Epigrams
'Tis human fortune's happiest height to beA spirit melodious, lucid, poised, and whole;Second in order of felicityI hold it, to have walk'd with such a soul.
The statue--Buonarroti said--doth wait,Thrall'd in the block, for me to emancipate.The poem--saith the poet--wanders freeTill I betray it to captivity.
To keep in sight Perfection, and adoreThe vision, is the artist's best delight;His bitterest pang, that he can ne'er do moreThan keep her long'd-for loveliness in sight.
If Nature be a phantasm, as thou say'st,A splendid fiction and prodigious dream,To reach the real and true I'll make no haste,More than content with worlds that only seem.
The Poet gathers fruit from every tree,Yea, grapes from thorns and figs from thistles he.Pluck'd by his hand, the basest weed that growsTowers to a lily, reddens to a rose.
Brook, from whose bridge the wandering idler peersTo watch thy small fish dart or cool floor shine,I would that bridge whose arches all are yearsSpann'd not a less transparent wave than thine!
To Art we go as to a well, athirst,And see our shadow 'gainst its mimic skies,But in its depth must plunge and be immersedTo clasp the naiad Truth where low she lies.
In youth the artist voweth lover's vowsTo Art, in manhood maketh her his spouse.Well if her charms yet hold for him such joyAs when he craved some boon and she was coy!
Immured in sense, with fivefold bonds confined,Rest we content if whispers from the starsIn waftings of the incalculable windCome blown at midnight through our prison-bars.
Love, like a bird, hath perch'd upon a sprayFor thee and me to hearken what he sings.Contented, he forgets to fly away;But hush!... remind not Eros of his wings.
Think not thy wisdom can illume awayThe ancient tanglement of night and day.Enough, to acknowledge both, and both revere:They see not clearliest who see all things clear.
In mid whirl of the dance of Time ye start,Start at the cold touch of Eternity,And cast your cloaks about you, and depart:The minstrels pause not in their minstrelsy.
The beasts in field are glad, and have not witTo know why leapt their hearts when springtime shone.Man looks at his own bliss, considers it,Weighs it with curious fingers; and 'tis gone.
Momentous to himself as I to meHath each man been that ever woman bore;Once, in a lightning-flash of sympathy,I felt this truth, an instant, and no more.
The gods man makes he breaks; proclaims them eachImmortal, and himself outlives them all:But whom he set not up he cannot reachTo shake His cloud-dark sun-bright pedestal.
The children romp within the graveyard's pale;The lark sings o'er a madhouse, or a gaol;--Such nice antitheses of perfect poiseChance in her curious rhetoric employs.
Our lithe thoughts gambol close to God's abyss,Children whose home is by the precipice.Fear not thy little ones shall o'er it fall:Solid, though viewless, is the girdling wall.
Lives there whom pain hath evermore pass'd byAnd Sorrow shunn'd with an averted eye?Him do thou pity, him above the rest,Him of all hapless mortals most unbless'd.
Say what thou wilt, the young are happy never.Give me bless'd Age, beyond the fire and fever,--Past the delight that shatters, hope that stings,And eager flutt'ring of life's ignorant wings.
Onward the chariot of the Untarrying moves;Nor day divulges him nor night conceals;Thou hear'st the echo of unreturning hoovesAnd thunder of irrevocable wheels.
A deft musician does the breeze becomeWhenever an Æolian harp it finds:Hornpipe and hurdygurdy both are dumbUnto the most musicianly of winds.
I follow Beauty; of her train am I:Beauty whose voice is earth and sea and air;Who serveth, and her hands for all things ply;Who reigneth, and her throne is everywhere.
Toiling and yearning, 'tis man's doom to seeNo perfect creature fashion'd of his hands.Insulted by a flower's immaculacy,And mock'd at by the flawless stars he stands.
For metaphors of man we search the skies,And find our allegory in all the air.We gaze on Nature with Narcissus-eyes,Enamour'd of our shadow everywhere.
