Individuality
O yes, I love you, and with all my heart;Just as a weaker woman loves her own,Better than I love my beloved art,Which, till you came, reigned royally, alone,My king, my master. Since I saw your faceI have dethroned it, and you hold that place.
I am as weak as other women are:Your frown can make the whole world like a tomb;Your smile shines brighter than the sun, by far.Sometimes I think there is not space or roomIn all the earth for such a love as mine,And it soars up to breathe in realms divine.
I know that your desertion or neglectCould break my heart, as women's hearts do break.If my wan days had nothing to expectFrom your love's splendor, all joy would forsakeThe chambers of my soul. Yes, this is true.And yet, and yet--one thing I keep from you.
There is a subtle part of me, which wentInto my long pursued and worshipped art;Though your great love fills me with such contentNo other love finds room now, in my heart.Yet that rare essence was my art's alone.Thank God, you cannot grasp it; 'tis mine own.
Thank God, I say, for while I love you so,With that vast love, as passionate as tender,I feel an exultation as I knowI have not made you a complete surrender.Here is my body; bruise it, if you will,And break my heart; I have that something still.
You cannot grasp it. Seize the breath of mornOr bind the perfume of the rose, as well.God put it in my soul when I was born;It is not mine to give away, or sell,Or offer up on any altar shrine.It was my art's; and when not art's, 'tis mine,
For love's sake I can put the art away,Or anything which stands 'twixt me and you.But that strange essence God bestowed, I say,To permeate the work He gave to do:And it cannot be drained, dissolved, or sentThrough any channel save the one He meant.
Words in this poem
- royally adv.
- In a royal or kingly manner; like a king; as becomes a king.
- expect v. t.
- To wait for; to await. [L. expectatum, to look out for, await, expect; ex + out spectare to look at. See Spectacle.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- thank n.
- A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural. [AS. Þanc, Þonc, thanks, favor, thought; akin to OS. thank favor, pleasure, thanks, D. & G. dank thanks, Icel. Þ\'94kk, Dan. tak, Sw. tack, Goth. Þagks thanks; -]
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Individuality is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems of Passion, Project Gutenberg ebook #16776; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Individuality, in Poems of Passion (1883), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16776, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wilcox-passion/individuality.html, id L22142.
Form and metre
Individuality is 42 lines in 7 stanzas of 6 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCC. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 ABABCC heartA · ownB · artA · aloneB · faceC · placeC
- 2 ABABCC areA · tombB · farA · roomB · mineC · divineC
- 3 ABABCC neglectA · breakB · expectA · forsakeB · trueC · youC
- 4 ABABCC wentA · artB · contentA · heartB · aloneC · ownC
- 5 ABABCC soA · tenderB · knowA · surrenderB · willC · stillC
- 6 ABABCC mornA · wellB · bornA · sellB · shrineC · mineC
- 7 ABABCC awayA · youB · sayA · doB · sentC · meantC
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. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| O yes, I love you, and with all my heart; | 10 | ·········· |
| Just as a weaker woman loves her own, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Better than I love my beloved art, | 10 | /˘····˘/˘· |
| Which, till you came, reigned royally, alone, | 10 | ·····/˘˘˘/ |
| My king, my master. Since I saw your face | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| I have dethroned it, and you hold that place. | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| I am as weak as other women are: | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Your frown can make the whole world like a tomb; | 10 | ·········· |
| Your smile shines brighter than the sun, by far. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Sometimes I think there is not space or room | 10 | ˘/········ |
| In all the earth for such a love as mine, | 10 | ·········· |
| And it soars up to breathe in realms divine. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| I know that your desertion or neglect | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| Could break my heart, as women's hearts do break. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| If my wan days had nothing to expect | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| From your love's splendor, all joy would forsake | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| The chambers of my soul. Yes, this is true. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And yet, and yet--one thing I keep from you. | 10 | ·········· |
| There is a subtle part of me, which went | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Into my long pursued and worshipped art; | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| Though your great love fills me with such content | 10 | ········/˘ |
| No other love finds room now, in my heart. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Yet that rare essence was my art's alone. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Thank God, you cannot grasp it; 'tis mine own. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Thank God, I say, for while I love you so, | 10 | ·········· |
| With that vast love, as passionate as tender, | 11 | ·····/˘˘·/˘ |
| I feel an exultation as I know | 10 | ·········· |
| I have not made you a complete surrender. | 11 | ······˘/˘/˘ |
| Here is my body; bruise it, if you will, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And break my heart; I have that something still. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| You cannot grasp it. Seize the breath of morn | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Or bind the perfume of the rose, as well. | 10 | ···˘/····· |
| God put it in my soul when I was born; | 10 | ·········· |
| It is not mine to give away, or sell, | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Or offer up on any altar shrine. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| It was my art's; and when not art's, 'tis mine, | 10 | ·········· |
| For love's sake I can put the art away, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Or anything which stands 'twixt me and you. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| But that strange essence God bestowed, I say, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| To permeate the work He gave to do: | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And it cannot be drained, dissolved, or sent | 10 | ··˘/··˘/·· |
| Through any channel save the one He meant. | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
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