England to Ireland (February 1888)
Spouse whom my sword in the olden time won me,Winning me hatred more sharp than a sword--Mother of children who hiss at or shun me,Curse or revile me, and hold me abhorred--Heiress of anger that nothing assuages,Mad for the future, and mad from the past--Daughter of all the implacable ages,Lo, let us turn and be lovers at last!
Lovers whom tragical sin hath made equal,One in transgression and one in remorse.Bonds may be severed, but what were the sequel?Hardly shall amity come of divorce.Let the dead Past have a royal entombing,O'er it the Future built white for a fane!I that am haughty from much overcomingSue to thee, supplicate--nay, is it vain?
Hate and mistrust are the children of blindness,--Could we but see one another, 'twere well!Knowledge is sympathy, charity, kindness,Ignorance only is maker of hell.Could we but gaze for an hour, for a minute,Deep in each other's unfaltering eyes,Love were begun--for that look would begin it--Born in the flash of a mighty surprise.
Then should the ominous night-bird of Error,Scared by a sudden irruption of day,Flap his maleficent wings, and in terrorFlit to the wilderness, dropping his prey.Then should we, growing in strength and in sweetness,Fusing to one indivisible soul,Dazzle the world with a splendid completeness,Mightily single, immovably whole.
Thou, like a flame when the stormy winds fan it,I, like a rock to the elements bare,--Mixed by love's magic, the fire and the granite,Who should compete with us, what should compare?Strong with a strength that no fate might dissever,One with a oneness no force could divide,So were we married and mingled for ever,Lover with lover, and bridegroom with bride.
Words in this poem 17
- spouse v. t.
- To wed; to espouse. [See Espouse, and Spouse, n.]
- olden a.
- Old; ancient; as, the olden time.
- heiress
- , A female heir.
- tragical a.
- Of or pertaining to tragedy; of the nature or character of tragedy; as, a tragic poem; a tragic play or representation. [L. tragicus, Gr.tragique.]
- sequel n.
- That which follows; a succeeding part; continuation; as, the sequel of a man's advantures or history. [L. sequela, fr. sequit to follow: cf. F. séquelle a following. See Sue to follow.]
- 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,]
- amity n.
- Friendship, in a general sense, between individuals, societies, or nations; friendly relations; good understanding; as, a treaty of amity and commerce; the amity of the Whigs and Tories. [F. amitié, OF. amistié, amisté, fr. an assumed LL. amisitas, fr. L. amicus friendly, from amare to love. See Amiable.]
- fane n.
- A temple; a place consecrated to religion; a church. [L. fanum a place dedicated to some deity, a sanctuary, fr. fari to speak. See Fame.]
- haughty a.
- High; lofty; bold. [OE. hautein, F. hautain, fr. haut high, OF. also halt, fr. L. altus. See Altitude.]
- overcoming a.
- Conquering; subduing.
- irruption n.
- A bursting in; a sudden, violent rushing into a place; as, irruptions of the sea. [L. irruptio: cf. F. irruption. See Irrupted.]
- maleficent a.
- Doing evil to others; harmful; mischievous. [See Malefic.]
- flit a.
- Nimble; quick; swift. See Fleet.
- dazzle v. t.
- To overpower with light; to confuse the sight of by brilliance of light. [Freq. of daze.]
- mightily adv.
- In a mighty manner; with might; with great earnestness; vigorously; powerfully. [From Mighty.]
- dissever v. t.
- To part in two; to sever thoroughly; to sunder; to disunite; to separate; to disperse. [OE. dessevrer; pref. des- (L. dis-) + sevrer to sever, F. sevrer to wean, L. separate to separate. In this word the prefix is intensive. See Dis-, and Sever.]
- bridegroom n.