One music maketh its occult abodeIn all things scatter'd from great Beauty's hand;And evermore the deepest words of GodAre yet the easiest to understand.
Enough of mournful melodies, my lute!Be henceforth joyous, or be henceforth mute.Song's breath is wasted when it does but fanThe smouldering infelicity of man.
I pluck'd this flower, O brighter flower, for thee,There where the river dies into the sea.To kiss it the wild west wind hath made free:Kiss it thyself and give it back to me.
To be as this old elm full loth were I,That shakes in the autumn storm its palsied head.Hewn by the weird last woodman let me lieEre the path rustle with my foliage shed.
Ah, vain, thrice vain in the end, thy hate and rage,And the shrill tempest of thy clamorous page.True poets but transcendent lovers be,And one great love-confession poesy.
His rhymes the poet flings at all men's feet,And whoso will may trample on his rhymes.Should Time let die a song that's true and sweet,The singer's loss were more than match'd by Time's.
Words in this poem 40
- saith
- 3d pers. sing. pres. of Say.
- adore v. t.
- To worship with profound reverence; to pay divine honors to; to honor as deity or as divine. [OE. aouren, anouren, adoren, OF. aorer, adorer, F. adorer, fr. L. adorare; ad + orare to speak, pray, os, oris, mouth. In OE. confused with honor, the French pr]
- loveliness n.
- The state or quality of being lovely. [From Lovely.]
- prodigious a.
- Of the nature of a prodigy; marvelous; wonderful; portentous. [L. prodigiosus, fr. prodigium a prodigy; cf. F. prodigieux. See Prodigy.]
- athirst a.
- Wanting drink; thirsty. [OE. ofthurst, AS. ofpyrsted, p. p. of ofpyrstan; pref. of-, intensive + pyrstan to thirst. See Thirst.]
- naiad n.
- A water nymph; one of the lower female divinities, fabled to preside over some body of fresh water, as a lake, river, brook, or fountain. [L. naias, -adis, naïs, -idis, a water nymph, Gr naïade. Cf. Naid.]
- artist n.
- One who practices some mechanic art or craft; an artisan. [F. artiste, LL. artista, fr. L. ars. See Art, n., and cf. Artiste.]
- spouse v. t.
- To wed; to espouse. [See Espouse, and Spouse, n.]
- boon n.
- A prayer or petition. [OE. bone, boin, a petition, fr. Icel. b; akin to Sw. & Dan. b, AS. b, and perh. to E. ban; but influenced by F. bon good, fr. L. bonus. Ban, Bounty.]
- fivefold a.
- In fives; consisting of five in one; five repeated; quintuple.
- incalculable a.
- Not capable of being calculated; beyond calculation; very great. [Pref. in- not + calculable: cf. F. incalculable.]
- remind v. t.
- To put (one) in mind of something; to bring to the remembrance of; to bring to the notice or consideration of (a person).
- eros n.
- Love; the god of love; -- by earlier writers represented as one of the first and creative gods, by later writers as the son of Aphrodite, equivalent to the Latin god Cupid.
- illume v. t.
- To throw or spread light upon; to make light or bright; to illuminate; to illumine. [Cf. F. illuminer. See Illuminate.]
- revere v. t.
- To regard with reverence, or profound respect and affection, mingled with awe or fear; to venerate; to reverence; to honor in estimation. [L. revereri; pref. re- re- + vereri to fear, perh. akin to E. wary: cf. F. révérer.]
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- minstrelsy n.
- The arts and occupation of minstrels; the singing and playing of a minstrel.
- springtime n.
- The season of spring; springtide.
- curious a.
- Difficult to please or satisfy; solicitous to be correct; careful; scrupulous; nice; exact. [OF. curios, curius, F. curieux, L. curiosus careful, inquisitive, fr. cura care. See Cure.]
- momentous a.
- Of moment or consequence; very important; weighty; as, a momentous decision; momentous affairs. [Cf. L. momentosus rapid, momentary.]
- madhouse n.
