In Paths Untrodden
In paths untrodden,In the growth by margins of pond-waters,Escaped from the life that exhibits itself,From all the standards hitherto publish’d, from the pleasures,profits, conformities,Which too long I was offering to feed my soul,Clear to me now standards not yet publish’d, clear to me that my soul,That the soul of the man I speak for rejoices in comrades,Here by myself away from the clank of the world,Tallying and talk’d to here by tongues aromatic,No longer abash’d, (for in this secluded spot I can respond as Iwould not dare elsewhere,)Strong upon me the life that does not exhibit itself, yet containsall the rest,Resolv’d to sing no songs to-day but those of manly attachment,Projecting them along that substantial life,Bequeathing hence types of athletic love,Afternoon this delicious Ninth-month in my forty-first year,I proceed for all who are or have been young men,To tell the secret my nights and days,To celebrate the need of comrades.
Words in this poem
- hitherto adv.
- To this place; to a prescribed limit.
- clank n.
- A sharp, brief, ringing sound, made by a collision of metallic or other sonorous bodies; -- usually expressing a duller or less resounding sound than clang, and a deeper and stronger sound than clink. [Akin to clink, and of imitative origin; cf. G. klang sound, D. klank. Cf. Clang.]
- afternoon n.
- The part of the day which follows noon, between noon and evening.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
In Paths Untrodden 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, In Paths Untrodden, in Leaves of Grass (1855–1892), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/whitman-leaves/in-paths-untrodden.html, id L03861.
Form and metre
In Paths Untrodden is 21 lines in a single stanza. 82% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 11.4 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 10% 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 -----AAB------------B untrodden · waters · itself · pleasures · conformities · soulA · soulA · comradesB · world · aromatic · i · elsewhere · contains · rest · attachment · life · love · year · men · days · comradesB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| In paths untrodden, | 5 | ····· |
| In the growth by margins of pond-waters, | 10 | ····/˘··/˘ |
| Escaped from the life that exhibits itself, | 11 | ˘/····˘/˘˘/ |
| From all the standards hitherto publish’d, from the pleasures, | 14 | ···/˘/·//˘··/˘ |
| profits, conformities, | 6 | /˘˘/˘˘ |
| Which too long I was offering to feed my soul, | 12 | ·····/˘˘···· |
| Clear to me now standards not yet publish’d, clear to me that my soul, | 16 | ····/˘··/˘······ |
| That the soul of the man I speak for rejoices in comrades, | 15 | ·········˘/˘·/· |
| Here by myself away from the clank of the world, | 12 | ···/˘/······ |
| Tallying and talk’d to here by tongues aromatic, | 13 | /˘˘·······˘/˘ |
| No longer abash’d, (for in this secluded spot I can respond as I | 18 | ·/˘˘/···˘/˘···˘/·· |
| would not dare elsewhere,) | 5 | ···/· |
| Strong upon me the life that does not exhibit itself, yet contains | 17 | ·········˘/˘˘/·˘/ |
| all the rest, | 3 | ··· |
| Resolv’d to sing no songs to-day but those of manly attachment, | 16 | ˘/·········/˘˘/˘ |
| Projecting them along that substantial life, | 11 | ˘/˘·˘/·˘/˘· |
| Bequeathing hence types of athletic love, | 10 | ˘/˘···˘/˘· |
| Afternoon this delicious Ninth-month in my forty-first year, | 15 | ·˘/·˘/˘····/˘·· |
| I proceed for all who are or have been young men, | 12 | ·˘/········· |
| To tell the secret my nights and days, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| To celebrate the need of comrades. | 9 | ·/˘····/· |
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.