A Sunset
Westward a league the city lay, with oneCloud's imminent umbrage o'er it: when behold,The incendiary sunDropped from the womb o' the vapour, rolled'Mongst huddled towers and temples, 'twixt them setInfinite ardour of candescent gold,Encompassed minaretAnd terrace and marmoreal spireWith conflagration: roofs enfurnaced, yetUnmolten,--columns and cupolas flanked with fire,Yet standing unconsumedOf the fierce fervency,--and higherThan all, their fringes goldenly illumed,Dishevelled clouds, like massed empurpled smokeFrom smouldering forges fumed:Till suddenly the bright spell brokeWith the sun sinking through some palace-floorAnd vanishing wholly. Then the city woke,Her mighty Fire-Dream o'er,As who from out a sleep is raisedOf terrible loveliness, lasting hardly moreThan one most monumental moment; dazedHe looketh, having comeForth of one world and witless gazedInto another: ev'n so looked, for someBrief while, the city--amazed, immobile, dumb.
Words in this poem 17
- imminent a.
- Threatening to occur immediately; near at hand; impending; -- said especially of misfortune or peril. [L. imminens, p. pr. of imminere to project; pref. im- in + minere (in comp.) to jut, project. See Eminent.]
- umbrage n.
- Shade; shadow; obscurity; hence, that which affords a shade, as a screen of trees or foliage. [F. ombrage shade, suspicion, umbrage, L. umbraticus belonging to shade, fr. umbra a shade. Cf. Umber, Umbratic.]
- womb n.
- The belly; the abdomen. [OE. wombe, wambe, AS. wamb, womb; akin to D. wam belly, OS. & OHG. wamba, G. wamme, wampe, Icel. vömb, Sw. v&mb, Dan. vom, Goth. wamba.]
- vapour n.
- Any substance in the gaseous, or aëriform, state, the condition of which is ordinarily that of a liquid or solid. [OE. vapour, OF. vapour, vapor, vapeur, F. vapeur, L. vapor; probably for cvapor, and akin to Gr. kvepti to breathe, smell, Russ. kopote fine soot. Cf. Vapid.]
- ardour n.
- Heat, in a literal sense; as, the ardor of the sun's rays. [L. ardor, fr. ardere to burn: cf. OF. ardor, ardur, F. ardeur.]
- candescent a.
- Glowing; luminous; incandescent.
- minaret n.
- A slender, lofty tower attached to a mosque and surrounded by one or more projecting balconies, from which the summon to prayer is cried by the muezzin. [Sp. minarete, Ar. manarat lamp, lantern, lighthouse, turret, fr. nar to shine.]
- marmoreal a.
- Pertaining to, or resembling, marble; made of marble. [L. marmoreus, fr. marmor marble: cf. F. marmoréen. See Marble.]
- conflagration n.
- A fire extending to many objects, or over a large space; a general burning.
- fervency n.
- The state of being fervent or warm; ardor; warmth of feeling or devotion; eagerness. [Cf. OF. fervence. See Fervent.]
- goldenly adv.
- In golden terms or a golden manner; splendidly; delightfully.
- smouldering a.
- Being in a state of suppressed activity; quiet but not dead.
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- loveliness n.
- The state or quality of being lovely. [From Lovely.]
- monumental a.
- Of, pertaining to, or suitable for, a monument; as, a monumental inscription. [L. monumentalis: cf. F. monumental.]
- witless a.
- Destitute of wit or understanding; wanting thought; hence, indiscreet; not under the guidance of judgment.
- immobile a.
- Incapable of being moved; immovable; fixed; stable. Prof. [L. immobilis: cf. F. immobile. See Immobility.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Sunset is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of William Watson, Project Gutenberg ebook #13179; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Watson, A Sunset, in The Poems of William Watson (1892–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13179, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/watson-poems/a-sunset.html, id L11365.
Form and metre
A Sunset is 26 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.1 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 69% 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 ABABCBCDCDE-EFEFGF-HGHIHII oneA · beholdB · sunA · rolledB · setC · goldB · minaretC · spireD · yetC · fireD · unconsumedE · higher · illumedE · smokeF · fumedE · brokeF · floorG · wokeF · o'er · raisedH · moreG · dazedH · comeI · gazedH · someI · dumbI
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Westward a league the city lay, with one | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| Cloud's imminent umbrage o'er it: when behold, | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| The incendiary sun | 7 | ·˘/˘˘˘· |
| Dropped from the womb o' the vapour, rolled | 10 | ·˘·····/˘· |
| 'Mongst huddled towers and temples, 'twixt them set | 10 | ·/˘/·/˘··· |
| Infinite ardour of candescent gold, | 10 | /˘˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Encompassed minaret | 6 | ˘/˘·˘/ |
| And terrace and marmoreal spire | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| With conflagration: roofs enfurnaced, yet | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Unmolten,--columns and cupolas flanked with fire, | 12 | ···/˘·˘/˘··/ |
| Yet standing unconsumed | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Of the fierce fervency,--and higher | 9 | ···/˘˘·/˘ |
| Than all, their fringes goldenly illumed, | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘·· |
| Dishevelled clouds, like massed empurpled smoke | 10 | ˘/˘˘······ |
| From smouldering forges fumed: | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Till suddenly the bright spell broke | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| With the sun sinking through some palace-floor | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And vanishing wholly. Then the city woke, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Her mighty Fire-Dream o'er, | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| As who from out a sleep is raised | 9 | ········˘ |
| Of terrible loveliness, lasting hardly more | 11 | ·/˘/˘˘/˘/˘· |
| Than one most monumental moment; dazed | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘· |
| He looketh, having come | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Forth of one world and witless gazed | 9 | ·····/˘·˘ |
| Into another: ev'n so looked, for some | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Brief while, the city--amazed, immobile, dumb. | 11 | ···/˘˘/˘/˘· |
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.