A Grave
THOUGH life should comeWith all its marshalled honours, trump and drum,To proffer you the captaincy of someResounding exploit, that shall fillMan's pulses with commemorative thrill,And be a banner to far battle daysFor truths unrisen upon untrod ways,What would your answer be,O heart once brave?Seek otherwhere; for me,I watch beside a grave.
Though to some shining festival of thoughtThe sages call you from steep citadelOf bastioned argument, whose rampart gainedYields the pure vision passionately sought,In dreams known well,But never yet in wakefulness attained,How should you answer to their summons, save:I watch beside a grave?
Though Beauty, from her fane within the soulOf fire-tongued seers descending,Or from the dream-lit temples of the pastWith feet immortal wending,Illuminate grief's antre swart and vastWith half-veiled face that promises the wholeTo him who holds her fast,What answer could you give?Sight of one face I crave,One only while I live;Woo elsewhere; for I watch beside a grave.
Though love of the one heart that loves you best,A storm-tossed messenger,Should beat its wings for shelter in your breast,Where clung its last year's nest,The nest you built together and made fastLest envious winds should stir,And winged each delicate thought to ministerWith sweetness far-amassedTo the young dreams within--What answer could it win?The nest was whelmed in sorrow's rising wave,Nor could I reach one drowning dream to save;I watch beside a grave.
Words in this poem
- captaincy n.
- The rank, post, or commission of a captain. Washington.
- 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,]
- otherwhere adv.
- In or to some other place, or places; elsewhere.
- bastioned a.
- Furnished with a bastion; having bastions.
- passionately adv.
- In a passionate manner; with strong feeling; ardently.
- fane n.
- A temple; a place consecrated to religion; a church. [L. fanum a place dedicated to some deity, a sanctuary, fr. fari to speak. See Fame.]
- crave v. t.
- To ask with earnestness or importunity; to ask with submission or humility; to beg; to entreat; to beseech; to implore. [AS. crafian; akin to Icel. krefia, Sw. kr, Dan. kr.]
- clung a.
- Wasted away; shrunken. [Prop. p. p. fr. OE. clingen to wither. See Cling, v. i.]
- envious a.
- Malignant; mischievous; spiteful. [OF. envios, F. envieux, fr. L. invidiosus, fr. invidia envy. See Envy, and cf. Invidious.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Grave is in the public domain. This text is taken from Artemis to Actaeon, and Other Verses, Project Gutenberg ebook #4549; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Edith Wharton, A Grave, in Artemis to Actaeon, and Other Verse (1909), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #4549, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wharton-artemis/a-grave.html, id L22245.
Form and metre
A Grave is 43 lines in 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
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 AAABBCCDEDE comeA · drumA · someA · fillB · thrillB · daysC · waysC · beD · braveE · meD · graveE
- 2 ABCABCDD thoughtA · citadelB · gainedC · soughtA · wellB · attainedC · saveD · graveD
- 3 ABCBCACDEDE soulA · descendingB · pastC · wendingB · vastC · wholeA · fastC · giveD · craveE · liveD · graveE
- 4 A-AAB--BCCDDD bestA · messenger · breastA · nestA · fastB · stir · minister · amassedB · withinC · winC · waveD · saveD · graveD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| THOUGH life should come | 4 | ···· |
| With all its marshalled honours, trump and drum, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| To proffer you the captaincy of some | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘·· |
| Resounding exploit, that shall fill | 8 | ˘/˘/···· |
| Man's pulses with commemorative thrill, | 9 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘· |
| And be a banner to far battle days | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| For truths unrisen upon untrod ways, | 10 | ·········· |
| What would your answer be, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| O heart once brave? | 4 | ···· |
| Seek otherwhere; for me, | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| I watch beside a grave. | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Though to some shining festival of thought | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘·· |
| The sages call you from steep citadel | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Of bastioned argument, whose rampart gained | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| Yields the pure vision passionately sought, | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘˘· |
| In dreams known well, | 4 | ···· |
| But never yet in wakefulness attained, | 10 | ·/······˘/ |
| How should you answer to their summons, save: | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| I watch beside a grave? | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Though Beauty, from her fane within the soul | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Of fire-tongued seers descending, | 8 | ·/˘··˘/˘ |
| Or from the dream-lit temples of the past | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| With feet immortal wending, | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| Illuminate grief's antre swart and vast | 10 | ˘/˘˘·/˘··· |
| With half-veiled face that promises the whole | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| To him who holds her fast, | 6 | ······ |
| What answer could you give? | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Sight of one face I crave, | 6 | ······ |
| One only while I live; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Woo elsewhere; for I watch beside a grave. | 10 | ·/····˘/·· |
| Though love of the one heart that loves you best, | 10 | ·········· |
| A storm-tossed messenger, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Should beat its wings for shelter in your breast, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Where clung its last year's nest, | 6 | ······ |
| The nest you built together and made fast | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Lest envious winds should stir, | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| And winged each delicate thought to minister | 11 | ···/˘˘··/˘˘ |
| With sweetness far-amassed | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| To the young dreams within-- | 6 | ······ |
| What answer could it win? | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The nest was whelmed in sorrow's rising wave, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Nor could I reach one drowning dream to save; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| I watch beside a grave. | 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.