The Coquette
Alone she sat with her accusing heart,That, like a restless comrade frightened sleep,And every thought that found her, left a dartThat hurt her so, she could not even weep.
Her heart that once had been a cup well filledWith love's red wine, save for some drops of gallShe knew was empty; though it had not spilledIts sweets for one, but wasted them on all.
She stood upon the grave of her dead truth,And saw her soul's bright armor red with rust,And knew that all the riches of her youthWere Dead Sea apples, crumbling into dust.
Love that had turned to bitter, biting scorn,Hearthstones despoiled, and homes made desolate,Made her cry out that she was ever born,To loathe her beauty and to curse her fate.
About this text
The Coquette 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, The Coquette, in Poems of Passion (1883), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16776, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wilcox-passion/the-coquette.html, id L22162.
Form and metre
The Coquette is 16 lines in 4 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
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 ABAB heartA · sleepB · dartA · weepB
- 2 ABAB filledA · gallB · spilledA · allB
- 3 ABAB truthA · rustB · youthA · dustB
- 4 ABAB scornA · desolateB · bornA · fateB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Alone she sat with her accusing heart, | 10 | ˘/····˘/˘· |
| That, like a restless comrade frightened sleep, | 10 | ···/˘/·/˘· |
| And every thought that found her, left a dart | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| That hurt her so, she could not even weep. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Her heart that once had been a cup well filled | 10 | ·········· |
| With love's red wine, save for some drops of gall | 10 | ·········· |
| She knew was empty; though it had not spilled | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Its sweets for one, but wasted them on all. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| She stood upon the grave of her dead truth, | 10 | ·········· |
| And saw her soul's bright armor red with rust, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And knew that all the riches of her youth | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Were Dead Sea apples, crumbling into dust. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Love that had turned to bitter, biting scorn, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Hearthstones despoiled, and homes made desolate, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Made her cry out that she was ever born, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| To loathe her beauty and to curse her fate. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
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.