Years of the Modern
Years of the modern! years of the unperform’d!Your horizon rises, I see it parting away for more august dramas,I see not America only, not only Liberty’s nation but other nationspreparing,I see tremendous entrances and exits, new combinations, the solidarityof races,I see that force advancing with irresistible power on the world’s stage,(Have the old forces, the old wars, played their parts? are the actssuitable to them closed?)I see Freedom, completely arm’d and victorious and very haughty,with Law on one side and Peace on the other,A stupendous trio all issuing forth against the idea of caste;What historic denouements are these we so rapidly approach?I see men marching and countermarching by swift millions,I see the frontiers and boundaries of the old aristocracies broken,I see the landmarks of European kings removed,I see this day the People beginning their landmarks, (all others give way;)Never were such sharp questions ask’d as this day,Never was average man, his soul, more energetic, more like a God,Lo, how he urges and urges, leaving the masses no rest!His daring foot is on land and sea everywhere, he colonizes thePacific, the archipelagoes,With the steamship, the electric telegraph, the newspaper, thewholesale engines of war,With these and the world-spreading factories he interlinks allgeography, all lands;What whispers are these O lands, running ahead of you, passing underthe seas?Are all nations communing? is there going to be but one heart to the globe?Is humanity forming en-masse? for lo, tyrants tremble, crowns grow dim,The earth, restive, confronts a new era, perhaps a general divine war,No one knows what will happen next, such portents fill the days and nights;Years prophetical! the space ahead as I walk, as I vainly try topierce it, is full of phantoms,Unborn deeds, things soon to be, project their shapes around me,This incredible rush and heat, this strange ecstatic fever of dreamsO years!Your dreams O years, how they penetrate through me! (I know notwhether I sleep or wake;)The perform’d America and Europe grow dim, retiring in shadow behind me,The unperform’d, more gigantic than ever, advance, advance upon me.
Words in this poem
- tremendous a.
- Fitted to excite fear or terror; such as may astonish or terrify by its magnitude, force, or violence; terrible; dreadful; as, a tremendous wind; a tremendous shower; a tremendous shock or fall. [L. tremendus that is to be trembled at, fearful, fr. tremere to tremble. See Tremble.]
- solidarity n.
- An entire union or consolidation of interests and responsibilities; fellowship; community. [F. solidarité, fr. solide. See Solid.]
- haughty a.
- High; lofty; bold. [OE. hautein, F. hautain, fr. haut high, OF. also halt, fr. L. altus. See Altitude.]
- stupendous a.
- Astonishing; wonderful; amazing; especially, astonishing in magnitude or elevation; as, a stupendous pile. [L. stupendus astonishing, p. future pass. of stupere to be astonished at. Cf. Stupid.]
- trio n.
- Three, considered collectively; three in company or acting together; a set of three; three united. [It., fr. L. tres, tria, three: cf. F. trio, from the Italian. See Three.]
- historic a.
- Of or pertaining to history, or the record of past events; as, an historical poem; the historic page. [L. historicus, Gr. historique. See History.]
- steamship n.
- A ship or seagoing vessel propelled by the power of steam; a steamer.
- ahead adv.
- In or to the front; in advance; onward. [Pref. a- + head.]
- restive a.
- Unwilling to go on; obstinate in refusing to move forward; stubborn; drawing back. [OF. restif, F. rétif, fr. L. restare to stay back, withstand, resist. See Rest remainder, and cf. Restiff.]
- prophetical a.
- Containing, or pertaining to, prophecy; foretelling events; as, prophetic writings; prophetic dreams; -- used with of before the thing foretold. [L. propheticus, Gr. prophétique.]
- unborn a.
- Not born; no yet brought into life; being still to appear; future.
- incredible a.
- Not credible; surpassing belief; too extraordinary and improbable to admit of belief; unlikely; marvelous; fabulous. [L. incredibilis: cf. OF. incredible. See In- not, and Credible.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Years of the Modern 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, Years of the Modern, in Leaves of Grass (1855–1892), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/whitman-leaves/years-of-the-modern.html, id L04059.
