Choral Song
Have ye gazed on its grandeurOr stood where it standsWith opal and amberAdorning the lands,And orcharded domesOf the hue of all flowers?Sweet melody roamsThrough its blossoming bowers,Sweet bells usher in from its belfries the train of the honey-sweet hour.
A city resplendent,Fulfilled of good things,On its ramparts are pendentThe bucklers of kings.Broad banners unfurledAre afloat in its air.The lords of the worldLook for harborage there.None finds save he comes as a bridegroom, having roses and vine in his hair.
'Tis the city of Lovers,There many paths meet.Blessed he above others,With faltering feet,Who past its proud spiresIntends not nor hearsThe noise of its lyresGrow faint in his ears!Men reach it through portals of triumph, but leave through a postern of tears.
It was thither, ambitious,We came for Youth's right,When our lips yearned for kissesAs moths for the light,When our souls cried for LoveAs for life-giving rainWan leaves of the grove,Withered grass of the plain,And our flesh ached for Love-flesh beside it with bitter, intolerable pain.
Under arbor and trellis,Full of flutes, full of flowers,What mad fortunes befell us,What glad orgies were ours!In the days of our youth,In our festal attire,When the sweet flesh was smooth,When the swift blood was fire,And all Earth paid in orange and purple to pavilion the bed of Desire!
Words in this poem
- afloat adv.
- Borne on the water; floating; on board ship. [Pref. a- + float.]
- harborage n.
- Shelter; entertainment.
- bridegroom n.
- A man newly married, or just about to be married. [OE. bridegome, brudgume, AS. br (akin to OS. br, D. bruidegom, bruigom, OHG. pr, MHG. briutegome, G. bräutigam); AS. br bride + guma man, akin to Goth. guma, Ic]
- faltering a.
- Hesitating; trembling.
- postern n.
- Originally, a back door or gate; a private entrance; hence, any small door or gate. [OF. posterne, posterle, F. poterne, fr. L. posterula, fr. posterus coming after. See Posterior.]
- arbor n.
- A kind of latticework formed of, or covered with, vines, branches of trees, or other plants, for shade; a bower. Sir P. [OE. herber, herbere, properly a garden of herbs, F. herbier, fr. L. herbarium. See Herb, and cf. Herbarium.]
- festal a.
- Of or pertaining to a holiday or a feast; joyous; festive. [L. festum holiday, feast. See feast.]
- pavilion n.
- A temporary movable habitation; a large tent; a marquee; esp., a tent raised on posts. [F. pavillon, fr. L. pavilio a butterfly, also, a tent, because spread out like a butterfly's wings.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Choral Song is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #617; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Alan Seeger, Choral Song, in Poems (1916), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #617, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/seeger-poems/choral-song.html, id L12931.
Form and metre
Choral Song is 45 lines in 5 stanzas of 9 lines each. The metre is anapaestic dimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%). 82% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.3 syllables. 14 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 31% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in anapaestic dimeter.
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-ABCBC- grandeur · standsA · amber · landsA · domesB · flowersC · roamsB · bowersC · hour
- 2 ABABCDCDD resplendentA · thingsB · pendentA · kingsB · unfurledC · airD · worldC · thereD · hairD
- 3 -A-ABCBCC lovers · meetA · others · feetA · spiresB · hearsC · lyresB · earsC · tearsC
- 4 -A-A-B-BB ambitious · rightA · kisses · lightA · love · rainB · grove · plainB · painB
- 5 ABAB-C-CC trellisA · flowersB · usA · oursB · youth · attireC · smooth · fireC · desireC
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 anapaestic dimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Have ye gazed on its grandeur | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Or stood where it stands | 5 | ····· |
| With opal and amber | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| Adorning the lands, | 5 | ˘/˘·· |
| And orcharded domes | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| Of the hue of all flowers? | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Sweet melody roams | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| Through its blossoming bowers, | 7 | ··/˘˘/˘ |
| Sweet bells usher in from its belfries the train of the honey-sweet hour. | 17 | ··/˘···/˘····/˘·/ |
| A city resplendent, | 6 | ·/˘˘/˘ |
| Fulfilled of good things, | 5 | ˘/··· |
| On its ramparts are pendent | 7 | ··/··/˘ |
| The bucklers of kings. | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| Broad banners unfurled | 5 | ·/˘˘/ |
| Are afloat in its air. | 6 | ·˘/··· |
| The lords of the world | 5 | ····· |
| Look for harborage there. | 6 | ··/˘˘· |
| None finds save he comes as a bridegroom, having roses and vine in his hair. | 18 | ·······/·/˘/˘····· |
| 'Tis the city of Lovers, | 7 | ··/˘·/˘ |
| There many paths meet. | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Blessed he above others, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| With faltering feet, | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| Who past its proud spires | 5 | ····· |
| Intends not nor hears | 5 | ˘/··· |
| The noise of its lyres | 5 | ····· |
| Grow faint in his ears! | 5 | ····· |
| Men reach it through portals of triumph, but leave through a postern of tears. | 17 | ····/˘·/˘····/˘·· |
| It was thither, ambitious, | 7 | ··/˘˘/˘ |
| We came for Youth's right, | 5 | ····· |
| When our lips yearned for kisses | 9 | ·/˘··˘·/˘ |
| As moths for the light, | 5 | ····· |
| When our souls cried for Love | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| As for life-giving rain | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Wan leaves of the grove, | 5 | ····· |
| Withered grass of the plain, | 6 | /˘···· |
| And our flesh ached for Love-flesh beside it with bitter, intolerable pain. | 17 | ·/·····˘/··/˘˘/˘· |
| Under arbor and trellis, | 7 | ··/˘·/˘ |
| Full of flutes, full of flowers, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| What mad fortunes befell us, | 7 | ··/˘˘/· |
| What glad orgies were ours! | 7 | ··/˘·/˘ |
| In the days of our youth, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| In our festal attire, | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘/˘ |
| When the sweet flesh was smooth, | 6 | ······ |
| When the swift blood was fire, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And all Earth paid in orange and purple to pavilion the bed of Desire! | 19 | ·····/˘·/˘·˘/˘···˘/ |
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.