Home-Rootedness
I cannot boast myself cosmopolite;I own to "insularity," although'Tis fall'n from fashion, as full well I know.For somehow, being a plain and simple wight,I am skin-deep a child of the new light,But chiefly am mere Englishman below,Of island-fostering; and can hate a foe,And trust my kin before the Muscovite.Whom shall I trust if not my kin? And whomAccount so near in natural bonds as theseBorn of my mother England's mighty womb,Nursed on my mother England's mighty knees,And lull'd as I was lull'd in glory and gloomWith cradle-song of her protecting seas?
Words in this poem
- cosmopolite n.
- One who has no fixed residence, or who is at home in every place; a citizen of the world. [Gr. cosmopolitain, cosmopolite.]
- insularity n.
- The state or quality of being an island or consisting of islands; insulation. [Cf. F. insularité.]
- somehow adv.
- In one way or another; in some way not yet known or designated; by some means; as, the thing must be done somehow; he lives somehow.
- wight n.
- A whit; a bit; a jot. [OE. wight, wiht, a wight, a whit, AS. wiht, wuht, a creature, a thing; skin to D. wicht a child, OS. & OHG. wiht a creature, thing, G. wicht a creature, Icel. v]
- 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,]
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Home-Rootedness 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, Home-Rootedness, in The Poems of William Watson (1892–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13179, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/watson-poems/home-rootedness.html, id L11295.
Form and metre
Home-Rootedness is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% 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 -AABBAABCDCDCD cosmopolite · althoughA · knowA · wightB · lightB · belowA · foeA · muscoviteB · whomC · theseD · wombC · kneesD · gloomC · seasD
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 cannot boast myself cosmopolite; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| I own to "insularity," although | 10 | ····˘/˘˘·· |
| 'Tis fall'n from fashion, as full well I know. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| For somehow, being a plain and simple wight, | 10 | ·/·/···/˘· |
| I am skin-deep a child of the new light, | 10 | ·········· |
| But chiefly am mere Englishman below, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘·· |
| Of island-fostering; and can hate a foe, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| And trust my kin before the Muscovite. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Whom shall I trust if not my kin? And whom | 10 | ·········· |
| Account so near in natural bonds as these | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| Born of my mother England's mighty womb, | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Nursed on my mother England's mighty knees, | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| And lull'd as I was lull'd in glory and gloom | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| With cradle-song of her protecting seas? | 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.