Lawyer
When the jury files in to deliver a verdict after weeks of direct and cross examinations, hot clashes of lawyers and cool decisions of the judge,There are points of high silence—twiddling of thumbs is at an end—bailiffs near cuspidors take fresh chews of tobacco and wait—and the clock has a chance for its ticking to be heard.A lawyer for the defense clears his throat and holds himself ready if the word is "Guilty" to enter motion for a new trial, speaking in a soft voice, speaking in a voice slightly colored with bitter wrongs mingled with monumental patience, speaking with mythic Atlas shoulders of many preposterous, unjust circumstances.
Words in this poem
- ticking n.
- A strong, closely woven linen or cotton fabric, of which ticks for beds are made. It is usually twilled, and woven in stripes of different colors, as white and blue; -- called also ticken. [From Tick a bed cover. Cf. Ticken.]
- monumental a.
- Of, pertaining to, or suitable for, a monument; as, a monumental inscription. [L. monumentalis: cf. F. monumental.]
- mythic a.
- Of or relating to myths; described in a myth; of the nature of a myth; fabulous; imaginary; fanciful. [L. mythicus, Gr. Myth.]
- preposterous a.
- Having that first which ought to be last; inverted in order. [L. praeposterus; prae before + posterus coming after, latter. See Posterior.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Lawyer is in the public domain. This text is taken from Cornhuskers, Wikisource; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Carl Sandburg, Lawyer, in Cornhuskers (1918), text of Wikisource, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/sandburg-cornhuskers/lawyer.html, id L29049.
Form and metre
Lawyer is 3 lines in a single stanza. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter.
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When the jury files in to deliver a verdict after weeks of direct and cross examinations, hot clashes of lawyers and cool decisions of the judge, | 40 | ··/˘···˘/˘·/˘····˘/··˘·˘/˘·/˘·/˘··˘/˘··· |
| There are points of high silence—twiddling of thumbs is at an end—bailiffs near cuspidors take fresh chews of tobacco and wait—and the clock has a chance for its ticking to be heard. | 43 | ·····/˘/˘······/˘········˘/···········/˘··· |
| A lawyer for the defense clears his throat and holds himself ready if the word is "Guilty" to enter motion for a new trial, speaking in a soft voice, speaking in a voice slightly colored with bitter wrongs mingled with monumental patience, speaking with mythic Atlas shoulders of many preposterous, unjust circumstances. | 82 | ·/˘··˘/·····˘//˘····/˘·/˘/˘···/˘/˘····/˘···/˘/˘·/˘·/˘··˘/˘/˘/˘·/˘/˘/˘·/˘˘/˘˘˘//˘·˘ |
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.