La Nue
Oft when sweet music undulated round,Like the full moon out of a perfumed seaThine image from the waves of blissful soundRose and thy sudden light illumined me.
And in the country, leaf and flower and airWould alter and the eternal shape emerge;Because they spoke of thee the fields seemed fair,And Joy to wait at the horizon's verge.
The little cloud-gaps in the east that filledGray afternoons with bits of tenderest blueWere windows in a palace pearly-silledThat thy voluptuous traits came glimmering through.
And in the city, dominant desireFor which men toil within its prison-bars,I watched thy white feet moving in the mireAnd thy white forehead hid among the stars.
Mystical, feminine, provoking, nude,Radiant there with rosy arms outspread,Sum of fulfillment, sovereign attitude,Sensual with laughing lips and thrown-back head,
Draped in the rainbow on the summer hills,Hidden in sea-mist down the hot coast-line,Couched on the clouds that fiery sunset fills,Blessed, remote, impersonal, divine;
The gold all color and grace are folded o'er,The warmth all beauty and tenderness embower, --Thou quiverest at Nature's perfumed core,The pistil of a myriad-petalled flower.
Round thee revolves, illimitably wide,The world's desire, as stars around their pole.Round thee all earthly loveliness besideIs but the radiate, infinite aureole.
Thou art the poem on the cosmic page --In rubric written on its golden ground --That Nature paints her flowers and foliageAnd rich-illumined commentary round.
Thou art the rose that the world's smiles and tearsHover about like butterflies and bees.Thou art the theme the music of the spheresEchoes in endless, variant harmonies.
Thou art the idol in the altar-nicheFaced by Love's congregated worshippers,Thou art the holy sacrament round whichThe vast cathedral is the universe.
Thou art the secret in the crystal where,For the last light upon the mystery Man,In his lone tower and ultimate despair,Searched the gray-bearded Zoroastrian.
And soft and warm as in the magic sphere,Deep-orbed as in its erubescent fire,So in my heart thine image would appear,Curled round with the red flames of my desire.
Words in this poem 17
- undulated a.
- Resembling, or in the nature of, waves; having a wavy surface; undulatory.
- blissful a.
- Full of, characterized by, or causing, joy and felicity; happy in the highest degree.
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- outspread v. t.
- To spread out; to expand; -- usually as a past part. or adj.
- impersonal a.
- Not personal; not representing a person; not having personality. [L. impersonalis; pref. im- not + personalis personal: cf. F. impersonnel. See Personal.]
- embower v. t.
- To cover with a bower; to shelter with trees.
- myriad n.
- The number of ten thousand; ten thousand persons or things. [Gr. myriade.]
- loveliness n.
- The state or quality of being lovely. [From Lovely.]
- aureole n.
- A celestial crown or accidental glory added to the bliss of heaven, as a reward to those (as virgins, martyrs, preachers, etc.) who have overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil. [F. auréole, fr. L. aureola, (fem adj.) of gold (sc. corona crown), dim. of aureus. See Aureate, Oriole.]
- cosmic a.
- Pertaining to the universe, and having special reference to universal law or order, or to the one grand harmonious system of things; hence; harmonious; orderly. [Gr. kosmiko`s of the world, fr. ko`smos: cf. F. cosmique. See Cosmos.]
- commentary n.
- A series of comments or annotations; esp., a book of explanations or expositions on the whole or a part of the Scriptures or of some other work. [L. commentarius, commentarium, note book, commentary: cf. F. commentaire. See Comment, v. i.]
- hover n.
- A cover; a shelter; a protection. Carew. C. Kingsley. [Etymol. doubtful.]
- idol n.
- An image or representation of anything. [OE. idole, F. idole, L. idolum, fr. Gr. Wit, and cf. Eidolon.]
- sacrament n.
- The oath of allegiance taken by Roman soldiers; hence, a sacred ceremony used to impress an obligation; a solemn oath-taking; an oath. [L. sacramentum an oath, a sacred thing, a mystery, a sacrament, fr. sacrare to declare as sacred, sacer sacred: cf. F. sacrament. See Sacred.]
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- orbed a.
- Having the form of an orb; round.
- erubescent a.
