Dedication Preface
A ChantThe Three HillsAt NightLinesFlorian's Song
Antinomies on a Railway StationTree-TopsArtemis AlteraEpilogueDialogueStarlightSongCrepuscularFor MusicThe FugitiveEchoes
The Mind Of ManA Reasonable ProtestationIn the ParkIn the OrchardThe ShipOde: In a RestaurantFaithA Fresh MorningInterior
The MarchPrologue: In DarknessThe Lily of Malud
A HouseBehind the LinesArab SongThe StrongholdTo a Bull-DogThe LakeParadise LostAcacia TreeAugust MoonSonnetSongA GenerationUnderRiversI Shall make Beauty...Envoi
Words in this poem
- starlight n.
- The light given by the stars.
- crepuscular a.
- Pertaining to twilight; glimmering; hence, imperfectly clear or luminous. [Cf. F. cr.]
- protestation n.
- The act of making a protest; a public avowal; a solemn declaration, especially of dissent. [L. protestatio: cf. F. protestation. See Protest.]
- sonnet n.
- A short poem, -- usually amatory. [F., fr. It. sonetto, fr. suono a sound, a song, fr. L. sonus a sound. See Sound noise.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Dedication Preface is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems - First Series, Project Gutenberg ebook #37860; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Collings Squire, Dedication Preface, in Poems: First Series (1918), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #37860, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/squire-poems/dedication-preface.html, id L23142.
Form and metre
Dedication Preface is 44 lines in 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic dimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
See other poems in iambic 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.
- 2 ---AA------ station · tops · altera · epilogueA · dialogueA · starlight · song · crepuscular · music · fugitive · echoes
- 3 AA------- manA · protestationA · park · orchard · ship · restaurant · faith · morning · interior
- 5 --A-----B-AB---- house · lines · songA · stronghold · dog · lake · lost · tree · moonB · sonnet · songA · generationB · under · rivers · beauty · envoi
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 dimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| A Chant | 2 | ·· |
| The Three Hills | 3 | ··· |
| At Night | 2 | ·· |
| Lines | 1 | · |
| Florian's Song | 4 | /˘˘· |
| Antinomies on a Railway Station | 9 | ·····/·/˘ |
| Tree-Tops | 2 | ·· |
| Artemis Altera | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Epilogue | 3 | /˘· |
| Dialogue | 3 | /˘· |
| Starlight | 2 | /· |
| Song | 1 | · |
| Crepuscular | 4 | ···· |
| For Music | 3 | ·/˘ |
| The Fugitive | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| Echoes | 2 | /˘ |
| The Mind Of Man | 4 | ···· |
| A Reasonable Protestation | 9 | ·/˘˘˘··/˘ |
| In the Park | 3 | ··· |
| In the Orchard | 4 | ··/˘ |
| The Ship | 2 | ·· |
| Ode: In a Restaurant | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Faith | 1 | · |
| A Fresh Morning | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Interior | 4 | ˘/˘˘ |
| The March | 2 | ·· |
| Prologue: In Darkness | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| The Lily of Malud | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| A House | 2 | ·· |
| Behind the Lines | 4 | ···· |
| Arab Song | 3 | /˘· |
| The Stronghold | 3 | ·/· |
| To a Bull-Dog | 4 | ···· |
| The Lake | 2 | ·· |
| Paradise Lost | 4 | /˘·· |
| Acacia Tree | 4 | ˘/˘· |
| August Moon | 3 | /˘· |
| Sonnet | 2 | /˘ |
| Song | 1 | · |
| A Generation | 5 | ··˘/˘ |
| Under | 2 | ·· |
| Rivers | 2 | /˘ |
| I Shall make Beauty... | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Envoi | 2 | ·· |
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.