Charles Carville's Eyes
A melancholy face Charles Carville had,But not so melancholy as it seemed, --When once you knew him, -- for his mouth redeemedHis insufficient eyes, forever sad:In them there was no life-glimpse, good or bad, --Nor joy nor passion in them ever gleamed;His mouth was all of him that ever beamed,His eyes were sorry, but his mouth was glad.
He never was a fellow that said much,And half of what he did say was not heardBy many of us: we were out of touchWith all his whims and all his theoriesTill he was dead, so those blank eyes of hisMight speak them. Then we heard them, every word.
Words in this poem
- beamed a.
- Furnished with beams, as the head of a stag.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Charles Carville's Eyes is in the public domain. This text is taken from Children of the Night, Project Gutenberg ebook #313; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Edwin Arlington Robinson, Charles Carville's Eyes, in The Children of the Night (1897), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #313, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/robinson-children-of-night/charles-carville-s-eyes.html, id L08001.
Form and metre
Charles Carville's Eyes is 14 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 36% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 ABBAABBA hadA · seemedB · redeemedB · sadA · badA · gleamedB · beamedB · gladA
- 2 ABACCB muchA · heardB · touchA · theoriesC · hisC · wordB
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| A melancholy face Charles Carville had, | 10 | ·/˘·˘··/·· |
| But not so melancholy as it seemed, -- | 10 | ···/˘·˘··· |
| When once you knew him, -- for his mouth redeemed | 10 | ········˘/ |
| His insufficient eyes, forever sad: | 10 | ·˘˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| In them there was no life-glimpse, good or bad, -- | 10 | ·········· |
| Nor joy nor passion in them ever gleamed; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| His mouth was all of him that ever beamed, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| His eyes were sorry, but his mouth was glad. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| He never was a fellow that said much, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| And half of what he did say was not heard | 10 | ·········· |
| By many of us: we were out of touch | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| With all his whims and all his theories | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Till he was dead, so those blank eyes of his | 10 | ·········· |
| Might speak them. Then we heard them, every word. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
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.