What Cheer?
Is there naught else?—you say,—No braver prospect far away?No gladder song, no ringing callBeyond the misty mountain-wall?And were it thus indeed, I knowYour hearts would still with courage glow;I know how yon historic streamIs laden yet, as in the past,With dreamful longings on it castBy those who saunter from the crownOf this broad slope, their reverend Academe,—Who reach the meadowed banks, and lay them downOn the green sward, and set their faces south,Embarked in Fancy’s shallop there,And with the current seek the river’s mouth,Finding the outer ocean grand and fair.Ay, like the stream’s perpetual tide,Wave after wave each blithe, successive throng
Must join the main and wander far and wide.To you the golden, vanward years belong!Ye need not fear to leave the shore:Not seldom youth has shamed the sageWith riper wisdom,—but to ageYouth, youth, returns no more!Be yours the strength by will to conquer fate,Since to the man who sees his purpose clear,And gains that knowledge of his sphereWithin which lies all happiness,—Without, all danger and distress,—And seeks the right, content to strive and wait,To him all good things flow, nor honor crowns him late.
Words in this poem
- gladder n.
- One who makes glad.
- historic a.
- Of or pertaining to history, or the record of past events; as, an historical poem; the historic page. [L. historicus, Gr. historique. See History.]
- dreamful a.
- Full of dreams.
- reverend a.
- Worthy of reverence; entitled to respect mingled with fear and affection; venerable. [F. révérend, L. reverendus, fr. revereri. See Revere.]
- blithe a.
- Gay; merry; sprightly; joyous; glad; cheerful; as, a blithe spirit. [AS. bli blithe, kind; akin to Goth. blei kind, Icel. bli mild, gentle, Dan. & Sw. blid gentle, D. blijd blithe, OHG. blidi kind, blithe.]
- vanward a.
- Being on, or towards, the van, or front.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
What Cheer? 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, What Cheer?, in The Poetical Works of Edmund Clarence Stedman (1860–1897), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #70763, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/stedman-poems/what-cheer.html, id L10734.
Form and metre
What Cheer? is 31 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.8 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 32% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic 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 AABBCCDEEFDFGHGH-- sayA · awayA · callB · wallB · knowC · glowC · streamD · pastE · castE · crownF · academeD · downF · southG · thereH · mouthG · fairH · tide · throng
- 2 --ABBACDDEECC wide · belong · shoreA · sageB · ageB · moreA · fateC · clearD · sphereD · happinessE · distressE · waitC · lateC
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Is there naught else?—you say,— | 6 | ······ |
| No braver prospect far away? | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| No gladder song, no ringing call | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Beyond the misty mountain-wall? | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And were it thus indeed, I know | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Your hearts would still with courage glow; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I know how yon historic stream | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Is laden yet, as in the past, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| With dreamful longings on it cast | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| By those who saunter from the crown | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Of this broad slope, their reverend Academe,— | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Who reach the meadowed banks, and lay them down | 10 | ···/······ |
| On the green sward, and set their faces south, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Embarked in Fancy’s shallop there, | 9 | ˘/˘·/˘/˘· |
| And with the current seek the river’s mouth, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Finding the outer ocean grand and fair. | 10 | /˘·/˘/˘··· |
| Ay, like the stream’s perpetual tide, | 9 | ····˘/˘˘· |
| Wave after wave each blithe, successive throng | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Must join the main and wander far and wide. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| To you the golden, vanward years belong! | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Ye need not fear to leave the shore: | 8 | ········ |
| Not seldom youth has shamed the sage | 9 | ·/˘···˘·· |
| With riper wisdom,—but to age | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Youth, youth, returns no more! | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Be yours the strength by will to conquer fate, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Since to the man who sees his purpose clear, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And gains that knowledge of his sphere | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Within which lies all happiness,— | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Without, all danger and distress,— | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| And seeks the right, content to strive and wait, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| To him all good things flow, nor honor crowns him late. | 12 | ·······/˘··· |
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.