Architecture
What manner of building shall we build?Let us design a chastel de chasteté.De pensée....Never cease to deploy the structure.Keep the laborers shouldering plinths.Pass the whole of life earing the clink of theChisels of the stone-cutters cutting the stones.
In this house, what manner of utterance shall there be?What heavenly dithyrambAnd cantilene?What niggling forms of gargoyle patter?Of what shall the speech be,In that splay of marbleAnd of obedient pillars?
And how shall those come vested that come there?In their ugly reminders?Or gaudy as tulips?As they climb the stairsTo the group of Flora Coddling Hecuba?As they climb the flightsTo the closesOverlooking whole seasons?
Let us build the building of light.Push up the towersTo the cock-tops.These are the pointings of our edifice,Which, like a gorgeous palm,Shall tuft the commonplace.These are the window-sillOn which the quiet moonlight lies.
How shall we hew the sun,Split it and make blocks,To build a ruddy palace?How carve the violet moonTo set in nicks?Let us fix portals, east and west,Abhorring green-blue north and blue-green south.Our chiefest dome a demoiselle of gold.Pierce the interior with pouring shafts,In diverse chambers.Pierce, too, with buttresses of coral airAnd purple timbers,Various argentines,Embossings of the sky.
And, finally, set guardians in the grounds,Gray, gruesome grumblers.For no one proud, nor stiff,No solemn one, nor pale,No chafferer, may comeTo sully the begonias, nor vexWith holy or sublime adoThe kremlin of kermess.
Only the lusty and the plenteousShall walkThe bronze-filled plazasAnd the nut-shell esplanades.
Words in this poem 15
- 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,]
- earing n.
- A plowing of land.
- clink v. t.
- To cause to give out a slight, sharp, tinkling, sound, as by striking metallic or other sonorous bodies together. [OE. clinken; akin to G. klingen, D. klinken, SW. klinga, Dan. klinge; prob. of imitative origin. Cf. Clank, Clench, Click, v. i.]
- dithyramb n.
- A kind of lyric poetry in honor of Bacchus, usually sung by a band of revelers to a flute accompaniment; hence, in general, a poem written in a wild irregular strain. Bentley. [L. dithyrambus, Gr. dithyrambe.]
- niggling n.
- Finicky or pottering work; specif. (Fine Arts),
- gargoyle n.
- A spout projecting from the roof gutter of a building, often carved grotesquely. [Written also gargle, gargyle, and gurgoyle.] [OE. garguilie, gargouille, cf. Sp. gárgola, prob. fr. the same source as F. gorge throat, influenced by L. gargarizare to gargle. See Gorge and cf. Gargle, Garg]
- patter v. i.
- To strike with a quick succession of slight, sharp sounds; as, pattering rain or hail; pattering feet. [Freq. of pat to strike gently.]
- splay v. t.
- To display; to spread. [Abbrev. of display.]
- flora n.
- The goddess of flowers and spring. [L., the goddess of flowers, from flos, floris, flower. See Flower.]
- gorgeous a.
- Imposing through splendid or various colors; showy; fine; magnificent. [OF. gorgias beautiful, glorious, vain, luxurious; cf. OF. gorgias ruff, neck handkerchief, and F. gorge throat, and se pengorger to assume airs. Cf. Gorge, n.]
- chiefest a.
- First or foremost; chief; principal. [Superl. of Chief.]
- demoiselle n.
- A young lady; a damsel; a lady's maid. [F. See Damsel.]
- gruesome
- , Grue"some, a. Etym: [From a word akin to Dan. gru horror, terror + -some; cf. D. gruwzaam, G. grausam. Cf. Grisly.]
- chafferer n.
- One who chaffers; a bargainer.
- kremlin n.
- The citadel of a town or city; especially, the citadel of Moscow, a large inclosure which contains imperial palaces, cathedrals, churches, an arsenal, etc. [Russ. kremle.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Architecture is in the public domain. This text is taken from Harmonium, Project Gutenberg ebook #78743; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Wallace Stevens, Architecture, in Harmonium (1923), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #78743, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/stevens-harmonium/architecture.html, id L01065.
Form and metre
Architecture is 56 lines in 7 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. 86% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.2 syllables. 16 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 A---A-- beA · dithyramb · cantilene · patter · beA · marble · pillars
- 4 ---A-A-- light · towers · tops · edificeA · palm · commonplaceA · sill · lies
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| What manner of building shall we build? | 9 | ·/˘·/˘··· |
| Let us design a chastel de chasteté. | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| De pensée.... | 2 | ·· |
| Never cease to deploy the structure. | 9 | /˘··˘/·/˘ |
| Keep the laborers shouldering plinths. | 9 | ··/˘˘/˘˘· |
| Pass the whole of life earing the clink of the | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| Chisels of the stone-cutters cutting the stones. | 11 | /˘···/˘/˘·· |
| In this house, what manner of utterance shall there be? | 12 | ····/˘·/˘··· |
| What heavenly dithyramb | 7 | ·/˘˘/˘· |
| And cantilene? | 4 | ···· |
| What niggling forms of gargoyle patter? | 9 | ·/˘··/·/˘ |
| Of what shall the speech be, | 6 | ······ |
| In that splay of marble | 6 | ····/˘ |
| And of obedient pillars? | 8 | ··˘/˘˘/˘ |
| And how shall those come vested that come there? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| In their ugly reminders? | 7 | ··/˘˘/˘ |
| Or gaudy as tulips? | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| As they climb the stairs | 5 | ····· |
| To the group of Flora Coddling Hecuba? | 11 | ····/˘/˘/˘˘ |
| As they climb the flights | 5 | ····· |
| To the closes | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Overlooking whole seasons? | 7 | /˘·˘·/˘ |
| Let us build the building of light. | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Push up the towers | 5 | ···/˘ |
| To the cock-tops. | 4 | ···· |
| These are the pointings of our edifice, | 11 | ···/˘·/˘/˘˘ |
| Which, like a gorgeous palm, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Shall tuft the commonplace. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| These are the window-sill | 6 | ···/˘· |
| On which the quiet moonlight lies. | 8 | ···/˘/·· |
| How shall we hew the sun, | 6 | ······ |
| Split it and make blocks, | 5 | ····· |
| To build a ruddy palace? | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| How carve the violet moon | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| To set in nicks? | 4 | ···· |
| Let us fix portals, east and west, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Abhorring green-blue north and blue-green south. | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| Our chiefest dome a demoiselle of gold. | 11 | //˘········ |
| Pierce the interior with pouring shafts, | 10 | ··˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| In diverse chambers. | 5 | ·˘//˘ |
| Pierce, too, with buttresses of coral air | 10 | ···/˘˘·/˘· |
| And purple timbers, | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| Various argentines, | 6 | /˘˘/˘· |
| Embossings of the sky. | 6 | ······ |
| And, finally, set guardians in the grounds, | 10 | ·/˘·/˘˘··· |
| Gray, gruesome grumblers. | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| For no one proud, nor stiff, | 6 | ······ |
| No solemn one, nor pale, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| No chafferer, may come | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| To sully the begonias, nor vex | 9 | ·/˘·˘/˘·· |
| With holy or sublime ado | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘/ |
| The kremlin of kermess. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Only the lusty and the plenteous | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘˘ |
| Shall walk | 2 | ·· |
| The bronze-filled plazas | 5 | ···/˘ |
| And the nut-shell esplanades. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
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.