"Under the Dark and Piny Steep"
Under the dark and piny steepWe watched the storm crash by:We saw the bright brand leap and leapOut of the shattered sky.
The elements were minist'ringTo make one mortal blest;For, peal by peal, you did but clingThe closer to his breast.
Words in this poem
- piny a.
- Abounding with pines.
- peal v. i.
- To appeal. Spencer.
- closer n.
- One who, or that which, closes; specifically, a boot closer. See under Boot.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
"Under the Dark and Piny Steep" 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, "Under the Dark and Piny Steep", in The Poems of William Watson (1892–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13179, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/watson-poems/under-the-dark-and-piny-steep.html, id L11261.
Form and metre
"Under the Dark and Piny Steep" is 8 lines in 2 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.0 syllables. 50% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in common measure.
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 steepA · byB · leapA · skyB
- 2 ABAB minist'ringA · blestB · clingA · breastB
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Under the dark and piny steep | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| We watched the storm crash by: | 6 | ······ |
| We saw the bright brand leap and leap | 8 | ········ |
| Out of the shattered sky. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The elements were minist'ring | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| To make one mortal blest; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| For, peal by peal, you did but cling | 8 | ········ |
| The closer to his breast. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
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.