The Questioner
I asked of heaven and earth and sea,Saying: "O wondrous trinity,Deign to make answer unto me,And tell me truly what ye be."And they made answer: "Verily,The mask before His face are we,Because 'tis writ no man can seeHis face and live;"--so spake the three.Then I: "O wondrous trinity,A mask is but a mockery--Make answer yet again to meAnd tell if aught besides are ye."And they made answer: "Verily,The robe around His form are we,That sick and sore mortalityMay touch its hem and healèd be."Then I: "O wondrous trinity,Vouchsafe once more to answer me,And tell me truly, what is HeWhose very mask and raiment ye?"But they replied: "Of Time are we,And of Eternity is He.Wait thou, and ask Eternity;Belike his mouth shall answer thee."
Words in this poem
- wondrous adv.
- In a wonderful or surprising manner or degree; wonderfully. [OE. wonders, adv. (later also adj.). See Wonder, n., and cf. -wards.]
- deign v. t.
- To esteem worthy; to consider worth notice; -- opposed to disdain. [OE. deinen, deignen, OF. degner, deigner, daigner, F. daigner, fr. L. dignari to deem worthy, deign, fr. dignus worthy; akin to decere to be fitting. See Decent]
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- mortality n.
- The condition or quality of being mortal; subjection to death or to the necessity of dying. [L. mortalitas: cf. F. mortalité.]
- vouchsafe v. t.
- To condescend to grant; to concede; to bestow. [Vouch + safe, that is, to vouch or answer for safety.]
- belike adv.
- It is likely or probably; perhaps. -- Be*like"ly, adv. [Pref. be- (for by) + like.]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Questioner 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, The Questioner, in The Poems of William Watson (1892–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13179, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/watson-poems/the-questioner.html, id L11361.
Form and metre
The Questioner is 24 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 89% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 17% 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 ABAACAAAB-AACA-ABAAAAA-A seaA · trinityB · meA · beA · verilyC · weA · seeA · threeA · trinityB · mockery · meA · yeA · verilyC · weA · mortality · beA · trinityB · meA · heA · yeA · weA · heA · eternity · theeA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I asked of heaven and earth and sea, | 10 | ··˘·/˘···· |
| Saying: "O wondrous trinity, | 8 | /˘·/˘/˘˘ |
| Deign to make answer unto me, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And tell me truly what ye be." | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And they made answer: "Verily, | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| The mask before His face are we, | 8 | ········ |
| Because 'tis writ no man can see | 8 | ········ |
| His face and live;"--so spake the three. | 8 | ········ |
| Then I: "O wondrous trinity, | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| A mask is but a mockery-- | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Make answer yet again to me | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| And tell if aught besides are ye." | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| And they made answer: "Verily, | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| The robe around His form are we, | 8 | ········ |
| That sick and sore mortality | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| May touch its hem and healèd be." | 7 | ······· |
| Then I: "O wondrous trinity, | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| Vouchsafe once more to answer me, | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| And tell me truly, what is He | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Whose very mask and raiment ye?" | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| But they replied: "Of Time are we, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| And of Eternity is He. | 8 | ··˘/˘˘·· |
| Wait thou, and ask Eternity; | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| Belike his mouth shall answer thee." | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
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.