Virginibus Puerisque
I care not that one listen if he livesFor aught but life's romance, nor puts aboveAll life's necessities the need to love,Nor counts his greatest wealth what Beauty gives.But sometime on an afternoon in spring,When dandelions dot the fields with gold,And under rustling shade a few weeks old'Tis sweet to stroll and hear the bluebirds sing,Do you, blond head, whom beauty and the powerOf being young and winsome have preparedFor life's last privilege that really pays,Make the companion of an idle hourThese relics of the time when I too faredAcross the sweet fifth lustrum of my days.
Words in this poem
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- sometime adv.
- At a past time indefinitely referred to; once; formerly.
- afternoon n.
- The part of the day which follows noon, between noon and evening.
- winsome a.
- Cheerful; merry; gay; light-hearted. [AS. wynsum, fr. wynn joy; akin to OS. wunnia, OHG. wunna, wunni, G. wonne, Goth. wunan to rejoice (in unwunands sad), AS. wunian to dwell. Win, v. t., Wont, a.]
- lustrum n.
- A lustration or purification, especially the purification of the whole Roman people, which was made by the censors once in five years. Hence: A period of five years. [L. Cf. 2d & 3d Luster.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Virginibus Puerisque 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, Virginibus Puerisque, in Poems (1916), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #617, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/seeger-poems/virginibus-puerisque.html, id L12954.
Form and metre
Virginibus Puerisque is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABBACDDCEFGEFG. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 50% 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 ABBACDDCEFGEFG livesA · aboveB · loveB · givesA · springC · goldD · oldD · singC · powerE · preparedF · paysG · hourE · faredF · daysG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I care not that one listen if he lives | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| For aught but life's romance, nor puts above | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| All life's necessities the need to love, | 10 | ··˘/˘˘···· |
| Nor counts his greatest wealth what Beauty gives. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| But sometime on an afternoon in spring, | 10 | ·/····˘/·· |
| When dandelions dot the fields with gold, | 10 | ·/˘·˘····· |
| And under rustling shade a few weeks old | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| 'Tis sweet to stroll and hear the bluebirds sing, | 10 | ·······/·· |
| Do you, blond head, whom beauty and the power | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| Of being young and winsome have prepared | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| For life's last privilege that really pays, | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| Make the companion of an idle hour | 11 | ··˘/˘··/˘/˘ |
| These relics of the time when I too fared | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Across the sweet fifth lustrum of my days. | 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.