Zion
She stood—a hill-ensceptred Queen,The glory streaming from her;While Heaven flashed her rays between,And shed eternal summer.
The gates of morning opened wideOn sunny dome and steeple;Noon gleamed upon the mountain-sideThronged with a happy people;
And twilight’s drowsy, half closed eyesBeheld that virgin splendourWhose orbs were as her darkening skies,And as her spirit, tender.
Girt with that strength, first-born of right,Held fast by deeds of honour,Her robe she wove with rays more brightThan Heaven could rain upon her.
Where is that light—that citadel?That robe with woof of glory?She lost her virtue and she fell,And only left her story.
Words in this poem
- streaming a.
- Sending forth streams.
- sunny a.
- Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; hence, shining; bright; brilliant; radiant.
- splendour n.
- Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
- girt v. t.
- To gird; to encircle; to invest by means of a girdle; to measure the girth of; as, to girt a tree. [From Girt, n., cf. Girth, v.]
- 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.]
- wove
- p. pr. & rare vb. n. of Weave.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Zion is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems by Isaac Rosenberg, Project Gutenberg ebook #66889; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Isaac Rosenberg, Zion, in Poems (1922), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66889, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/rosenberg-poems/zion.html, id L02511.
Form and metre
Zion is 20 lines in 5 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 3 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.4 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% 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.
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- queenA · her · betweenA · summer
- 2 ABAB wideA · steepleB · sideA · peopleB
- 3 ABAB eyesA · splendourB · skiesA · tenderB
- 4 A-A- rightA · honour · brightA · her
- 5 ABAB citadelA · gloryB · fellA · storyB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| She stood—a hill-ensceptred Queen, | 7 | ······· |
| The glory streaming from her; | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| While Heaven flashed her rays between, | 7 | ·/····· |
| And shed eternal summer. | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| The gates of morning opened wide | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| On sunny dome and steeple; | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Noon gleamed upon the mountain-side | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Thronged with a happy people; | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| And twilight’s drowsy, half closed eyes | 8 | ·/·/˘··· |
| Beheld that virgin splendour | 7 | ˘/·/˘/˘ |
| Whose orbs were as her darkening skies, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And as her spirit, tender. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Girt with that strength, first-born of right, | 8 | ········ |
| Held fast by deeds of honour, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Her robe she wove with rays more bright | 8 | ········ |
| Than Heaven could rain upon her. | 7 | ·/····· |
| Where is that light—that citadel? | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That robe with woof of glory? | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| She lost her virtue and she fell, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And only left her story. | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
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.