | ·/·/˘/˘· |
| To warn, to comfort, and command; | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| And yet a Spirit still, and bright, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| With something of angelic light. | 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.