Part I, Section LVI
"Thus shall his songs attain the common breast,Dyed in his own life's blood, the sign and seal,Even as the thorns which are the martyr's crest,That do attest his office, and appealUnto the universal human heartIn sanction of his mission and his art.
"Much yet remains unsaid--pure must he be;Oh, blessëd are the pure! for they shall hearWhere others hear not, see where others seeWith a dazed vision: who have drawn most nearMy shrine, have ever brought a spirit casedAnd mailëd in a body clean and chaste.
"The Poet to the whole wide world belongs,Even as the teacher is the child's--I saidNo selfish aim should ever mar his songs,But self wears many guises; men may wedSelf in another, and the soul may beSelf to its centre, all unconsciously.
"And therefore must the Poet watch, lest he,In the dark struggle of this life, should takeStains which he might not notice; he must fleeFalsehood, however winsome, and forsakeAll for the Truth, assured that Truth aloneIs Beauty, and can make him all my own.
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- attest v. t.
- To bear witness to; to certify; to affirm to be true or genuine; as, to attest the truth of a writing, a copy of record. [L. attestari; ad + testari to bear witness: cf. F. attester.]
- centre v. i.
- To be placed in a center; to be central.
- winsome a.
- Cheerful; merry; gay; light-hearted. [AS. wynsum, fr. wynn joy; akin to OS. wunnia, OHG. wunna, wunni, G. wonne, Goth. wunan to rejoice (in unwunands sad), AS. wunian to dwell. Win, v. t., Wont, a.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Part I, Section LVI 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 LVI, in Poems (1860–1867), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #845, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/timrod-poems/part-i-section-lvi.html, id L18643.
Form and metre
Part I, Section LVI is 24 lines in 4 stanzas of 6 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCC. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 54% 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 breastA · sealB · crestA · appealB · heartC · artC
- 2 ABABCC beA · hearB · seeA · nearB · casedC · chasteC
- 3 ABABCC belongsA · saidB · songsA · wedB · beC · unconsciouslyC
- 4 ABABCC heA · takeB · fleeA · forsakeB · aloneC · ownC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| "Thus shall his songs attain the common breast, | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| Dyed in his own life's blood, the sign and seal, | 10 | ·········· |
| Even as the thorns which are the martyr's crest, | 10 | /······/˘· |
| That do attest his office, and appeal | 10 | ··˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| Unto the universal human heart | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘· |
| In sanction of his mission and his art. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| "Much yet remains unsaid--pure must he be; | 10 | ··˘/˘/···· |
| Oh, blessëd are the pure! for they shall hear | 9 | ········· |
| Where others hear not, see where others see | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| With a dazed vision: who have drawn most near | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| My shrine, have ever brought a spirit cased | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And mailëd in a body clean and chaste. | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| "The Poet to the whole wide world belongs, | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Even as the teacher is the child's--I said | 10 | /··/˘····· |
| No selfish aim should ever mar his songs, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| But self wears many guises; men may wed | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Self in another, and the soul may be | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Self to its centre, all unconsciously. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| "And therefore must the Poet watch, lest he, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| In the dark struggle of this life, should take | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Stains which he might not notice; he must flee | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Falsehood, however winsome, and forsake | 10 | /··/˘/˘·˘/ |
| All for the Truth, assured that Truth alone | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| Is Beauty, and can make him all my own. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
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.