Langueur
I am the Empire in the last of its decline,That sees the tall, fair-haired Barbarians pass,--the whileComposing indolent acrostics, in a styleOf gold, with languid sunshine dancing in each line.
The solitary soul is heart-sick with a vileEnnui. Down yon, they say, War's torches bloody shine.Alas, to be so faint of will, one must resignThe chance of brave adventure in the splendid file,--
Of death, perchance! Alas, so lagging in desire!Ah, all is drunk! Bathyllus, hast done laughing, pray?Ah, all is drunk,--all eaten! Nothing more to say!
Alone, a vapid verse one tosses in the fire;Alone, a somewhat thievish slave neglecting one;Alone, a vague disgust of all beneath the sun!
Words in this poem
- indolent a.
- Free from toil, pain, or trouble. [Pref. in- not + L. dolens, -entis, p. pr. of dolere to feel pain: cf. F. indolent. See Dolorous.]
- 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.
- ennui n.
- A feeling of weariness and disgust; dullness and languor of spirits, arising from satiety or want of interest; tedium. T. Gray. [F., fr. L. in odio in hatred. See Annoy.]
- lagging n.
- The clothing (esp., an outer, wooden covering), as of a steam cylinder, applied to prevent the radiation of heat; a covering of lags; -- called also deading and cleading.
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Langueur is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #8426, the Gertrude Hall translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Paul Verlaine, Langueur, in Poems (1895), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8426, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/verlaine-poems/langueur.html, id L15514.
Form and metre
Langueur is 14 lines in 4 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABBA, complete in 2 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is alexandrines, 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 12.0 syllables. 29% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in alexandrines.
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 ABBA declineA · whileB · styleB · lineA
- 2 ABBA vileA · shineB · resignB · fileA
- 3 -AA desire · prayA · sayA
- 4 -AA fire · oneA · sunA
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 alexandrines. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I am the Empire in the last of its decline, | 12 | ···/˘·····˘/ |
| That sees the tall, fair-haired Barbarians pass,--the while | 12 | ······˘/˘··· |
| Composing indolent acrostics, in a style | 11 | ˘/˘/˘······ |
| Of gold, with languid sunshine dancing in each line. | 12 | ···/˘/·/˘··· |
| The solitary soul is heart-sick with a vile | 12 | ·/˘·˘······· |
| Ennui. Down yon, they say, War's torches bloody shine. | 13 | ˘/˘·····/˘/˘· |
| Alas, to be so faint of will, one must resign | 12 | ˘/········˘/ |
| The chance of brave adventure in the splendid file,-- | 12 | ····˘/˘··/˘· |
| Of death, perchance! Alas, so lagging in desire! | 12 | ··˘/˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| Ah, all is drunk! Bathyllus, hast done laughing, pray? | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| Ah, all is drunk,--all eaten! Nothing more to say! | 12 | ·····/˘/˘··· |
| Alone, a vapid verse one tosses in the fire; | 12 | ˘/·/˘··/˘··/ |
| Alone, a somewhat thievish slave neglecting one; | 12 | ˘/·///˘·˘/˘· |
| Alone, a vague disgust of all beneath the sun! | 12 | ˘/··˘/······ |
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.