Dramatic Fragment
Let the boy have his will! I tell thee, brother,We treat these little ones too much like flowers,Training them, in blind selfishness, to deckSticks of our poor setting, when they might,If left to clamber where themselves incline,Find nobler props to cling to, fitter place,And sweeter air to bloom in. It is wrong--Thou striv'st to sow with feelings all thine own,With thoughts and hopes, anxieties and aims,Born of thine own peculiar self, and fedUpon a certain round of circumstance,A soul as different and distinct from thineAs love of goodness is from love of glory,Or noble poesy from noble prose.I could forgive thee, if thou wast of themWho do their fated parts in this world's business,Scarce knowing how or why--for common mindsSee not the difference 'twixt themselves and others--But thou, thou, with the visions which thy youth did cherishSubstantialized upon thy regal brow,Shouldst boast a deeper insight. We are born,It is my faith, in miniature completeness,And like each other only in our weakness.Even with our mother's milk upon our lips,Our smiles have different meanings, and our handsPress with degrees of softness to her bosom.It is not change--whatever in the heartThat wears its semblance, we, in looking back,With gratulation or regret, perceive--It is not change we undergo, but onlyGrowth or development. Yes! what is childhoodBut after all a sort of golden daylight,A beautiful and blessed wealth of sunshine,Wherein the powers and passions of the soulSleep starlike but existent, till the nightOf gathering years shall call the slumbers forth,And they rise up in glory? Early grief,A shadow like the darkness of eclipse,Hath sometimes waked them sooner.
Words in this poem 15
- clamber v. i.
- To climb with difficulty, or with hands and feet; -- also used figuratively. [OE clambren, clameren, to heap together, climb; akin to Icel. klambra to clamp, G. klammern. Cf. Clamp, Climb.]
- props n.
- A game of chance, in which four sea shells, each called a prop, are used instead of dice.
- fitter n.
- A little piece; a flitter; a flinder.
- poesy n.
- The art of composing poems; poetical skill or faculty; as, the heavenly gift of poesy. [F. poésie (cf. It. poesia), L. poesis, from Gr. Posy.]
- wast
- The second person singular of the verb be, in the indicative mood, imperfect tense; -- now used only in solemn or poetical style.
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- insight n.
- A sight or view of the interior of anything; a deep inspection or view; introspection; -- frequently used with into.
- miniature n.
- Originally, a painting in colors such as those in mediæval manuscripts; in modern times, any very small painting, especially a portrait. [It. miniatura, fr. L. miniare. See Miniate, v.,Minium.]
- gratulation n.
- The act of gratulating or felicitating; congratulation. [L. gratulatio.]
- undergo v. t.
- To go or move below or under. [AS. undergan. See Under, and Go.]
- childhood n.
- The state of being a child; the time in which persons are children; the condition or time from infancy to puberty. [AS. cildhad; cild child + -had. See Child, and hood.]
- daylight n.
- The light of day as opposed to the darkness of night; the light of the sun, as opposed to that of the moon or to artificial light.
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- 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
Dramatic Fragment is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems of Henry Timrod; with Memoir, Project Gutenberg ebook #845; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Henry Timrod, Dramatic Fragment, in Poems (1860–1867), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #845, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/timrod-poems/dramatic-fragment.html, id L10491.
Form and metre
Dramatic Fragment is 39 lines in a single verse paragraph. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.3 syllables. 11 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 31% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter, other poems in blank verse.
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 -------------A---A-------------B--B---- brother · flowers · deck · might · incline · place · wrong · own · aims · fed · circumstance · thine · glory · proseA · them · business · minds · othersA · cherish · brow · born · completeness · weakness · lips · hands · bosom · heart · back · perceive · only · childhood · daylightB · sunshine · soul · nightB · forth · grief · eclipse · sooner
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Let the boy have his will! I tell thee, brother, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| We treat these little ones too much like flowers, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Training them, in blind selfishness, to deck | 10 | /˘···/˘˘·· |
| Sticks of our poor setting, when they might, | 10 | ··/˘·/˘··· |
| If left to clamber where themselves incline, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘/ |
| Find nobler props to cling to, fitter place, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And sweeter air to bloom in. It is wrong-- | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Thou striv'st to sow with feelings all thine own, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| With thoughts and hopes, anxieties and aims, | 10 | ····˘/˘˘·· |
| Born of thine own peculiar self, and fed | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Upon a certain round of circumstance, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| A soul as different and distinct from thine | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| As love of goodness is from love of glory, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Or noble poesy from noble prose. | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| I could forgive thee, if thou wast of them | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Who do their fated parts in this world's business, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Scarce knowing how or why--for common minds | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| See not the difference 'twixt themselves and others-- | 11 | ···/˘·˘/·/˘ |
| But thou, thou, with the visions which thy youth did cherish | 13 | ·····/˘····/˘ |
| Substantialized upon thy regal brow, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Shouldst boast a deeper insight. We are born, | 10 | ···/˘/···· |
| It is my faith, in miniature completeness, | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| And like each other only in our weakness. | 11 | ···/˘/˘·//˘ |
| Even with our mother's milk upon our lips, | 10 | /·//˘···/· |
| Our smiles have different meanings, and our hands | 10 | /··/˘/˘·/· |
| Press with degrees of softness to her bosom. | 11 | ··˘/·/˘··/˘ |
| It is not change--whatever in the heart | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| That wears its semblance, we, in looking back, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| With gratulation or regret, perceive-- | 10 | ·/˘˘˘·˘/˘/ |
| It is not change we undergo, but only | 11 | ······˘/·/˘ |
| Growth or development. Yes! what is childhood | 10 | ··˘/˘···/· |
| But after all a sort of golden daylight, | 11 | ·······/˘/· |
| A beautiful and blessed wealth of sunshine, | 10 | ·/˘˘····/· |
| Wherein the powers and passions of the soul | 10 | ···/·/˘··· |
| Sleep starlike but existent, till the night | 10 | ·/··˘/˘··· |
| Of gathering years shall call the slumbers forth, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And they rise up in glory? Early grief, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| A shadow like the darkness of eclipse, | 10 | ·/···/˘·˘/ |
| Hath sometimes waked them sooner. | 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.