Chartres II
The crimson panes like blood-drops stigmatiseThe western floor. The aisles are mute and cold.A rigid fetich in her robe of gold,The Virgin of the Pillar, with blank eyes,Enthroned beneath her votive canopies,Gathers a meagre remnant to her fold.The rest is solitude; the church, grown old,Stands stark and grey beneath the burning skies.Well-nigh again its mighty framework growsTo be a part of nature's self, withdrawnFrom hot humanity's impatient woes;The floor is ridged like some rude mountain lawn,And in the east one giant window showsThe roseate coldness of an Alp at dawn.
Words in this poem
- stigmatise v. t.
- To mark with a stigma, or brand; as, the ancients stigmatized their slaves and soldiers.
- votive a.
- Given by vow, or in fulfillment of a vow; consecrated by a vow; devoted; as, votive offerings; a votive tablet. [L. votivus, fr. votum a vow: cf. F. votif. See Vow.]
- meagre a.
- Destitue of, or having little, flesh; lean. [OE. merge, F. maigre, L. macer; akin to D. & G. mager, Icel. magr, and prob. to Gr. Emaciate, Maigre.]
- stark adv.
- Wholly; entirely; absolutely; quite; as, stark mind.
- roseate a.
- Full of roses; rosy; as, roseate bowers. [Cf. L. roseus, rosatus, prepared from roses. See Roseal, Rose.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Chartres II 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, Chartres II, in Artemis to Actaeon, and Other Verse (1909), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #4549, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wharton-artemis/chartres-ii.html, id L22232.
Form and metre
Chartres II is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABBAABBACDCDCD, the pattern of the Italian sonnet. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
See other Italian sonnets, 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 ABBAABBACDCDCD stigmatiseA · coldB · goldB · eyesA · canopiesA · foldB · oldB · skiesA · growsC · withdrawnD · woesC · lawnD · showsC · dawnD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The crimson panes like blood-drops stigmatise | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| The western floor. The aisles are mute and cold. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| A rigid fetich in her robe of gold, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| The Virgin of the Pillar, with blank eyes, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Enthroned beneath her votive canopies, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| Gathers a meagre remnant to her fold. | 10 | /˘·/˘/˘··· |
| The rest is solitude; the church, grown old, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Stands stark and grey beneath the burning skies. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Well-nigh again its mighty framework grows | 10 | ··˘/·/˘/·· |
| To be a part of nature's self, withdrawn | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| From hot humanity's impatient woes; | 10 | ··˘/˘˘˘/˘· |
| The floor is ridged like some rude mountain lawn, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And in the east one giant window shows | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| The roseate coldness of an Alp at dawn. | 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.