Lines to Our New Censor
And wilt thou, Oscar, from us flee,And must we, henceforth, wholly sever?Shall thy laborious jeux-d'espritSadden our lives no more for ever?
And all thy future wilt thou linkWith that brave land to which thou goest?Unhappy France! we used to thinkShe touched, at Sedan, fortune's lowest.
And you're made French as easilyAs you might change the clothes you're wearing?Fancy!--and 'tis so hard to beA man of sense and modest bearing.
May fortitude beneath this blowFail not the gallant Gallic nation!By past experience, well we knowHer genius for recuperation.
And as for us--to our disgrace,Your stricture's truth must be conceded:Would any but a stupid raceHave made the fuss about you we did?
Words in this poem
- henceforth adv.
- From this time forward; henceforward.
- 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,]
- sadden v. t.
- To make sad. Specifically: (a) To render heavy or cohesive.
- sedan n.
- A portable chair or covered vehicle for carrying a single person, -- usually borne on poles by two men. Called also sedan chair. [Said to be named from Sedan, in France, where it was first made, and whence it was introduced into England in the time of King Charles I.]
- fortitude n.
- Power to resist attack; strength; firmness. [L. fortitudo, fr. fortis strong. See Fort.]
- recuperation n.
- Recovery, as of anything lost, especially of the health or strength. [L. recuperatio: cf. F. récup.]
- fuss n.
- A tumult; a bustle; unnecessary or annoying ado about trifles. [Cf. Fusome.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Lines to Our New Censor 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, Lines to Our New Censor, in The Poems of William Watson (1892–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13179, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/watson-poems/lines-to-our-new-censor.html, id L11336.
Form and metre
Lines to Our New Censor is 20 lines in 5 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.7 syllables. 9 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 40% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic 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 ABAB fleeA · severB · d'espritA · everB
- 2 ABAB linkA · goestB · thinkA · lowestB
- 3 ABAB easilyA · wearingB · beA · bearingB
- 4 ABAB blowA · nationB · knowA · recuperationB
- 5 ABAB disgraceA · concededB · raceA · didB
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| And wilt thou, Oscar, from us flee, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And must we, henceforth, wholly sever? | 9 | ···///˘/˘ |
| Shall thy laborious jeux-d'esprit | 9 | ··˘/˘˘··· |
| Sadden our lives no more for ever? | 10 | /˘/˘····/˘ |
| And all thy future wilt thou link | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| With that brave land to which thou goest? | 8 | ········ |
| Unhappy France! we used to think | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| She touched, at Sedan, fortune's lowest. | 10 | ··˘·˘//˘/˘ |
| And you're made French as easily | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| As you might change the clothes you're wearing? | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Fancy!--and 'tis so hard to be | 8 | /˘······ |
| A man of sense and modest bearing. | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| May fortitude beneath this blow | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Fail not the gallant Gallic nation! | 9 | ···/˘/˘/˘ |
| By past experience, well we know | 9 | ··˘/˘˘··· |
| Her genius for recuperation. | 9 | ·/˘·˘·˘/˘ |
| And as for us--to our disgrace, | 9 | ·····/˘˘/ |
| Your stricture's truth must be conceded: | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| Would any but a stupid race | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Have made the fuss about you we did? | 9 | ········· |
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.