- A house where insane persons are confined; an insane asylum; a bedlam.
- lithe v. i.
- To listen or listen to; to hearken to. P. Plowman. [Icel Listen.]
- gambol n.
- A skipping or leaping about in frolic; a hop; a sportive prank. [OE. gambolde, gambaulde, F. gambade, gambol, fr. It. gambata kick, fr. L. gamba leg, akin to F. jambe, OF. also, gambe, fr. L. gamba, hoof or perh. joint: cf. G]
- precipice n.
- A sudden or headlong fall. Fuller. [F. précipice, L. praecipitium, fr. praeceps, - cipitis, headlong; prae before + caput, capitis, the head. See Pre-, and Chief.]
- 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,]
- viewless a.
- Not perceivable by the eye; invisible; unseen.
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
- averted a.
- Turned away, esp. as an expression of feeling; also, offended; unpropitious.
- hapless a.
- Without hap or luck; luckless; unfortunate; unlucky; unhappy; as, hapless youth; hapless maid.
- deft a.
- Apt; fit; dexterous; clever; handy; spruce; neat. [OE. daft, deft, becoming, mild, gentle, stupid (cf. OE. daffe, deffe, fool, coward), AS. dæft (in derivatives only) mild, gentle, fitting, seasonable; akin to d]
- flawless a.
- Free from flaws. Boyle.
- abode n.
- Act of waiting; delay. [OE. abad, abood, fr. abiden to abide. See Abide. For the change of vowel, cf. abode, imp. of abide.]
- henceforth adv.
- From this time forward; henceforward.
- smouldering a.
- Being in a state of suppressed activity; quiet but not dead.
- infelicity n.
- The state or quality of being infelicitous; unhappiness; misery; wretchedness; misfortune; want of suitableness or appropriateness. I. [L. infelicitas: cf. F. infélicité. See In- not, and Felicity.]
- palsied a.
- Affected with palsy; paralyzed.
- woodman n.
- A forest officer appointed to take care of the king's woods; a forester. [Eng.]
- rustle v. i.
- To make a quick succession of small sounds, like the rubbing or moving of silk cloth or dry leaves. [AS. hristlan to rustle; or cf. Sw. rusta to stir, make a riot, or E. rush, v.]
- poesy n.
- The art of composing poems; poetical skill or faculty; as, the heavenly gift of poesy. [F. poésie (cf. It. poesia), L. poesis, from Gr. Posy.]
- whoso pron.
- Whosoever. Piers Plowman.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Epigrams 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, Epigrams, in The Poems of William Watson (1892–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13179, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/watson-poems/epigrams.html, id L11300.
Form and metre
Epigrams is 120 lines in 30 stanzas of 4 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAB, in 12 of the 30 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 10 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 24% 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 -A-A be · wholeA · felicity · soulA
- 2 AA-- waitA · emancipateA · free · captivity
- 3 ABAB adoreA · delightB · moreA · sightB
- 4 ABAB say'stA · dreamB · hasteA · seemB
- 5 AABB treeA · heA · growsB · roseB
- 6 ABAB peersA · shineB · yearsA · thineB
- 7 -A-A athirst · skiesA · immersed · liesA
- 8 --AA vows · spouse · joyA · coyA
- 9 ABAB confinedA · starsB · windA · barsB
- 10 ABAB sprayA · singsB · awayA · wingsB
- 11 AABB awayA · dayA · revereB · clearB
- 12 A-A- startA · eternity · departA · minstrelsy
- 13 A-A- witA · shone · itA · gone
- 14 -A-A me · boreA · sympathy · moreA
- 15 ABAB eachA · allB · reachA · pedestalB
- 16 --AA pale · gaol · poiseA · employsA
- 17 AABB abyssA · precipiceA · fallB · wallB
- 18 AA-- byA · eyeA · rest · unbless'd
- 19 --AA never · fever · stingsA · wingsA
- 20 ABAB movesA · concealsB · hoovesA · wheelsB
- 21 ABAB becomeA · findsB · dumbA · windsB
- 22 ABAB iA · airB · plyA · everywhereB
- 23 -A-A see · handsA · immaculacy · standsA
- 24 ABAB skiesA · airB · eyesA · everywhereB
- 25 -A-A abode · handA · god · understandA
- 26 AABB luteA · muteA · fanB · manB
- 27 AAAA theeA · seaA · freeA · meA
- 28 ABAB iA · headB · lieA · shedB
- 29 AA-- rageA · pageA · be · poesy
- 30 ABAB feetA · rhymesB · sweetA · time'sB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 'Tis human fortune's happiest height to be | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| A spirit melodious, lucid, poised, and whole; | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| Second in order of felicity | 10 | /˘·/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| I hold it, to have walk'd with such a soul. | 10 | ·········· |
| The statue--Buonarroti said--doth wait, | 10 | ·/········ |
| Thrall'd in the block, for me to emancipate. | 11 | ·······˘/˘· |
