To K.R.H.
"When I see thee as some poor song-birdBattering its wings, against this cage weToday,Then would I speak comfort unto thee,From out the heights I dwell in, whenThat great sense of power is upon meAnd I see my greater soul-self bendingSibylwise with that great forty year epicThat you know of, yet unwritBut as some child's toy 'tween my fingers,And see the sculptors of new ages carve me thus,And model with the music of my couplets in their hearts:
Surely if in the end the epicAnd the small kind deed are one;If to God the child's toy and the epic are the same,E'en so, did one make a child's toy,He might wright it wellAnd cunningly, that the child mightKeep it for his children's childrenAnd all have joy thereof.
Dear, an this dream come true,Then shall all men say of thee"She 'twas that played him power at life's morn,And at the twilight Evensong,And God's peace dwelt in the mingled chordsShe drew from out the shadows of the past,And old world melodies that elseHe had known only in his dreamsOf Iseult and of Beatrice.
Dear, an this dream come true,I, who being poet only,Can give thee poor words only,Add this one poor other tribute,This thing men call immortality.A gift I give thee even as Ronsard gave it.Seeing before time, one sweet face grown old,And seeing the old eyes grow brightFrom out the border of Her fire-lit wrinkles,As she should make boast unto her maids"Ronsard hath sung the beauty, my beauty,Of the days that I was fair."
So hath the boon been given, by the poets of old time(Dante to Beatrice,--an I profane not--)Yet with my lesser power shall I not striveTo give it thee?
All ends of things are with HimFrom whom are all things in their essence.If my power be lesserShall my striving be less keen?But rather more! if I would reach the goal,Take then the striving!"And if," for so the Florentine hath writWhen having put all his heartInto his "Youth's Dear Book"He yet strove to do more honourTo that lady dwelling in his inmost soulHe would wax yet greaterTo make her earthly glory more.Though sight of hell and heaven were price thereof,If so it be His will, with whomAre all things and through whomAre all things good,Will I make for thee and for the beauty of thy musicA new thingAs hath not heretofore been writ.Take then my promise!
Words in this poem
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- 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,]
- 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.]
- evensong n.
- A song for the evening; the evening service or form of worship (in the Church of England including vespers and compline); also, the time of evensong. Wyclif. [AS. æfensang.]
- boon n.
- A prayer or petition. [OE. bone, boin, a petition, fr. Icel. b; akin to Sw. & Dan. b, AS. b, and perh. to E. ban; but influenced by F. bon good, fr. L. bonus. Ban, Bounty.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- inmost a.
- Deepest within; farthest from the surface or external part; innermost. [OE. innemest, AS. innemest, a double superlative form fr. inne within, fr. in in. The modern form is due to confusion with most. See In, and cf. Aftermost, Fore]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To K.R.H. 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, To K.R.H., in Personae (1909), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #41162, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/pound-personae/to-k-r-h.html, id L01202.
Form and metre
To K.R.H. is 66 lines in 6 stanzas. 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.3 syllables. 20 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 46% 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-A------ bird · weA · today · theeA · when · meA · bending · epic · unwrit · fingers · thus · hearts
- 4 -AAB-B-B---- true · onlyA · onlyA · tributeB · immortality · itB · old · brightB · wrinkles · maids · beauty · fair
- 6 ----A-B---A---CC---B- him · essence · lesser · keen · goalA · striving · writB · heart · book · honour · soulA · greater · more · thereof · whomC · whomC · good · music · thing · writB · promise
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 |
|---|---|---|
| "When I see thee as some poor song-bird | 9 | ········· |
| Battering its wings, against this cage we | 10 | /˘˘······· |
| Today, | 2 | ˘/ |
| Then would I speak comfort unto thee, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| From out the heights I dwell in, when | 8 | ········ |
| That great sense of power is upon me | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| And I see my greater soul-self bending | 10 | ····/˘··/˘ |
| Sibylwise with that great forty year epic | 11 | ······/˘·/˘ |
| That you know of, yet unwrit | 7 | ······· |
| But as some child's toy 'tween my fingers, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| And see the sculptors of new ages carve me thus, | 12 | ···/˘··/˘··· |
| And model with the music of my couplets in their hearts: | 14 | ·/˘··/˘······· |
| Surely if in the end the epic | 9 | /˘·····/˘ |
| And the small kind deed are one; | 7 | ······· |
| If to God the child's toy and the epic are the same, | 13 | ········/˘··· |
| E'en so, did one make a child's toy, | 8 | ········ |
| He might wright it well | 5 | ····· |
| And cunningly, that the child might | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Keep it for his children's children | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| And all have joy thereof. | 6 | ······ |
| Dear, an this dream come true, | 6 | ······ |
| Then shall all men say of thee | 7 | ······· |
| "She 'twas that played him power at life's morn, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And at the twilight Evensong, | 8 | ···/·/˘˘ |
| And God's peace dwelt in the mingled chords | 10 | ······/˘˘· |
| She drew from out the shadows of the past, | 10 | ·····/···· |
| And old world melodies that else | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| He had known only in his dreams | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Of Iseult and of Beatrice. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Dear, an this dream come true, | 6 | ······ |
| I, who being poet only, | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| Can give thee poor words only, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Add this one poor other tribute, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| This thing men call immortality. | 9 | ·····˘/˘˘ |
| A gift I give thee even as Ronsard gave it. | 11 | ·····/····· |
| Seeing before time, one sweet face grown old, | 10 | /˘········ |
| And seeing the old eyes grow bright | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| From out the border of Her fire-lit wrinkles, | 11 | ···/˘··/·/˘ |
| As she should make boast unto her maids | 9 | ········· |
| "Ronsard hath sung the beauty, my beauty, | 10 | ·····/˘·/˘ |
| Of the days that I was fair." | 7 | ······· |
| So hath the boon been given, by the poets of old time | 13 | ·····/··/˘··· |
| (Dante to Beatrice,--an I profane not--) | 10 | /˘·/˘··˘/· |
| Yet with my lesser power shall I not strive | 10 | ···/˘/···· |
| To give it thee? | 4 | ···· |
| All ends of things are with Him | 7 | ······· |
| From whom are all things in their essence. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| If my power be lesser | 7 | ··/˘·/˘ |
| Shall my striving be less keen? | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| But rather more! if I would reach the goal, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Take then the striving! | 5 | ···/˘ |
| "And if," for so the Florentine hath writ | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| When having put all his heart | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Into his "Youth's Dear Book" | 6 | ······ |
| He yet strove to do more honour | 8 | ······/˘ |
| To that lady dwelling in his inmost soul | 11 | ··/˘/˘··/˘· |
| He would wax yet greater | 6 | ····/˘ |
| To make her earthly glory more. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Though sight of hell and heaven were price thereof, | 10 | ·····/···· |
| If so it be His will, with whom | 8 | ········ |
| Are all things and through whom | 6 | ······ |
| Are all things good, | 4 | ···· |
| Will I make for thee and for the beauty of thy music | 14 | ········/˘··/˘ |
| A new thing | 3 | ··· |
| As hath not heretofore been writ. | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Take then my promise! | 5 | ···/˘ |
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.