Fleming Helphenstine
At first I thought there was a superfinePersuasion in his face; but the free glowThat filled it when he stopped and cried, "Hollo!"Shone joyously, and so I let it shine.He said his name was Fleming Helphenstine,But be that as it may; -- I only knowHe talked of this and that and So-and-So,And laughed and chaffed like any friend of mine.
But soon, with a queer, quick frown, he looked at me,And I looked hard at him; and there we gazedWith a strained shame that made us cringe and wince:Then, with a wordless clogged apologyThat sounded half confused and half amazed,He dodged, -- and I have never seen him since.
Words in this poem
- superfine a.
- Very fine, or most fine; being of surpassing fineness; of extra nice or fine quality; as, superfine cloth.
- wordless a.
- Not using words; not speaking; silent; speechless.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Fleming Helphenstine 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, Fleming Helphenstine, in The Children of the Night (1897), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #313, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/robinson-children-of-night/fleming-helphenstine.html, id L08007.
Form and metre
Fleming Helphenstine is 14 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 2 lines end 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 superfineA · glowB · holloB · shineA · helphenstineA · knowB · soB · mineA
- 2 -AB-AB me · gazedA · winceB · apology · amazedA · sinceB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| At first I thought there was a superfine | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Persuasion in his face; but the free glow | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| That filled it when he stopped and cried, "Hollo!" | 10 | ········/· |
| Shone joyously, and so I let it shine. | 9 | ········· |
| He said his name was Fleming Helphenstine, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| But be that as it may; -- I only know | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| He talked of this and that and So-and-So, | 10 | ·········· |
| And laughed and chaffed like any friend of mine. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| But soon, with a queer, quick frown, he looked at me, | 11 | ··········· |
| And I looked hard at him; and there we gazed | 10 | ·········· |
| With a strained shame that made us cringe and wince: | 10 | ·········· |
| Then, with a wordless clogged apology | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| That sounded half confused and half amazed, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/··˘/ |
| He dodged, -- and I have never seen him since. | 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.