Form and metre
Years of the Modern is 41 lines in a single verse paragraph. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. 78% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.9 syllables. 10 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 ----------------AA---------------B-B----- unperform'd · dramas · nations · preparing · solidarity · races · stage · acts · closed · haughty · other · caste · approach · millions · broken · removed · wayA · dayA · god · rest · the · archipelagoes · the · war · all · lands · under · seas · globe · dim · war · nights · to · phantomsB · me · dreamsB · years · not · wake · me · me
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Years of the modern! years of the unperform’d! | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| Your horizon rises, I see it parting away for more august dramas, | 19 | ·˘/˘/˘···/˘˘/··/˘/˘ |
| I see not America only, not only Liberty’s nation but other nations | 22 | ···˘/˘˘/˘·/˘/˘˘/˘·/˘/˘ |
| preparing, | 3 | ˘/˘ |
| I see tremendous entrances and exits, new combinations, the solidarity | 22 | ··˘/˘/˘˘·/˘··˘/˘··˘/˘˘ |
| of races, | 3 | ·/˘ |
| I see that force advancing with irresistible power on the world’s stage, | 19 | ····˘/˘··˘/˘˘/˘···· |
| (Have the old forces, the old wars, played their parts? are the acts | 14 | ···/˘········· |
| suitable to them closed?) | 6 | /˘˘··· |
| I see Freedom, completely arm’d and victorious and very haughty, | 18 | ··/˘˘/˘··˘/˘˘·/˘/˘ |
| with Law on one side and Peace on the other, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| A stupendous trio all issuing forth against the idea of caste; | 19 | ·˘/˘/··/˘˘····˘/˘·· |
| What historic denouements are these we so rapidly approach? | 16 | ·˘/˘··/····/˘˘˘/ |
| I see men marching and countermarching by swift millions, | 14 | ···/˘·······/˘ |
| I see the frontiers and boundaries of the old aristocracies broken, | 19 | ···˘/·/˘˘····˘/˘˘/˘ |
| I see the landmarks of European kings removed, | 13 | ···/···˘/˘·˘/ |
| I see this day the People beginning their landmarks, (all others give way;) | 18 | ·····/˘˘/˘·/··/˘·· |
| Never were such sharp questions ask’d as this day, | 11 | /˘···/˘···· |
| Never was average man, his soul, more energetic, more like a God, | 18 | /˘·/˘˘·····˘/˘···· |
| Lo, how he urges and urges, leaving the masses no rest! | 15 | ···/˘·/˘/˘·/˘·· |
| His daring foot is on land and sea everywhere, he colonizes the | 18 | ·/˘······/˘··/˘·˘· |
| Pacific, the archipelagoes, | 9 | ˘/˘··˘/˘· |
| With the steamship, the electric telegraph, the newspaper, the | 16 | ··/··˘/˘/˘··/·˘· |
| wholesale engines of war, | 6 | /·/˘·· |
| With these and the world-spreading factories he interlinks all | 15 | ·····/˘/˘˘··˘/· |
| geography, all lands; | 6 | ˘/˘˘·· |
| What whispers are these O lands, running ahead of you, passing under | 17 | ·/˘····/˘˘/··/˘·· |
| the seas? | 2 | ·· |
| Are all nations communing? is there going to be but one heart to the globe? | 19 | ··/˘˘/˘··/˘········ |
| Is humanity forming en-masse? for lo, tyrants tremble, crowns grow dim, | 18 | ·˘/˘˘/˘····/˘/˘··· |
| The earth, restive, confronts a new era, perhaps a general divine war, | 19 | ··/˘˘/··/˘˘/·/˘˘˘/· |
| No one knows what will happen next, such portents fill the days and nights; | 16 | ·····/˘··/······ |
| Years prophetical! the space ahead as I walk, as I vainly try to | 18 | ·······˘/·····/˘·· |
| pierce it, is full of phantoms, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Unborn deeds, things soon to be, project their shapes around me, | 14 | //·····/˘····· |
| This incredible rush and heat, this strange ecstatic fever of dreams | 17 | ·˘/˘˘·····˘/˘/˘·· |
| O years! | 2 | ·· |
| Your dreams O years, how they penetrate through me! (I know not | 14 | ······/˘······ |
| whether I sleep or wake;) | 6 | ······ |
| The perform’d America and Europe grow dim, retiring in shadow behind me, | 21 | ·˘/˘/˘˘·/˘··˘/˘·/···· |
| The unperform’d, more gigantic than ever, advance, advance upon me. | 18 | ·····˘/˘·/˘˘/˘/··· |
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