Vocalism
Vocalism, measure, concentration, determination, and the divinepower to speak words;Are you full-lung’d and limber-lipp’d from long trial? from vigorouspractice? from physique?Do you move in these broad lands as broad as they?Come duly to the divine power to speak words?For only at last after many years, after chastity, friendship,procreation, prudence, and nakedness,After treading ground and breasting river and lake,After a loosen’d throat, after absorbing eras, temperaments, races,after knowledge, freedom, crimes,After complete faith, after clarifyings, elevations, and removingobstructions,After these and more, it is just possible there comes to a man,woman, the divine power to speak words;Then toward that man or that woman swiftly hasten all--nonerefuse, all attend,Armies, ships, antiquities, libraries, paintings, machines, cities,hate, despair, amity, pain, theft, murder, aspiration, form inclose ranks,They debouch as they are wanted to march obediently through themouth of that man or that woman.
O what is it in me that makes me tremble so at voices?Surely whoever speaks to me in the right voice, him or her I shall follow,As the water follows the moon, silently, with fluid steps, anywherearound the globe.
All waits for the right voices;Where is the practis’d and perfect organ? where is the develop’d soul?For I see every word utter’d thence has deeper, sweeter, new sounds,impossible on less terms.
I see brains and lips closed, tympans and temples unstruck,Until that comes which has the quality to strike and to unclose,Until that comes which has the quality to bring forth what liesslumbering forever ready in all words.
Words in this poem
- vocalism n.
- The exercise of the vocal organs; vocalization.
- physique n.
- The natural constitution, or physical structure, of a person. [F. See Physic.]
- nakedness n.
- The condition of being naked.
- amity n.
- Friendship, in a general sense, between individuals, societies, or nations; friendly relations; good understanding; as, a treaty of amity and commerce; the amity of the Whigs and Tories. [F. amitié, OF. amistié, amisté, fr. an assumed LL. amisitas, fr. L. amicus friendly, from amare to love. See Amiable.]
- aspiration n.
- The act of aspirating; the pronunciation of a letter with a full or strong emission of breath; an aspirated sound. [L. aspiratio, fr. aspirare: cf. F. aspiration.]
- debouch v. i.
- To march out from a wood, defile, or other confined spot, into open ground; to issue. [F. déboucher; pref. dé- (L. dis- or de) + boucher to stop up, fr. bouche mouth, fr. L. bucca the cheek. Cf. Disembogue.]
- obediently adv.
- In an obedient manner; with obedience.
- whoever pron.
- Whatever person; any person who; be or she who; any one who; as, he shall be punished, whoever he may be.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Vocalism 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, Vocalism, in Leaves of Grass (1855–1892), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/whitman-leaves/vocalism.html, id L03994.
Form and metre
Vocalism is 34 lines in 4 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. 83% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 12.3 syllables. 11 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 24% 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--------AB--B--- divine · wordsA · vigorous · physique · they · wordsA · friendship · nakedness · lake · races · crimes · removing · obstructions · man · wordsA · noneB · attend · cities · inB · ranks · the · woman
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Vocalism, measure, concentration, determination, and the divine | 18 | /˘˘/˘·˘/˘˘·˘/˘··˘/ |
| power to speak words; | 5 | /˘··· |
| Are you full-lung’d and limber-lipp’d from long trial? from vigorous | 16 | ·····/˘···/˘·/˘˘ |
| practice? from physique? | 5 | /˘·˘/ |
| Do you move in these broad lands as broad as they? | 11 | ··········· |
| Come duly to the divine power to speak words? | 12 | ·/˘··˘//˘··· |
| For only at last after many years, after chastity, friendship, | 17 | ·/˘····/˘···/˘˘/˘ |
| procreation, prudence, and nakedness, | 10 | /˘/˘/˘·/˘˘ |
| After treading ground and breasting river and lake, | 12 | ··/˘··/˘/˘·· |
| After a loosen’d throat, after absorbing eras, temperaments, races, | 18 | ···/˘···˘/˘/˘/˘˘/˘ |
| after knowledge, freedom, crimes, | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| After complete faith, after clarifyings, elevations, and removing | 19 | ··˘/···/˘·˘·˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| obstructions, | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| After these and more, it is just possible there comes to a man, | 16 | ········/˘˘····· |
| woman, the divine power to speak words; | 10 | /˘·˘//˘··· |
| Then toward that man or that woman swiftly hasten all--none | 15 | ·······/˘/˘/˘·· |
| refuse, all attend, | 5 | ˘/·˘/ |
| Armies, ships, antiquities, libraries, paintings, machines, cities, | 16 | /˘·˘/˘˘/·˘/˘˘//˘ |
| hate, despair, amity, pain, theft, murder, aspiration, form in | 16 | ·˘//˘˘··/˘·˘/˘·· |
| close ranks, | 2 | ·· |
| They debouch as they are wanted to march obediently through the | 17 | ·˘/···/˘··˘/˘˘˘·· |
| mouth of that man or that woman. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| O what is it in me that makes me tremble so at voices? | 15 | ·········/˘··/˘ |
| Surely whoever speaks to me in the right voice, him or her I shall follow, | 19 | /˘˘/˘············/˘ |
| As the water follows the moon, silently, with fluid steps, anywhere | 18 | ··/˘/˘··/˘˘·/˘·/˘· |
| around the globe. | 4 | ···· |
| All waits for the right voices; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Where is the practis’d and perfect organ? where is the develop’d soul? | 17 | ······˘//˘···˘/˘· |
| For I see every word utter’d thence has deeper, sweeter, new sounds, | 17 | ···/˘˘·/˘··/˘/˘·· |
| impossible on less terms. | 7 | ˘/˘˘··· |
| I see brains and lips closed, tympans and temples unstruck, | 13 | ·········/˘·· |
| Until that comes which has the quality to strike and to unclose, | 16 | ·······/˘˘····˘/ |
| Until that comes which has the quality to bring forth what lies | 15 | ·······/˘˘····· |
| slumbering forever ready in all words. | 11 | /˘˘˘/˘/˘··· |
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.