Grief I
ON immemorial altitudes augustGrief holds her high dominion. Bold the feetThat climb unblenching to that stern retreatWhence, looking down, man knows himself but dust.There lie the mightiest passions, earthward thrustBeneath her regnant footstool, and there meetPale ghosts of buried longings that were sweet,With many an abdicated "shall" and "must."
For there she rules omnipotent, whose willCompels a mute acceptance of her chart;Who holds the world, and lo! it cannot fillHer mighty hand; who will be served apartWith uncommunicable rites, and stillSurrender of the undivided heart.
Words in this poem
- immemorial a.
- Extending beyond the reach of memory, record, or tradition; indefinitely ancient; as, existing from time immemorial. [Pref. im- not + memorial: cf. F. immémorial.]
- earthward adv.
- Toward the earth; -- opposed to heavenward or skyward.
- regnant a.
- Exercising regal authority; reigning; as, a queen regnant. [L. regnans, -antis, p. pr. of regnare to reign: cf. F régnant. See Reign.]
- footstool n.
- A low stool to support the feet of one when sitting.
- 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
Grief I 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, Grief I, in Artemis to Actaeon, and Other Verse (1909), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #4549, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wharton-artemis/grief-i.html, id L22229.
Form and metre
Grief I is 14 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
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 ABBAABBA augustA · feetB · retreatB · dustA · thrustA · meetB · sweetB · mustA
- 2 ABABAB willA · chartB · fillA · apartB · stillA · heartB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| ON immemorial altitudes august | 11 | ··˘/˘˘/˘·/˘ |
| Grief holds her high dominion. Bold the feet | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| That climb unblenching to that stern retreat | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Whence, looking down, man knows himself but dust. | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| There lie the mightiest passions, earthward thrust | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Beneath her regnant footstool, and there meet | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Pale ghosts of buried longings that were sweet, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| With many an abdicated "shall" and "must." | 10 | ·/·/˘·˘··· |
| For there she rules omnipotent, whose will | 10 | ····˘/˘˘·· |
| Compels a mute acceptance of her chart; | 10 | ˘/··˘/˘··· |
| Who holds the world, and lo! it cannot fill | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Her mighty hand; who will be served apart | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| With uncommunicable rites, and still | 10 | ·········· |
| Surrender of the undivided heart. | 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.