Because
Oh, because you never triedTo bow my will or break my pride,And nothing of the cave-man madeYou want to keep me half afraid,Nor ever with a conquering airYou thought to draw me unaware--Take me, for I love you moreThan I ever loved before.
And since the body's maidenhoodAlone were neither rare nor goodUnless with it I gave to youA spirit still untrammeled, too,Take my dreams and take my mindThat were masterless as wind;And "Master!" I shall say to youSince you never asked me to.
Words in this poem
- unaware a.
- Not aware; not noticing; giving no heed; thoughtless; inattentive.
- untrammeled a.
- Not hampered or impeded; free.
- masterless a.
- Destitute of a master or owner; ungoverned or ungovernable.
- 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
Because is in the public domain. This text is taken from Love Songs, Project Gutenberg ebook #442; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Sara Teasdale, Because, in Love Songs (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #442, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/teasdale-love-songs/because.html, id L08078.
Form and metre
Because is 16 lines in 2 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.8 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 56% 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 AABBCCDD triedA · prideA · madeB · afraidB · airC · unawareC · moreD · beforeD
- 2 AABBCCBB maidenhoodA · goodA · youB · tooB · mindC · windC · youB · toB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Oh, because you never tried | 7 | ····/˘· |
| To bow my will or break my pride, | 8 | ········ |
| And nothing of the cave-man made | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| You want to keep me half afraid, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Nor ever with a conquering air | 8 | ·/··/˘˘· |
| You thought to draw me unaware-- | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Take me, for I love you more | 7 | ······· |
| Than I ever loved before. | 8 | ··/˘·˘·· |
| And since the body's maidenhood | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| Alone were neither rare nor good | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| Unless with it I gave to you | 8 | ········ |
| A spirit still untrammeled, too, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Take my dreams and take my mind | 7 | ······· |
| That were masterless as wind; | 7 | ··/˘˘·· |
| And "Master!" I shall say to you | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Since you never asked me to. | 8 | ··/˘·˘·· |
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.