Felicity
A squalid, hideous town, where streams run blackWith vomit of a hundred roaring mills,--Hither occasion calls me; and ev'n here,All in the sable reek that wantonlyDefames the sunlight and deflowers the morn,One may at least surmise the sky still blue.Ev'n here, the myriad slaves of the machineDeem life a boon; and here, in days far sped,I overheard a kind-eyed girl relateTo her companions, how a favouring chanceBy some few shillings weekly had increasedThe earnings of her household, and she said:"So now we are happy, having all we wished,"--Felicity indeed! though more it layIn wanting little than in winning all.
Felicity indeed! Across the yearsTo me her tones come back, rebuking; me,Spreader of toils to snare the wandering JoyNo guile may capture and no force surprise--Only by them that never wooed her, won.
O curst with wide desires and spacious dreams,Too cunningly do ye accumulateAppliances and means of happiness,E'er to be happy! Lavish hosts, ye makeElaborate preparation to receiveA shy and simple guest, who, warned of allThe ceremony and circumstance wherewithYe mean to entertain her, will not come.
Words in this poem
- squalid a.
- Dirty through neglect; foul; filthy; extremely dirty. [L. squalidus, fr. squalere to be foul or filthy.]
- sable n.
- A carnivorous animal of the Weasel family (Mustela zibellina) native of the northern latitudes of Europe, Asia, and America, -- noted for its fine, soft, and valuable fur. [OF. sable, F. zibeline sable (in sense 4), LL. sabellum; cf. D. sabel, Dan. sabel, zobel, Sw. sabel, sobel, G. zobel; all fr. Russ. sóbole.]
- reek n.
- A rick. B. Jonson.
- wantonly adv.
- In a wanton manner; without regularity or restraint; loosely; sportively; gayly; playfully; recklessly; lasciviously.
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- myriad n.
- The number of ten thousand; ten thousand persons or things. [Gr. myriade.]
- deem v. t.
- To decide; to judge; to sentence; to condemn. [OE. demen to judge, condemn, AS. d, fr. d doom; akin to OFries. d, OS. ad, D. doemen, OHG. tuommen, Icel. dæma, Sw. dömma, Dan. dömme, Goth. d. See Doom, n., an]
- 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.]
- spreader n.
- One who, or that which, spreads, expands, or propogates.
- curst a.
- Froward; malignant; mischievous; malicious; snarling. [SeeCurse.]
- wherewith adv.
- With which; -- used relatively.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Felicity 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, Felicity, in The Poems of William Watson (1892–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13179, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/watson-poems/felicity.html, id L11286.
Form and metre
Felicity is 28 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 50% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter, other poems in blank verse.
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--- black · mills · here · wantonly · morn · blue · machine · spedA · relate · chance · increased · saidA · wished · lay · all
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A squalid, hideous town, where streams run black | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| With vomit of a hundred roaring mills,-- | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Hither occasion calls me; and ev'n here, | 10 | /˘˘/˘····· |
| All in the sable reek that wantonly | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| Defames the sunlight and deflowers the morn, | 11 | ˘/·/······· |
| One may at least surmise the sky still blue. | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Ev'n here, the myriad slaves of the machine | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Deem life a boon; and here, in days far sped, | 10 | ·········· |
| I overheard a kind-eyed girl relate | 10 | ·/˘/····˘/ |
| To her companions, how a favouring chance | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| By some few shillings weekly had increased | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| The earnings of her household, and she said: | 10 | ·/˘··/···· |
| "So now we are happy, having all we wished,"-- | 11 | ····/˘/˘··· |
| Felicity indeed! though more it lay | 10 | ˘/˘˘˘/···· |
| In wanting little than in winning all. | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Felicity indeed! Across the years | 10 | ˘/˘˘˘/˘/·· |
| To me her tones come back, rebuking; me, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Spreader of toils to snare the wandering Joy | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| No guile may capture and no force surprise-- | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Only by them that never wooed her, won. | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| O curst with wide desires and spacious dreams, | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| Too cunningly do ye accumulate | 10 | ·/˘˘··˘/˘· |
| Appliances and means of happiness, | 10 | ˘/˘˘···/˘˘ |
| E'er to be happy! Lavish hosts, ye make | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Elaborate preparation to receive | 10 | ˘/˘·˘/˘·˘/ |
| A shy and simple guest, who, warned of all | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| The ceremony and circumstance wherewith | 11 | ·/˘·˘·/˘·˘/ |
| Ye mean to entertain her, will not come. | 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.