Foreign Menace
I marvel that this land, whereof I claimThe glory of sonship--for it was erewhileA glory to be sprung of Britain's isle,Though now it well-nigh more resembles shame--I marvel that this land with heart so tameCan brook the northern insolence and guile.But most it angers me, to think how vileArt thou, how base, from whom the insult came,Unwieldly laggard, many an age behindThy sister Powers, in brain and conscience both;In recognition of man's widening mindAnd flexile adaptation to its growth:Brute bulk, that bearest on thy back, half loth,One wretched man, most pitied of mankind.
Words in this poem
- whereof adv.
- Of which; of whom; formerly, also, with which; -- used relatively.
- erewhile adv.
- Some time ago; a little while before; heretofore.
- isle v. t.
- To cause to become an island, or like an island; to surround or encompass; to island.
- insolence n.
- The quality of being unusual or novel. [F. insolence, L. insolentia. See Insolent.]
- laggard a.
- Slow; sluggish; backward. [Lag + -ard.]
- conscience n.
- Knowledge of one's own thoughts or actions; consciousness. [F. conscience, fr. L. conscientia, fr. consciens, p.pr. of conscire to know, to be conscious; con- + scire to know. See Science.]
- flexile a.
- Flexible; pliant; pliable; easily bent; plastic; tractable. [L. flexilis.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Foreign Menace 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, Foreign Menace, in The Poems of William Watson (1892–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13179, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/watson-poems/foreign-menace.html, id L11294.
Form and metre
Foreign Menace is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 43% 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 ABBAABBACDCD-C claimA · erewhileB · isleB · shameA · tameA · guileB · vileB · cameA · behindC · bothD · mindC · growthD · loth · mankindC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I marvel that this land, whereof I claim | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| The glory of sonship--for it was erewhile | 13 | ·/˘·/˘······· |
| A glory to be sprung of Britain's isle, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Though now it well-nigh more resembles shame-- | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| I marvel that this land with heart so tame | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Can brook the northern insolence and guile. | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘·· |
| But most it angers me, to think how vile | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Art thou, how base, from whom the insult came, | 10 | ·······˘/· |
| Unwieldly laggard, many an age behind | 10 | ···/˘/···· |
| Thy sister Powers, in brain and conscience both; | 10 | ·/˘/···/˘· |
| In recognition of man's widening mind | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| And flexile adaptation to its growth: | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| Brute bulk, that bearest on thy back, half loth, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| One wretched man, most pitied of mankind. | 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.