Praise of Ysolt
In vain have I strivento teach my heart to bow;In vain have I said to him"There be many singers greater than thou."
But his answer cometh, as winds and as lutany.As a vague crying upon the nightThat leaveth me no rest, saying ever,"Song, a song."
Their echoes play upon each other in the twilightSeeking ever a song.Lo, I am worn with travailAnd the wandering of many roads hath made my eyesAs dark red circles filled with dust.Yet there is a trembling upon me in the twilight,And little red elf words crying "A song,"Little grey elf words crying for a song,Little brown leaf words crying "A song,"Little green leaf words crying for a song.
The words are as leaves, old brown leaves in thespring timeBlowing they know not whither, seeking a song.
White words as snow flakes but they are coldMoss words, lip words, words of slow streams.
In vain have I strivento teach my soul to bow,In vain have I pled with him,"There be greater souls than thou."
For in the morn of my years there came a womanAs moon light callingAs the moon calleth the tides,"Song, a song."Wherefore I made her a song and she went from meAs the moon doth from the sea,But still came the leaf words, little brown elf wordsSaying "The soul sendeth us.""A song, a song!"And in vain I cried unto them "I have no songFor she I sang of hath gone from me."
But my soul sent a woman, a woman of the wonder folk,A woman as fire upon the pine woodscrying "Song, a song."As the flame crieth unto the sap.My song was ablaze with her and she went from meAs flame leaveth the embers so went she unto newforestsAnd the words were with mecrying ever "Song, a song."
And I "I have no song,"Till my soul sent a woman as the sun:Yea as the sun calleth to the seed,As the spring upon the boughSo is she that cometh the song-drawerShe that holdeth the wonder words within her eyesThe words little elf wordsthat call ever unto me"Song, a song."
Words in this poem
- whither adv.
- To what place; -- used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou [OE. whider. AS. hwider; akin to E. where, who; cf. Goth. hvadre whither. See Who, and cf. Hither, Thither.]
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- folk n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- ablaze adv.
- On fire; in a blaze, gleaming. Milman. [Pref. a- + blaze.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Praise of Ysolt is in the public domain. This text is taken from Personae, Project Gutenberg ebook #41162; 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, Praise of Ysolt, in Personae (1909), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #41162, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/pound-personae/praise-of-ysolt.html, id L01203.
Form and metre
Praise of Ysolt is 56 lines in 9 stanzas. 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.3 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 45% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 striven · bowA · him · thouA
- 3 AB---ABBBB twilightA · songB · travail · eyes · dust · twilightA · songB · songB · songB · songB
- 6 -A-A striven · bowA · him · thouA
- 7 -A-ABB--AAB woman · callingA · tides · songA · meB · seaB · words · us · songA · songA · meB
- 8 --A-B--BA folk · woods · songA · sap · meB · new · forests · meB · songA
- 9 A-------A songA · sun · seed · bough · drawer · eyes · words · me · songA
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| In vain have I striven | 6 | ····/˘ |
| to teach my heart to bow; | 6 | ······ |
| In vain have I said to him | 7 | ······· |
| "There be many singers greater than thou." | 10 | ··/˘/˘/˘·· |
| But his answer cometh, as winds and as lutany. | 13 | ··/˘/˘······· |
| As a vague crying upon the night | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| That leaveth me no rest, saying ever, | 10 | ·/˘···/˘/˘ |
| "Song, a song." | 3 | ··· |
| Their echoes play upon each other in the twilight | 13 | ·/˘····/˘··/· |
| Seeking ever a song. | 6 | /˘/˘·· |
| Lo, I am worn with travail | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| And the wandering of many roads hath made my eyes | 11 | ··/˘·/····· |
| As dark red circles filled with dust. | 9 | ···/˘·˘·· |
| Yet there is a trembling upon me in the twilight, | 13 | ····/˘·····/· |
| And little red elf words crying "A song," | 10 | ·/˘···/˘·· |
| Little grey elf words crying for a song, | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| Little brown leaf words crying "A song," | 9 | /˘···/˘·· |
| Little green leaf words crying for a song. | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| The words are as leaves, old brown leaves in the | 10 | ·········· |
| spring time | 2 | ·· |
| Blowing they know not whither, seeking a song. | 11 | /˘···/˘/˘·· |
| White words as snow flakes but they are cold | 9 | ········· |
| Moss words, lip words, words of slow streams. | 8 | ········ |
| In vain have I striven | 6 | ····/˘ |
| to teach my soul to bow, | 6 | ······ |
| In vain have I pled with him, | 7 | ······· |
| "There be greater souls than thou." | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| For in the morn of my years there came a woman | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| As moon light calling | 5 | ···/˘ |
| As the moon calleth the tides, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| "Song, a song." | 3 | ··· |
| Wherefore I made her a song and she went from me | 12 | /˘·········· |
| As the moon doth from the sea, | 7 | ······· |
| But still came the leaf words, little brown elf words | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| Saying "The soul sendeth us." | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| "A song, a song!" | 4 | ···· |
| And in vain I cried unto them "I have no song | 12 | ············ |
| For she I sang of hath gone from me." | 9 | ········· |
| But my soul sent a woman, a woman of the wonder folk, | 15 | ·····/˘·/˘··/˘· |
| A woman as fire upon the pine woods | 10 | ·/˘·/····· |
| crying "Song, a song." | 5 | /˘··· |
| As the flame crieth unto the sap. | 8 | ········ |
| My song was ablaze with her and she went from me | 12 | ···˘/······· |
| As flame leaveth the embers so went she unto new | 13 | ··/˘·/˘······ |
| forests | 2 | /˘ |
| And the words were with me | 6 | ······ |
| crying ever "Song, a song." | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| And I "I have no song," | 6 | ······ |
| Till my soul sent a woman as the sun: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Yea as the sun calleth to the seed, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| As the spring upon the bough | 7 | ······· |
| So is she that cometh the song-drawer | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| She that holdeth the wonder words within her eyes | 12 | ··/˘·/˘····· |
| The words little elf words | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| that call ever unto me | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| "Song, a song." | 3 | ··· |
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.