Salutation
O generation of the thoroughly smugand thoroughly uncomfortable,I have seen fishermen picnicking in the sun,I have seen them with untidy families,I have seen their smiles full of teethand heard ungainly laughter.
And I am happier than you are,And they were happier than I am;And the fish swim in the lakeand do not even own clothing.
Words in this poem
- smug v. t.
- To make smug, or spruce.
- uncomfortable a.
- Feeling discomfort; uneasy; as, to be uncomfortable on account of one's position.
- untidy a.
- Unseasonable; untimely.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Salutation is in the public domain. This text is taken from Lustra of Ezra Pound, Project Gutenberg ebook #55564; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Ezra Pound, Salutation, in Lustra (1916), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #55564, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/pound-lustra/salutation.html, id L01251.
Form and metre
Salutation is 10 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 78%). 79% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.1 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 30% 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| O generation of the thoroughly smug | 11 | ··˘/˘··/˘˘· |
| and thoroughly uncomfortable, | 9 | ·/˘˘˘/˘˘˘ |
| I have seen fishermen picnicking in the sun, | 12 | ···/˘˘······ |
| I have seen them with untidy families, | 11 | ·····˘/˘/˘˘ |
| I have seen their smiles full of teeth | 8 | ········ |
| and heard ungainly laughter. | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| And I am happier than you are, | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| And they were happier than I am; | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| And the fish swim in the lake | 7 | ······· |
| and do not even own clothing. | 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.