Pharos
One such there was, that brother elder-bornAnd loftiest,—from your household tornIn the rathe spring-time, ereHis steps could seek their olden pathways here.Mourn!Mourn, for your Mother mourns, of him bereft,—Her strong one! he is fallen:But has leftHis works your heritage and guide,Through East and West his stalwart fame divide.Mourn, for the liberal youth,The undaunted spirit whose quintessence rare,Fanned by the Norseland air,Saw flaming in its own white heat the truthThat Man, whate’er his ancestry,Tanned by what sun or exiled from what shore,Hears in his soul the high command,—Be Free!
For him who, at the parting of the ways,Disdained the flowery path, and gaveHis succor to the hunted Afric slave,Whose cause he chose nor feared the world’s dispraise;Yet found anon the right become the might,And, in the long revenge of time,Lived to renown and hoary years sublime.Ye know him now, your beacon-light!Ay, he was fronted like a tower,—In thought large-moulded, as of frame;He that, in the supreme hour,Sat brooding at the river-heads of powerWith sovereign strength for every need that came!Not for that blameless one the placeThat opens wide to men of lesser race;—Even as of old the votes are given,And Aristides is from Athens driven;But for our statesman, in his grander trustNo less the undefiled, The Just,—With poesy and learning lightly worn,And knees that bent to Heaven night and morn,—For him that sacred, unimpassioned seat,Where right and wrong for stainless judgment meetAbove the greed, the strife, the party call.—Henceforth let CHASE’S robes on no base shoulders fall!
Words in this poem 15
- rathe a.
- Coming before others, or before the usual time; early. [AS. hræ\'eb, hræd, quick, akin to OHG. hrad, Icel. hrathr.]
- olden a.
- Old; ancient; as, the olden time.
- heritage a.
- That which is inherited, or passes from heir to heir; inheritance. [OE. heritage, eritage, OF. heritage, eritage, F. héritage, fr. hériter to inherit, LL. heriditare. See Hereditable.]
- stalwart a.
- Brave; bold; strong; redoubted; daring; vehement; violent. [OE. stalworth, AS. stælwyrth serviceable, probably originally, good at stealing, or worth stealing or taking, and afterwards extended to other causes of estimat]
- undaunted a.
- Not daunted; not subdued or depressed by fear.
- quintessence n.
- The fifth or last and highest essence or power in a natural body. [F., fr. L. quinta essentia fifth essence. See Quint, and Essence.]
- dispraise v. t.
- To withdraw praise from; to notice with disapprobation or some degree of censure; to disparage; to blame. [OE. dispreisen, OF. desprisier, despreisier, F. dépriser; pref. des- (L. dis-) + prisier, F. priser, to prize, praise. See Praise, and cf. Disprize, Depreciate.]
- anon adv.
- Straightway; at once. [OE. anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), fr. AS. on in + an one. See On and One.]
- hoary a.
- White or whitish."The hoary willows."
- poesy n.
- The art of composing poems; poetical skill or faculty; as, the heavenly gift of poesy. [F. poésie (cf. It. poesia), L. poesis, from Gr. Posy.]
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- stainless a.
- Free from stain; immaculate.
- greed n.
- An eager desire or longing; greediness; as, a greed of gain. [Akin to Goth. grdus hunger, Icel. graedhr. sq. root34. See Greedy.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- henceforth adv.
- From this time forward; henceforward.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Pharos is in the public domain. This text is taken from The poetical works of Edmund Clarence Stedman, Project Gutenberg ebook #70763; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Edmund Clarence Stedman, Pharos, in The Poetical Works of Edmund Clarence Stedman (1860–1897), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #70763, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/stedman-poems/pharos.html, id L10735.
Form and metre
Pharos is 42 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.0 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 24% 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 AABBAC-CDDEBBE--- bornA · tornA · ereB · hereB · mournA · bereftC · fallen · leftC · guideD · divideD · youthE · rareB · airB · truthE · ancestry · shore · free
- 2 ABBACDDCEFEEFGGHHIIJJKKLL waysA · gaveB · slaveB · dispraiseA · mightC · timeD · sublimeD · lightC · towerE · frameF · hourE · powerE · cameF · placeG · raceG · givenH · drivenH · trustI · justI · wornJ · mornJ · seatK · meetK · callL · fallL
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 |
|---|---|---|
| One such there was, that brother elder-born | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| And loftiest,—from your household torn | 8 | ·····/·· |
| In the rathe spring-time, ere | 6 | ······ |
| His steps could seek their olden pathways here. | 10 | ·····/˘/·· |
| Mourn! | 1 | · |
| Mourn, for your Mother mourns, of him bereft,— | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Her strong one! he is fallen: | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| But has left | 3 | ··· |
| His works your heritage and guide, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Through East and West his stalwart fame divide. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Mourn, for the liberal youth, | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| The undaunted spirit whose quintessence rare, | 10 | ·˘/˘/·˘/˘· |
| Fanned by the Norseland air, | 7 | ······· |
| Saw flaming in its own white heat the truth | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| That Man, whate’er his ancestry, | 9 | ··˘˘/·/˘˘ |
| Tanned by what sun or exiled from what shore, | 10 | ·····/···· |
| Hears in his soul the high command,—Be Free! | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| For him who, at the parting of the ways, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Disdained the flowery path, and gave | 10 | ˘/˘·/˘˘··· |
| His succor to the hunted Afric slave, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Whose cause he chose nor feared the world’s dispraise; | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Yet found anon the right become the might, | 10 | ··˘/··˘/·· |
| And, in the long revenge of time, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Lived to renown and hoary years sublime. | 10 | ··˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| Ye know him now, your beacon-light! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Ay, he was fronted like a tower,— | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| In thought large-moulded, as of frame; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| He that, in the supreme hour, | 8 | ····˘//˘ |
| Sat brooding at the river-heads of power | 11 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| With sovereign strength for every need that came! | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Not for that blameless one the place | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| That opens wide to men of lesser race;— | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Even as of old the votes are given, | 10 | /˘······/˘ |
| And Aristides is from Athens driven; | 10 | ··˘/··/˘/˘ |
| But for our statesman, in his grander trust | 10 | ··//˘··/˘· |
| No less the undefiled, The Just,— | 9 | ······˘·· |
| With poesy and learning lightly worn, | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘/˘· |
| And knees that bent to Heaven night and morn,— | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| For him that sacred, unimpassioned seat, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Where right and wrong for stainless judgment meet | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Above the greed, the strife, the party call.— | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Henceforth let CHASE’S robes on no base shoulders fall! | 12 | //·/˘····/˘· |
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