Part I, Section LII
"All this is in thy reach, but much dependsUpon thyself--thy future I await;I give the genius, point the proper ends,But the true bard is his own only Fate;Into thy soul my soul have I infused;Take care thy lofty powers be wisely used.
"The Poet owes a high and holy debt,Which, if he feel, he craves not to be heardFor the poor boon of praise, or place, nor yetDoes the mere joy of song, as with the birdOf many voices, prompt the choral layThat cheers that gentle pilgrim on his way.
"Nor may he always sweep the passionate lyre,Which is his heart, only for such reliefAs an impatient spirit may desire,Lest, from the grave which hides a private grief,The spells of song call up some pallid wraithTo blast or ban a mortal hope or faith.
"Yet over his deep soul, with all its crowdOf varying hopes and fears, he still must brood;As from its azure height a tranquil cloudWatches its own bright changes in the flood;Self-reading, not self-loving--they are twain--And sounding, while he mourns, the depths of pain.
Words in this poem
- await v. t.
- To watch for; to look out for. [OF. awaitier, agaitier; (L. ad) + waitier, gaitier to watch, F. guetter. See Wait.]
- boon n.
- A prayer or petition. [OE. bone, boin, a petition, fr. Icel. b; akin to Sw. & Dan. b, AS. b, and perh. to E. ban; but influenced by F. bon good, fr. L. bonus. Ban, Bounty.]
- choral a.
- Of or pertaining to a choir or chorus; singing, sung, or adapted to be sung, in chorus or harmony. Choral service, a service of song. [LL. choralis, fr. L. chorus. See Chorus.]
- wraith n.
- An apparition of a person in his exact likeness, seen before death, or a little after; hence, an apparition; a specter; a vision; an unreal image. [Scot. wraith, warth; probably originally, a guardian angel, from Icel. vörthr a warden, guardian, akin to E. ward. See Ward a guard.]
- twain a.
- Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Part I, Section LII 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, Part I, Section LII, in Poems (1860–1867), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #845, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/timrod-poems/part-i-section-lii.html, id L18642.
Form and metre
Part I, Section LII is 24 lines in 4 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCC, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 38% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 ABABCC dependsA · awaitB · endsA · fateB · infusedC · usedC
- 2 ABABCC debtA · heardB · yetA · birdB · layC · wayC
- 3 -A-ABB lyre · reliefA · desire · griefA · wraithB · faithB
- 4 ABABCC crowdA · broodB · cloudA · floodB · twainC · painC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| "All this is in thy reach, but much depends | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Upon thyself--thy future I await; | 10 | ··˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| I give the genius, point the proper ends, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| But the true bard is his own only Fate; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Into thy soul my soul have I infused; | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Take care thy lofty powers be wisely used. | 10 | ···/˘/·/˘· |
| "The Poet owes a high and holy debt, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Which, if he feel, he craves not to be heard | 10 | ·········· |
| For the poor boon of praise, or place, nor yet | 10 | ·········· |
| Does the mere joy of song, as with the bird | 10 | ·········· |
| Of many voices, prompt the choral lay | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| That cheers that gentle pilgrim on his way. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| "Nor may he always sweep the passionate lyre, | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| Which is his heart, only for such relief | 10 | ····/˘··˘/ |
| As an impatient spirit may desire, | 11 | ··˘/˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| Lest, from the grave which hides a private grief, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The spells of song call up some pallid wraith | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| To blast or ban a mortal hope or faith. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| "Yet over his deep soul, with all its crowd | 10 | ·········· |
| Of varying hopes and fears, he still must brood; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| As from its azure height a tranquil cloud | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Watches its own bright changes in the flood; | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| Self-reading, not self-loving--they are twain-- | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| And sounding, while he mourns, the depths of pain. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
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