Thoughts
Of public opinion,Of a calm and cool fiat sooner or later, (how impassive! how certainand final!)Of the President with pale face asking secretly to himself, Whatwill the people say at last?Of the frivolous Judge--of the corrupt Congressman, Governor,Mayor--of such as these standing helpless and exposed,Of the mumbling and screaming priest, (soon, soon deserted,)Of the lessening year by year of venerableness, and of the dicta ofofficers, statutes, pulpits, schools,Of the rising forever taller and stronger and broader of theintuitions of men and women, and of Self-esteem and Personality;Of the true New World--of the Democracies resplendent en-masse,Of the conformity of politics, armies, navies, to them,Of the shining sun by them--of the inherent light, greater than the rest,Of the envelopment of all by them, and the effusion of all from them.
Words in this poem
- impassive a.
- Not susceptible of pain or suffering; apathetic; impassible; unmoved.
- congressman n.
- A member of the Congress of the United States, esp. of the House of Representatives.
- mumbling a.
- Low; indistinct; inarticulate.
- screaming a.
- Uttering screams; shrieking.
- envelopment n.
- The act of enveloping or wrapping; an inclosing or covering on all sides. [Cf. F. enveloppement.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Thoughts 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, Thoughts, in Leaves of Grass (1855–1892), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/whitman-leaves/thoughts.html, id L04049.
Form and metre
Thoughts is 16 lines in a single stanza. 74% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 14.3 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% 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-------AB-B opinion · certain · final · what · lastA · governor · exposed · deserted · of · schools · the · personality · masseA · themB · rest · themB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Of public opinion, | 6 | ·/˘˘/˘ |
| Of a calm and cool fiat sooner or later, (how impassive! how certain | 19 | ·····/˘/˘·/˘·˘/˘·/˘ |
| and final!) | 3 | ·/˘ |
| Of the President with pale face asking secretly to himself, What | 17 | ··/˘····/˘/˘˘·˘/· |
| will the people say at last? | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Of the frivolous Judge--of the corrupt Congressman, Governor, | 16 | ··/˘˘···˘//˘˘/˘˘ |
| Mayor--of such as these standing helpless and exposed, | 13 | /˘····/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Of the mumbling and screaming priest, (soon, soon deserted,) | 14 | ··/˘˘·/˘···˘/˘ |
| Of the lessening year by year of venerableness, and of the dicta of | 20 | ··/˘˘············/˘· |
| officers, statutes, pulpits, schools, | 8 | /˘˘/˘/˘· |
| Of the rising forever taller and stronger and broader of the | 17 | ··/˘˘/˘/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| intuitions of men and women, and of Self-esteem and Personality; | 20 | ·˘/˘···/˘···˘/··˘/˘˘ |
| Of the true New World--of the Democracies resplendent en-masse, | 16 | ·······˘/˘˘˘/˘·· |
| Of the conformity of politics, armies, navies, to them, | 16 | ··˘/˘˘·/˘·/˘/˘·· |
| Of the shining sun by them--of the inherent light, greater than the rest, | 18 | ··/˘·····˘/˘·/˘··· |
| Of the envelopment of all by them, and the effusion of all from them. | 19 | ··˘/˘˘······˘/˘···· |
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.