| The poem--saith the poet--wanders free | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Till I betray it to captivity. | 10 | ··˘/··˘/˘˘ |
| To keep in sight Perfection, and adore | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| The vision, is the artist's best delight; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| His bitterest pang, that he can ne'er do more | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Than keep her long'd-for loveliness in sight. | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| If Nature be a phantasm, as thou say'st, | 11 | ·/˘···/˘··· |
| A splendid fiction and prodigious dream, | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| To reach the real and true I'll make no haste, | 10 | ·········· |
| More than content with worlds that only seem. | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| The Poet gathers fruit from every tree, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Yea, grapes from thorns and figs from thistles he. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Pluck'd by his hand, the basest weed that grows | 10 | ·········· |
| Towers to a lily, reddens to a rose. | 10 | /··/˘/˘··· |
| Brook, from whose bridge the wandering idler peers | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| To watch thy small fish dart or cool floor shine, | 10 | ·········· |
| I would that bridge whose arches all are years | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Spann'd not a less transparent wave than thine! | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| To Art we go as to a well, athirst, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| And see our shadow 'gainst its mimic skies, | 10 | ··//···/˘· |
| But in its depth must plunge and be immersed | 10 | ········˘/ |
| To clasp the naiad Truth where low she lies. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| In youth the artist voweth lover's vows | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| To Art, in manhood maketh her his spouse. | 10 | ···/······ |
| Well if her charms yet hold for him such joy | 10 | ·········· |
| As when he craved some boon and she was coy! | 10 | ·········· |
| Immured in sense, with fivefold bonds confined, | 10 | ·····/··˘/ |
| Rest we content if whispers from the stars | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| In waftings of the incalculable wind | 10 | ·/˘··˘/˘˘· |
| Come blown at midnight through our prison-bars. | 10 | ···/··//˘· |
| Love, like a bird, hath perch'd upon a spray | 10 | ·········· |
| For thee and me to hearken what he sings. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Contented, he forgets to fly away; | 10 | ˘/˘·˘/··˘/ |
| But hush!... remind not Eros of his wings. | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| Think not thy wisdom can illume away | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘/ |
| The ancient tanglement of night and day. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Enough, to acknowledge both, and both revere: | 11 | ˘/·˘/˘···˘/ |
| They see not clearliest who see all things clear. | 10 | ·········· |
| In mid whirl of the dance of Time ye start, | 10 | ·········· |
| Start at the cold touch of Eternity, | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
| And cast your cloaks about you, and depart: | 10 | ········˘/ |
| The minstrels pause not in their minstrelsy. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| The beasts in field are glad, and have not wit | 10 | ·········· |
| To know why leapt their hearts when springtime shone. | 10 | ·······/·· |
| Man looks at his own bliss, considers it, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Weighs it with curious fingers; and 'tis gone. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Momentous to himself as I to me | 10 | ˘/˘·˘/···· |
| Hath each man been that ever woman bore; | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Once, in a lightning-flash of sympathy, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| I felt this truth, an instant, and no more. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The gods man makes he breaks; proclaims them each | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Immortal, and himself outlives them all: | 10 | ˘/˘·˘/·/·· |
| But whom he set not up he cannot reach | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| To shake His cloud-dark sun-bright pedestal. | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| The children romp within the graveyard's pale; | 10 | ·/˘····/·· |
| The lark sings o'er a madhouse, or a gaol;-- | 10 | ·····/···· |
| Such nice antitheses of perfect poise | 10 | ·······˘/· |
| Chance in her curious rhetoric employs. | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘˘/ |