- A man newly married, or just about to be married. [OE. bridegome, brudgume, AS. br (akin to OS. br, D. bruidegom, bruigom, OHG. pr, MHG. briutegome, G. bräutigam); AS. br bride + guma man, akin to Goth. guma, Ic]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
England to Ireland (February 1888) 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, England to Ireland (February 1888), in The Poems of William Watson (1892–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13179, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/watson-poems/england-to-ireland-february-1888.html, id L11259.
Form and metre
England to Ireland (February 1888) is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 3 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is dactylic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 97%). 78% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.5 syllables. 15 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 5% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in dactylic tetrameter.
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 ABABCDCD meA · swordB · meA · abhorredB · assuagesC · pastD · agesC · lastD
- 2 ABAB-C-C equalA · remorseB · sequelA · divorceB · entombing · faneC · overcoming · vainC
- 3 ABABCDCD blindnessA · wellB · kindnessA · hellB · minuteC · eyesD · itC · surpriseD
- 4 ABABCDCD errorA · dayB · terrorA · preyB · sweetnessC · soulD · completenessC · wholeD
- 5 ABAB-C-C itA · bareB · graniteA · compareB · dissever · divideC · ever · brideC
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 dactylic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse whom my sword in the olden time won me, | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| Winning me hatred more sharp than a sword-- | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| Mother of children who hiss at or shun me, | 11 | /˘·/˘······ |
| Curse or revile me, and hold me abhorred-- | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| Heiress of anger that nothing assuages, | 11 | /˘·/˘·/˘˘/˘ |
| Mad for the future, and mad from the past-- | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Daughter of all the implacable ages, | 11 | /˘···˘/˘˘/˘ |
| Lo, let us turn and be lovers at last! | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| Lovers whom tragical sin hath made equal, | 11 | /˘·······/˘ |
| One in transgression and one in remorse. | 10 | ··˘/˘···˘/ |
| Bonds may be severed, but what were the sequel? | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Hardly shall amity come of divorce. | 10 | /˘·/˘˘··˘/ |
| Let the dead Past have a royal entombing, | 11 | ······/˘˘/˘ |
| O'er it the Future built white for a fane! | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| I that am haughty from much overcoming | 11 | ···/˘··/˘·˘ |
| Sue to thee, supplicate--nay, is it vain? | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Hate and mistrust are the children of blindness,-- | 11 | ··˘/··/˘·/˘ |
| Could we but see one another, 'twere well! | 10 | ·····˘/˘·· |
| Knowledge is sympathy, charity, kindness, | 11 | /˘·/˘˘/˘˘/˘ |
| Ignorance only is maker of hell. | 10 | /˘˘/˘·/˘·· |
| Could we but gaze for an hour, for a minute, | 11 | ······/··˘/ |
| Deep in each other's unfaltering eyes, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Love were begun--for that look would begin it-- | 11 | ··˘/····˘/· |
| Born in the flash of a mighty surprise. | 10 | ······/˘˘/ |
| Then should the ominous night-bird of Error, | 11 | ···/˘˘···/˘ |
| Scared by a sudden irruption of day, | 10 | ···/˘˘/˘·· |
| Flap his maleficent wings, and in terror | 11 | ··˘/˘˘···/˘ |
| Flit to the wilderness, dropping his prey. | 10 | ···/˘˘/˘·· |
| Then should we, growing in strength and in sweetness, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Fusing to one indivisible soul, | 10 | /˘···˘/˘˘· |
| Dazzle the world with a splendid completeness, | 11 | /˘····/˘˘/˘ |
| Mightily single, immovably whole. | 10 | /˘˘/˘˘/˘˘· |
| Thou, like a flame when the stormy winds fan it, | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| I, like a rock to the elements bare,-- | 10 | ······/˘˘· |
| Mixed by love's magic, the fire and the granite, | 11 | ···/˘·/··/˘ |
| Who should compete with us, what should compare? | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| Strong with a strength that no fate might dissever, | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| One with a oneness no force could divide, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| So were we married and mingled for ever, | 11 | ···/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| Lover with lover, and bridegroom with bride. | 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.