By Broad Potomac’s Shore
By broad Potomac’s shore, again old tongue,(Still uttering, still ejaculating, canst never cease this babble?)Again old heart so gay, again to you, your sense, the full flushspring returning,Again the freshness and the odors, again Virginia’s summer sky,pellucid blue and silver,Again the forenoon purple of the hills,Again the deathless grass, so noiseless soft and green,Again the blood-red roses blooming.
Perfume this book of mine O blood-red roses!Lave subtly with your waters every line Potomac!Give me of you O spring, before I close, to put between its pages!O forenoon purple of the hills, before I close, of you!O deathless grass, of you!
Words in this poem
- forenoon n.
- The early part of the day, from morning to meridian, or noon.
- deathless a.
- Not subject to death, destruction, or extinction; immortal; undying; imperishable; as, deathless beings; deathless fame.
- lave v. t.
- To lade, dip, or pour out. [OE. laven. See Lavish.]
- subtly adv.
- In a subtle manner; slyly; artfully; cunningly.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
By Broad Potomac’s Shore 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, By Broad Potomac’s Shore, in Leaves of Grass (1855–1892), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/whitman-leaves/by-broad-potomac-s-shore.html, id L04051.
Form and metre
By Broad Potomac’s Shore is 14 lines in 2 stanzas. 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 11.7 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 7% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 A--A----- tongueA · babble · flush · returningA · sky · silver · hills · green · blooming
- 2 ---AA roses · potomac · pages · youA · youA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| By broad Potomac’s shore, again old tongue, | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/·· |
| (Still uttering, still ejaculating, canst never cease this babble?) | 17 | ·/˘˘·˘/˘·˘·/˘··/˘ |
| Again old heart so gay, again to you, your sense, the full flush | 15 | ˘/····˘/······· |
| spring returning, | 4 | ·˘/˘ |
| Again the freshness and the odors, again Virginia’s summer sky, | 17 | ˘/·/˘··/˘˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| pellucid blue and silver, | 7 | ˘/˘··/˘ |
| Again the forenoon purple of the hills, | 10 | ˘/·/˘/˘··· |
| Again the deathless grass, so noiseless soft and green, | 12 | ˘/·/˘··/˘··· |
| Again the blood-red roses blooming. | 9 | ˘/···/˘/˘ |
| Perfume this book of mine O blood-red roses! | 11 | ˘/·······/˘ |
| Lave subtly with your waters every line Potomac! | 15 | ·/˘˘··/˘/˘˘·˘/˘ |
| Give me of you O spring, before I close, to put between its pages! | 17 | ···············/˘ |
| O forenoon purple of the hills, before I close, of you! | 14 | ·/˘/˘········· |
| O deathless grass, of you! | 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.