After the Dazzle of Day
After the dazzle of day is gone,Only the dark, dark night shows to my eyes the stars;After the clangor of organ majestic, or chorus, or perfect band,Silent, athwart my soul, moves the symphony true.
To-day, from each and all, a breath of prayer--a pulse of thought,To memory of Him--to birth of Him.
Words in this poem
- dazzle v. t.
- To overpower with light; to confuse the sight of by brilliance of light. [Freq. of daze.]
- clangor n.
- A sharp, harsh, ringing sound. [L., fr. clangere. See Clang, v. t.]
- symphony n.
- A consonance or harmony of sounds, agreeable to the ear, whether the sounds are vocal or instrumental, or both. [F. symphonie (cf. It. sinfonia), L. symphonia, Gr. Phonetic.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
After the Dazzle of Day is in the public domain. This text is taken from Leaves of Grass, Project Gutenberg ebook #1322; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Walt Whitman, After the Dazzle of Day, in Leaves of Grass (1855–1892), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/whitman-leaves/after-the-dazzle-of-day.html, id L04085.
Form and metre
After the Dazzle of Day is 6 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The lines average 12.5 syllables.
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.
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| After the dazzle of day is gone, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Only the dark, dark night shows to my eyes the stars; | 12 | /˘·········· |
| After the clangor of organ majestic, or chorus, or perfect band, | 18 | ···/˘·/˘˘/˘·/˘·˘/· |
| Silent, athwart my soul, moves the symphony true. | 12 | /˘˘/····/˘˘· |
| To-day, from each and all, a breath of prayer--a pulse of thought, | 14 | ·············· |
| To memory of Him--to birth of Him. | 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.