Fragments I
In that fair capital where Pleasure, crownedAmidst her myriad courtiers, riots and rules,I too have been a suitor. Radiant eyesWere my life's warmth and sunshine, outspread armsMy gilded deep horizons. I rejoicedIn yielding to all amorous influenceAnd multiple impulsion of the flesh,To feel within my being surge and swayThe force that all the stars acknowledge too.Amid the nebulous humanityWhere I an atom crawled and cleaved and sundered,I saw a million motions, but one law;And from the city's splendor to my eyesThe vapors passed and there was nought but Love,A ferment turbulent, intensely fair,Where Beauty beckoned and where Strength pursued.
Words in this poem
- amidst prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- myriad n.
- The number of ten thousand; ten thousand persons or things. [Gr. myriade.]
- suitor n.
- One who sues, petitions, or entreats; a petitioner; an applicant.
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- outspread v. t.
- To spread out; to expand; -- usually as a past part. or adj.
- impulsion n.
- The act of impelling or driving onward, or the state of being impelled; the sudden or momentary agency of a body in motion on another body; also, the impelling force, or impulse. [L. impulsio: cf. F. impulsion. See Impel.]
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- intensely adv.
- Intently. J. Spencer.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Fragments I 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, Fragments I, in Poems (1916), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #617, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/seeger-poems/fragments.html, id L12933.
Form and metre
Fragments I is 16 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 9 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 42% 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 --A---------A--- crowned · rules · eyesA · arms · rejoiced · influence · flesh · sway · too · humanity · sundered · law · eyesA · love · fair · pursued
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 |
|---|---|---|
| In that fair capital where Pleasure, crowned | 10 | ···/˘˘·/˘· |
| Amidst her myriad courtiers, riots and rules, | 11 | ˘/·/˘/˘/˘·· |
| I too have been a suitor. Radiant eyes | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Were my life's warmth and sunshine, outspread arms | 10 | ·····/·˘/· |
| My gilded deep horizons. I rejoiced | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘·˘/ |
| In yielding to all amorous influence | 11 | ·/˘··/˘˘/˘˘ |
| And multiple impulsion of the flesh, | 10 | ·/˘˘˘/˘··· |
| To feel within my being surge and sway | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The force that all the stars acknowledge too. | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Amid the nebulous humanity | 10 | ˘/·/˘˘˘/˘˘ |
| Where I an atom crawled and cleaved and sundered, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| I saw a million motions, but one law; | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| And from the city's splendor to my eyes | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| The vapors passed and there was nought but Love, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| A ferment turbulent, intensely fair, | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘˘/˘· |
| Where Beauty beckoned and where Strength pursued. | 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.