By Tso Ssŭ
Flap, flap, the captive bird in the cageBeating its wings against the four corners.Depressed, depressed the scholar in the narrow street:Clasping a shadow, he dwells in an empty house.When he goes out, there is nowhere for him to go:Bunches and brambles block up his path.He composes a memorial, but it is rejected and unread,He is left stranded, like a fish in a dry pond.Without--he has not a single farthing of salary:Within--there is not a peck of grain in his larder.His relations upbraid him for his lack of success:His friends and callers daily decrease in number.Su Ch’in used to go preaching in the NorthAnd Li Ssŭ sent a memorandum to the West.I once hoped to pluck the fruits of life:But now alas, they are all withered and dry.Though one drinks at a river, one cannot drink more than a bellyful;Enough is good, but there is no use in satiety.The bird in a forest can perch but on one bough,And this should be the wise man’s pattern.
Words in this poem
- nowhere adv.
- Not anywhere; not in any place or state; as, the book is nowhere to be found. [AS. nahwær. See No, and Where.]
- unread a.
- Not read or perused; as, an unread book. Hooker.
- larder n.
- A room or place where meat and other articles of food are kept before they are cooked. [OF. lardier. See Lard, n.]
- upbraid n.
- The act of reproaching; contumely.
- memorandum n.
- A record of something which it is desired to remember; a note to help the memory. [L., something to be remembered, neut. of memorandus, fut. pass. p. of memorare. See Memorable.]
- bellyful n.
- As much as satisfies the appetite. Hence: A great abundance; more than enough. Lloyd.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
By Tso Ssŭ is in the public domain. This text is taken from A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #42290, the Arthur Waley 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: Various, By Tso Ssŭ, in A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems (1918), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #42290, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/waley-chinese/by-tso-ss.html, id L18777.
Form and metre
By Tso Ssŭ is 20 lines in a single verse paragraph. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is iambic hexameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 70%). 86% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 12.0 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 10% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic hexameter.
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.
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 hexameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Flap, flap, the captive bird in the cage | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Beating its wings against the four corners. | 10 | /˘······/˘ |
| Depressed, depressed the scholar in the narrow street: | 12 | ˘/˘/·/˘··/˘· |
| Clasping a shadow, he dwells in an empty house. | 12 | /˘·/·····/˘· |
| When he goes out, there is nowhere for him to go: | 12 | ······/····· |
| Bunches and brambles block up his path. | 9 | /˘·/˘···· |
| He composes a memorial, but it is rejected and unread, | 18 | ·˘/˘·˘/˘˘···˘/˘·˘/ |
| He is left stranded, like a fish in a dry pond. | 12 | ···/˘······· |
| Without--he has not a single farthing of salary: | 14 | ······/˘/˘·/˘˘ |
| Within--there is not a peck of grain in his larder. | 13 | ···········/˘ |
| His relations upbraid him for his lack of success: | 13 | ·˘/˘/······˘/ |
| His friends and callers daily decrease in number. | 12 | ···/˘/˘˘/·/˘ |
| Su Ch’in used to go preaching in the North | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And Li Ssŭ sent a memorandum to the West. | 12 | ······˘/˘··· |
| I once hoped to pluck the fruits of life: | 9 | ········· |
| But now alas, they are all withered and dry. | 11 | ··˘/···/˘·· |
| Though one drinks at a river, one cannot drink more than a bellyful; | 17 | ·····/˘·/˘····/˘˘ |
| Enough is good, but there is no use in satiety. | 14 | ˘/········˘/˘˘ |
| The bird in a forest can perch but on one bough, | 12 | ····/˘······ |
| And this should be the wise man’s pattern. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
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.