| Our lithe thoughts gambol close to God's abyss, | 10 | /··/˘···˘/ |
| Children whose home is by the precipice. | 10 | /˘·····/˘˘ |
| Fear not thy little ones shall o'er it fall: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Solid, though viewless, is the girdling wall. | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| Lives there whom pain hath evermore pass'd by | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And Sorrow shunn'd with an averted eye? | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| Him do thou pity, him above the rest, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Him of all hapless mortals most unbless'd. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Say what thou wilt, the young are happy never. | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| Give me bless'd Age, beyond the fire and fever,-- | 11 | ·······/·/˘ |
| Past the delight that shatters, hope that stings, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| And eager flutt'ring of life's ignorant wings. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Onward the chariot of the Untarrying moves; | 11 | /˘·/˘······ |
| Nor day divulges him nor night conceals; | 10 | ··˘/˘···˘/ |
| Thou hear'st the echo of unreturning hooves | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| And thunder of irrevocable wheels. | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘˘· |
| A deft musician does the breeze become | 10 | ··˘/˘···˘/ |
| Whenever an Æolian harp it finds: | 9 | ˘/˘······ |
| Hornpipe and hurdygurdy both are dumb | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| Unto the most musicianly of winds. | 10 | ·········· |
| I follow Beauty; of her train am I: | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Beauty whose voice is earth and sea and air; | 10 | /˘········ |
| Who serveth, and her hands for all things ply; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Who reigneth, and her throne is everywhere. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Toiling and yearning, 'tis man's doom to see | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| No perfect creature fashion'd of his hands. | 10 | ·/·/˘/˘··· |
| Insulted by a flower's immaculacy, | 11 | ˘/˘··/····· |
| And mock'd at by the flawless stars he stands. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| For metaphors of man we search the skies, | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| And find our allegory in all the air. | 11 | ··//˘·˘···· |
| We gaze on Nature with Narcissus-eyes, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Enamour'd of our shadow everywhere. | 10 | ····//·/˘· |
| One music maketh its occult abode | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘/ |
| In all things scatter'd from great Beauty's hand; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And evermore the deepest words of God | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Are yet the easiest to understand. | 10 | ···/˘˘··˘/ |
| Enough of mournful melodies, my lute! | 10 | ˘/·/˘/˘˘·· |
| Be henceforth joyous, or be henceforth mute. | 10 | ·///˘··//· |
| Song's breath is wasted when it does but fan | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| The smouldering infelicity of man. | 11 | ··········· |
| I pluck'd this flower, O brighter flower, for thee, | 10 | ···/·//˘·· |
| There where the river dies into the sea. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| To kiss it the wild west wind hath made free: | 10 | ·········· |
| Kiss it thyself and give it back to me. | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| To be as this old elm full loth were I, | 10 | ·········· |
| That shakes in the autumn storm its palsied head. | 11 | ····/˘··/˘· |
| Hewn by the weird last woodman let me lie | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Ere the path rustle with my foliage shed. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Ah, vain, thrice vain in the end, thy hate and rage, | 11 | ··········· |
| And the shrill tempest of thy clamorous page. | 11 | ···/˘··/˘˘· |
| True poets but transcendent lovers be, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘/˘· |
| And one great love-confession poesy. | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘˘ |
| His rhymes the poet flings at all men's feet, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And whoso will may trample on his rhymes. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Should Time let die a song that's true and sweet, | 10 | ·········· |
| The singer's loss were more than match'd by Time's. | 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.