Interpolation Sounds
Over and through the burial chant,Organ and solemn service, sermon, bending priests,To me come interpolation sounds not in the show--plainly to me,crowding up the aisle and from the window,Of sudden battle’s hurry and harsh noises--war’s grim game to sightand ear in earnest;The scout call’d up and forward--the general mounted and his aidesaround him--the new-brought word--the instantaneous order issued;The rifle crack--the cannon thud--the rushing forth of men from theirtents;The clank of cavalry--the strange celerity of forming ranks--theslender bugle note;The sound of horses’ hoofs departing--saddles, arms, accoutrements.
Words in this poem
- burial n.
- A grave; a tomb; a place of sepulture. [OE. buriel, buriels, grave, tomb, AS. byrgels, fr. byrgan to bury, and akin to OS. burgisli sepulcher.]
- sermon n.
- A discourse or address; a talk; a writing; as, the sermens of Chaucer. [OE. sermoun, sermun, F. sermon, fr. L. sermo, - onis, a speaking, discourse, probably fr. serer, sertum, to join, connect; hence, a connected speech. See Series]
- interpolation n.
- The act of introducing or inserting anything, especially that which is spurious or foreign. [L. interpolatio an alteration made here and there: cf. F. interpolation.]
- 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.]
- accoutrements n.
- Dress; trappings; equipment; specifically, the devices and equipments worn by soldiers. [F. accoutrement, earlier also accoustrement, earlier also accoustrement. See Accouter.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Interpolation Sounds 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, Interpolation Sounds, in Leaves of Grass (1855–1892), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/whitman-leaves/interpolation-sounds.html, id L04131.
Form and metre
Interpolation Sounds is 13 lines in a single stanza. 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 11.8 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 31% 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------BA-B chant · priests · meA · window · sight · earnest · aides · issued · their · tentsB · theA · note · accoutrementsB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Over and through the burial chant, | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| Organ and solemn service, sermon, bending priests, | 12 | /˘·/˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| To me come interpolation sounds not in the show--plainly to me, | 14 | ··········/˘·· |
| crowding up the aisle and from the window, | 10 | /˘······/˘ |
| Of sudden battle’s hurry and harsh noises--war’s grim game to sight | 16 | ·/˘/˘/˘··/˘····· |
| and ear in earnest; | 5 | ···/˘ |
| The scout call’d up and forward--the general mounted and his aides | 16 | ·····/˘·/˘˘/˘··· |
| around him--the new-brought word--the instantaneous order issued; | 17 | ·········˘/˘˘/˘/˘ |
| The rifle crack--the cannon thud--the rushing forth of men from their | 16 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘····· |
| tents; | 1 | · |
| The clank of cavalry--the strange celerity of forming ranks--the | 17 | ···/˘˘··˘/˘˘·/˘·· |
| slender bugle note; | 5 | /˘/˘· |
| The sound of horses’ hoofs departing--saddles, arms, accoutrements. | 16 | ···/˘·˘/˘/˘·˘/˘˘ |
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.