Maud XVI
This lump of earth has left his estateThe lighter by the loss of his weight;And so that he find what he went to seek,And fulsome Pleasure clog him, and drownHis heart in the gross mud-honey of town,He may stay for a year who has gone for a week:But this is the day when I must speak,And I see my Oread coming down,O this is the day!O beautiful creature, what am IThat I dare to look her way;Think I may hold dominion sweet,Lord of the pulse that is lord of her breast,And dream of her beauty with tender dread,From the delicate Arab arch of her feetTo the grace that, bright and light as the crestOf a peacock, sits on her shining head,And she knows it not: O, if she knew it,To know her beauty might half undo it.I know it the one bright thing to saveMy yet young life in the wilds of Time,Perhaps from madness, perhaps from crime,Perhaps from a selfish grave.
What, if she be fasten'd to this fool lord,Dare I bid her abide by her word?Should I love her so well if sheHad given her word to a thing so low?Shall I love her as well if sheCan break her word were it even for me?I trust that it is not so.
Catch not my breath, O clamorous heart,Let not my tongue be a thrall to my eye,For I must tell her before we part,I must tell her, or die.
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- fulsome a.
- Full; abundant; plenteous; not shriveled. [Full, a. + -some.]
- oread n.
- One of the nymphs of mountains and grottoes. [L. Oreas, -adis, Gr. oréade.]
- 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
Maud XVI is in the public domain. This text is taken from Maud, and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #56913; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Alfred Tennyson, Maud XVI, in Poems (1832–1842), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56913, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/tennyson-poems/maud-xvi.html, id L03515.
Form and metre
Maud XVI is 34 lines in 3 stanzas. 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.9 syllables. 24% 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.
- 1 AABCCBBCD-DEFGEFGHHIJJI estateA · weightA · seekB · drownC · townC · weekB · speakB · downC · dayD · i · wayD · sweetE · breastF · dreadG · feetE · crestF · headG · itH · itH · saveI · timeJ · crimeJ · graveI
- 2 --ABAAB lord · word · sheA · lowB · sheA · meA · soB
- 3 ABAB heartA · eyeB · partA · dieB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| This lump of earth has left his estate | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| The lighter by the loss of his weight; | 8 | ·/······ |
| And so that he find what he went to seek, | 10 | ·········· |
| And fulsome Pleasure clog him, and drown | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| His heart in the gross mud-honey of town, | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| He may stay for a year who has gone for a week: | 12 | ············ |
| But this is the day when I must speak, | 9 | ········· |
| And I see my Oread coming down, | 10 | ····/˘˘/˘· |
| O this is the day! | 5 | ····· |
| O beautiful creature, what am I | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| That I dare to look her way; | 7 | ······· |
| Think I may hold dominion sweet, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Lord of the pulse that is lord of her breast, | 10 | ·········· |
| And dream of her beauty with tender dread, | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| From the delicate Arab arch of her feet | 10 | ··/˘/˘···· |
| To the grace that, bright and light as the crest | 10 | ·········· |
| Of a peacock, sits on her shining head, | 10 | ··/····/˘· |
| And she knows it not: O, if she knew it, | 10 | ·········· |
| To know her beauty might half undo it. | 10 | ···/˘··˘/· |
| I know it the one bright thing to save | 9 | ········· |
| My yet young life in the wilds of Time, | 9 | ········· |
| Perhaps from madness, perhaps from crime, | 9 | ˘/·/˘˘/·· |
| Perhaps from a selfish grave. | 7 | ˘/··/˘· |
| What, if she be fasten'd to this fool lord, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Dare I bid her abide by her word? | 9 | ····˘/··· |
| Should I love her so well if she | 8 | ········ |
| Had given her word to a thing so low? | 9 | ·/······· |
| Shall I love her as well if she | 8 | ········ |
| Can break her word were it even for me? | 9 | ······/·· |
| I trust that it is not so. | 7 | ······· |
| Catch not my breath, O clamorous heart, | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| Let not my tongue be a thrall to my eye, | 10 | ·········· |
| For I must tell her before we part, | 9 | ········· |
| I must tell her, or die. | 6 | ······ |
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.