To Rich Givers
What you give me I cheerfully accept,A little sustenance, a hut and garden, a little money, as Irendezvous with my poems,A traveler’s lodging and breakfast as journey through the States,--why should I be ashamed to own such gifts? why to advertise for them?For I myself am not one who bestows nothing upon man and woman,For I bestow upon any man or woman the entrance to all the gifts ofthe universe.
Words in this poem
- cheerfully adv.
- In a cheerful manner, gladly.
- rendezvous n.
- A place appointed for a meeting, or at which persons customarily meet.
- advertise v. t.
- To give notice to; to inform or apprise; to notify; to make known; hence, to warn; -- often followed by of before the subject of information; as, to advertise a man of his loss. [F. avertir, formerly also spelt advertir, to warn, give notice to, L. advertere to turn to. The ending was probably influenced by the noun advertisement. See Ad]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To Rich Givers 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, To Rich Givers, in Leaves of Grass (1855–1892), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/whitman-leaves/to-rich-givers.html, id L03929.
Form and metre
To Rich Givers is 8 lines in a single verse paragraph. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. 62% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.6 syllables. 2 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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| What you give me I cheerfully accept, | 10 | ·····/˘˘˘/ |
| A little sustenance, a hut and garden, a little money, as I | 18 | ·/˘/˘˘···/˘·/˘/˘·· |
| rendezvous with my poems, | 7 | /˘···/˘ |
| A traveler’s lodging and breakfast as journey through the States,-- | 15 | ·/˘˘/˘·/˘·/˘··· |
| why should I be ashamed to own such gifts? why to advertise for them? | 17 | ····˘/······/˘··· |
| For I myself am not one who bestows nothing upon man and woman, | 18 | ···/····˘//˘····/˘ |
| For I bestow upon any man or woman the entrance to all the gifts of | 20 | ··˘/··/˘··/˘·/˘····· |
| the universe. | 4 | ·/˘· |
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.