After the Supper and Talk
After the supper and talk--after the day is done,As a friend from friends his final withdrawal prolonging,Good-bye and Good-bye with emotional lips repeating,(So hard for his hand to release those hands--no more will they meet,No more for communion of sorrow and joy, of old and young,A far-stretching journey awaits him, to return no more,)Shunning, postponing severance--seeking to ward off the last wordever so little,E’en at the exit-door turning--charges superfluous calling back--e’en as he descends the steps,Something to eke out a minute additional--shadows of nightfall deepening,Farewells, messages lessening--dimmer the forthgoer’s visage and form,Soon to be lost for aye in the darkness--loth, O so loth to depart!Garrulous to the very last.
Heave the anchor short!Raise main-sail and jib--steer forth,O little white-hull’d sloop, now speed on really deep waters,(I will not call it our concluding voyage,But outset and sure entrance to the truest, best, maturest;)Depart, depart from solid earth--no more returning to these shores,Now on for aye our infinite free venture wending,Spurning all yet tried ports, seas, hawsers, densities, gravitation,Sail out for good, eidolon yacht of me!
Words in this poem
- nightfall n.
- The close of the day.
- visage n.
- The face, countenance, or look of a person or an animal; -- chiefly applied to the human face. [F. visage, from L. visus a seeing, a look, fr. videre, visum, to see. See Vision.]
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- garrulous a.
- Talking much, especially about commonplace or trivial things; talkative; loquacious. [L. garrulus, fr. garrire to chatter, talk; cf. Gr. Call.]
- outset n.
- A setting out, starting, or beginning.
- eidolon n.
- An image or representation; a form; a phantom; an apparition. [NL., fr. Gr. Idol.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
After the Supper and Talk 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 Supper and Talk, in Leaves of Grass (1855–1892), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/whitman-leaves/after-the-supper-and-talk.html, id L04120.
Form and metre
After the Supper and Talk is 23 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. 76% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.0 syllables. 9 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
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 -AA-A--------- done · prolongingA · repeatingA · meet · youngA · more · word · little · back · steps · deepening · form · depart · last
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 supper and talk--after the day is done, | 13 | ···/˘········ |
| As a friend from friends his final withdrawal prolonging, | 14 | ······/˘˘/˘˘/˘ |
| Good-bye and Good-bye with emotional lips repeating, | 14 | ······˘/˘˘·˘/˘ |
| (So hard for his hand to release those hands--no more will they meet, | 15 | ······˘/······· |
| No more for communion of sorrow and joy, of old and young, | 15 | ···˘/˘·/˘······ |
| A far-stretching journey awaits him, to return no more,) | 14 | ··/˘/˘˘/··˘/·· |
| Shunning, postponing severance--seeking to ward off the last word | 16 | /˘˘/˘/˘˘/˘······ |
| ever so little, | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| E’en at the exit-door turning--charges superfluous calling back-- | 16 | ···/˘·/˘/˘/˘·/˘· |
| e’en as he descends the steps, | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| Something to eke out a minute additional--shadows of nightfall deepening, | 20 | /˘····/˘˘/˘˘/··/·/˘˘ |
| Farewells, messages lessening--dimmer the forthgoer’s visage and form, | 17 | ·//˘˘/˘˘/˘···/˘·· |
| Soon to be lost for aye in the darkness--loth, O so loth to depart! | 17 | ········/˘·····˘/ |
| Garrulous to the very last. | 8 | /˘˘··/˘· |
| Heave the anchor short! | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Raise main-sail and jib--steer forth, | 7 | ······· |
| O little white-hull’d sloop, now speed on really deep waters, | 14 | ·/˘······/˘·/˘ |
| (I will not call it our concluding voyage, | 12 | ·····/˘˘/˘/˘ |
| But outset and sure entrance to the truest, best, maturest;) | 15 | ·/···/˘··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Depart, depart from solid earth--no more returning to these shores, | 16 | ˘/˘/·/˘···˘/˘··· |
| Now on for aye our infinite free venture wending, | 14 | ····/˘/˘˘·/˘/˘ |
| Spurning all yet tried ports, seas, hawsers, densities, gravitation, | 16 | /˘·······/˘˘·˘/˘ |
| Sail out for good, eidolon yacht of me! | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
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