Surf
Splendors of morning the billow-crests brighten,Lighting and luring them on to the land,—Far-away waves where the wan vessels whiten,Blue rollers breaking in surf where we stand.Curved like the necks of a legion of horses,Each with his froth-gilded mane flowing free,Hither they speed in perpetual courses,Bearing thy riches, O beautiful sea!
Strong with the striving of yesterday’s surges,Lashed by the wanton winds leagues from the shore,Each, driven fast by its follower, urgesFearlessly those that are fleeting before;How they leap over the ridges we walk on,Flinging us gifts from the depths of the sea,—Silvery fish for the foam-haunting falcon,Palm-weed and pearls for my darling and me!
Light falls her foot where the rift follows after,Finer her hair than your feathery spray,Sweeter her voice than your infinite laughter,—Hist! ye wild couriers, list to my lay!Deep in the chambers of grottos auroralMorn laves her jewels and bends her red knee:Thence to my dear one your amber and coralBring for her dowry, O beautiful sea!
Words in this poem
- billow n.
- A great wave or surge of the sea or other water, caused usually by violent wind. [Cf. Icel. bylgja billow, Dan. bölge, Sw. bölja; akin to MHG. bulge billow, bag, and to E. bulge. See Bulge.]
- brighten v. t.
- To make bright or brighter; to make to shine; to increase the luster of; to give a brighter hue to.
- auroral a.
- Belonging to, or resembling, the aurora (the dawn or the northern lights); rosy.
- 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.]
- dowry n.
- A gift; endowment. [Contr. from dowery; cf. LL. dotarium. See Dower.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Surf 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, Surf, in The Poetical Works of Edmund Clarence Stedman (1860–1897), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #70763, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/stedman-poems/surf.html, id L10693.
Form and metre
Surf is 24 lines in 3 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCDCD. The metre is dactylic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%). 75% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.5 syllables. 10 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 12% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in dactylic tetrameter.
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 ABABCDCD brightenA · landB · whitenA · standB · horsesC · freeD · coursesC · seaD
- 2 ABABCDCD surgesA · shoreB · urgesA · beforeB · onC · seaD · falconC · meD
- 3 ABABCDCD afterA · sprayB · laughterA · layB · auroralC · kneeD · coralC · seaD
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 dactylic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Splendors of morning the billow-crests brighten, | 11 | /˘·/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| Lighting and luring them on to the land,— | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| Far-away waves where the wan vessels whiten, | 11 | ·˘/····/˘/˘ |
| Blue rollers breaking in surf where we stand. | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Curved like the necks of a legion of horses, | 11 | ······/˘·/˘ |
| Each with his froth-gilded mane flowing free, | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| Hither they speed in perpetual courses, | 11 | /˘···˘/˘˘/˘ |
| Bearing thy riches, O beautiful sea! | 10 | /˘·/˘·/˘˘· |
| Strong with the striving of yesterday’s surges, | 11 | ···/˘·/˘˘/˘ |
| Lashed by the wanton winds leagues from the shore, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Each, driven fast by its follower, urges | 11 | ·/˘···/˘˘/˘ |
| Fearlessly those that are fleeting before; | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| How they leap over the ridges we walk on, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Flinging us gifts from the depths of the sea,— | 10 | /˘········ |
| Silvery fish for the foam-haunting falcon, | 11 | /˘˘····/˘/˘ |
| Palm-weed and pearls for my darling and me! | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| Light falls her foot where the rift follows after, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| Finer her hair than your feathery spray, | 10 | /˘····/˘˘· |
| Sweeter her voice than your infinite laughter,— | 11 | /˘····/˘˘/˘ |
| Hist! ye wild couriers, list to my lay! | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Deep in the chambers of grottos auroral | 11 | ···/˘·/·˘/˘ |
| Morn laves her jewels and bends her red knee: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Thence to my dear one your amber and coral | 11 | ······/˘·/˘ |
| Bring for her dowry, O beautiful sea! | 10 | ···/˘·/˘˘· |
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