- Red, or reddish; blushing. Johnson. [L. erubescens, p. pr. erubescere to grow red; e out + rubescere. See Rubescent.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
La Nue 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, La Nue, in Poems (1916), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #617, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/seeger-poems/la-nue.html, id L12927.
Form and metre
La Nue is 52 lines in 13 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 27% 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 ABAB roundA · seaB · soundA · meB
- 2 ABAB airA · emergeB · fairA · vergeB
- 3 ABAB filledA · blueB · silledA · throughB
- 4 ABAB desireA · barsB · mireA · starsB
- 5 ABAB nudeA · outspreadB · attitudeA · headB
- 6 ABAB hillsA · lineB · fillsA · divineB
- 7 ABAB o'erA · embowerB · coreA · flowerB
- 8 ABAB wideA · poleB · besideA · aureoleB
- 9 ABAB pageA · groundB · foliageA · roundB
- 10 ABAB tearsA · beesB · spheresA · harmoniesB
- 11 ABAB nicheA · worshippersB · whichA · universeB
- 12 ABAB whereA · manB · despairA · zoroastrianB
- 13 ABAB sphereA · fireB · appearA · desireB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Oft when sweet music undulated round, | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘· |
| Like the full moon out of a perfumed sea | 10 | ·······˘/· |
| Thine image from the waves of blissful sound | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Rose and thy sudden light illumined me. | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| And in the country, leaf and flower and air | 10 | ···/˘··/·· |
| Would alter and the eternal shape emerge; | 11 | ·/˘··˘/˘·˘/ |
| Because they spoke of thee the fields seemed fair, | 10 | ·········· |
| And Joy to wait at the horizon's verge. | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| The little cloud-gaps in the east that filled | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Gray afternoons with bits of tenderest blue | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| Were windows in a palace pearly-silled | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| That thy voluptuous traits came glimmering through. | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| And in the city, dominant desire | 11 | ···/˘/˘˘˘/˘ |
| For which men toil within its prison-bars, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I watched thy white feet moving in the mire | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And thy white forehead hid among the stars. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Mystical, feminine, provoking, nude, | 10 | /˘˘/˘˘˘/˘· |
| Radiant there with rosy arms outspread, | 10 | /˘˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Sum of fulfillment, sovereign attitude, | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| Sensual with laughing lips and thrown-back head, | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| Draped in the rainbow on the summer hills, | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| Hidden in sea-mist down the hot coast-line, | 10 | /˘········ |
| Couched on the clouds that fiery sunset fills, | 10 | ·····/˘/·· |
| Blessed, remote, impersonal, divine; | 10 | ·˘˘/˘/˘˘˘/ |
| The gold all color and grace are folded o'er, | 11 | ···/˘···/˘· |
| The warmth all beauty and tenderness embower, -- | 11 | ···/˘·/˘˘/˘ |
| Thou quiverest at Nature's perfumed core, | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘˘/· |
| The pistil of a myriad-petalled flower. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘/ |
| Round thee revolves, illimitably wide, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| The world's desire, as stars around their pole. | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Round thee all earthly loveliness beside | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘˘/ |
| Is but the radiate, infinite aureole. | 11 | ···/˘/˘˘/˘˘ |
| Thou art the poem on the cosmic page -- | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| In rubric written on its golden ground -- | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| That Nature paints her flowers and foliage | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·/˘ |
| And rich-illumined commentary round. | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘·˘· |
| Thou art the rose that the world's smiles and tears | 10 | ·········· |
| Hover about like butterflies and bees. | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| Thou art the theme the music of the spheres | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Echoes in endless, variant harmonies. | 11 | /˘·/˘/˘˘/˘˘ |
| Thou art the idol in the altar-niche | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Faced by Love's congregated worshippers, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| Thou art the holy sacrament round which | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘·· |
| The vast cathedral is the universe. | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Thou art the secret in the crystal where, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| For the last light upon the mystery Man, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| In his lone tower and ultimate despair, | 10 | ···/·/˘˘˘/ |
| Searched the gray-bearded Zoroastrian. | 9 | ·˘··/˘··· |
| And soft and warm as in the magic sphere, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Deep-orbed as in its erubescent fire, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| So in my heart thine image would appear, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Curled round with the red flames of my desire. | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
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.