The Duet
I was smoking a cigarette;Maud, my wife, and the tenor, McKey,Were singing together a blithe duet,And days it were better I should forgetCame suddenly back to me--Days when life seemed a gay masque ball,And to love and be loved was the sum of it all.
As they sang together, the whole scene fled,The room's rich hangings, the sweet home air,Stately Maud, with her proud blond head,And I seemed to see in her place insteadA wealth of blue-black hair,And a face, ah! your face--yours, Lisette;A face it were wiser I should forget.
We were back--well, no matter when or where;But you remember, I know, Lisette.I saw you, dainty and debonair,With the very same look that you used to wearIn the days I should forget.And your lips, as red as the vintage we quaffed,Were pearl-edged bumpers of wine when you laughed.
Two small slippers with big rosettesPeeped out under your kilt skirt there,While we sat smoking our cigarettes(Oh, I shall be dust when my heart forgets')And singing that self-same air,And between the verses, for interlude,I kissed your throat and your shoulders nude.
You were so full of a subtle file,You were so warm and so sweet, Lisette;You were everything men admire,And there were no fetters to make us tire,For you were--a pretty grisette.But you loved, as only such natures can,With a love that makes heaven or hell for a man.
They have ceased singing that old duet,Stately Maud and the tenor, McKey."You are burning your coat with your cigarette,And qu' avez vous, dearest, your lids are wet,"Maud says, as she leans o'er me.And I smile, and lie to her, husband-wise,"Oh, it is nothing but smoke in my eyes."
Words in this poem
- cigarette n.
- A little cigar; a little fine tobacco rolled in paper for smoking. [F. cigarette.]
- maud n.
- A gray plaid; -- used by shepherds in Scotland.
- blithe a.
- Gay; merry; sprightly; joyous; glad; cheerful; as, a blithe spirit. [AS. bli blithe, kind; akin to Goth. blei kind, Icel. bli mild, gentle, Dan. & Sw. blid gentle, D. blijd blithe, OHG. blidi kind, blithe.]
- duet n.
- A composition for two performers, whether vocal or instrumental. [Duetto.]
- masque n.
- A mask; a masquerade.
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- dainty n.
- Value; estimation; the gratification or pleasure taken in anything. [OE. deinie, dainte, deintie, deyntee, OF. deintié delicacy, orig., dignity, honor, fr. L. dignitas, fr. dignus worthy. See Deign, and cf. Dignity.]
- debonair a.
- Characterized by courteousness, affability, or gentleness; of good appearance and manners; graceful; complaisant. [OE. debonere, OF. de bon aire, debonaire, of good descent or lineage, excellent, debonair, F. débonnaire debonair; de of (L. de) + bon good (L. bonus) + aire. S]
- 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,]
- admire v. t.
- To regard with wonder or astonishment; to view with surprise; to marvel at. [F. admirer, fr. L. admirari; ad + mirari to wonder, for smirari, akin to Gr. smi, and E. smile.]
- grisette n.
- A French girl or young married woman of the lower class; more frequently, a young working woman who is fond of gallantry. Sterne. [F., fr. grisette a gray woolen cloth, fr. gris gray. Grisettes were so called because they wore gray gowns made of this stuff. See Gars.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Duet 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 Duet, in Poems of Passion (1883), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16776, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wilcox-passion/the-duet.html, id L22153.
Form and metre
The Duet is 42 lines in 6 stanzas of 7 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAABCC, complete in 5 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 72%).
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 ABAABCC cigaretteA · mckeyB · duetA · forgetA · meB · ballC · allC
- 2 ABAABCC fledA · airB · headA · insteadA · hairB · lisetteC · forgetC
- 3 ABAABCC whereA · lisetteB · debonairA · wearA · forgetB · quaffedC · laughedC
- 4 ABAABCC rosettesA · thereB · cigarettesA · forgetsA · airB · interludeC · nudeC
- 5 -A--ABB file · lisetteA · admire · tire · grisetteA · canB · manB
- 6 ABAABCC duetA · mckeyB · cigaretteA · wetA · meB · wiseC · eyesC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I was smoking a cigarette; | 8 | ··/˘··˘/ |
| Maud, my wife, and the tenor, McKey, | 9 | ·····/˘˘/ |
| Were singing together a blithe duet, | 10 | ·/˘˘/˘··˘/ |
| And days it were better I should forget | 10 | ····/˘··˘/ |
| Came suddenly back to me-- | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| Days when life seemed a gay masque ball, | 9 | ····˘···· |
| And to love and be loved was the sum of it all. | 12 | ············ |
| As they sang together, the whole scene fled, | 10 | ···˘/˘···· |
| The room's rich hangings, the sweet home air, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Stately Maud, with her proud blond head, | 8 | /˘······ |
| And I seemed to see in her place instead | 10 | ········˘/ |
| A wealth of blue-black hair, | 6 | ······ |
| And a face, ah! your face--yours, Lisette; | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| A face it were wiser I should forget. | 10 | ····/˘··˘/ |
| We were back--well, no matter when or where; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| But you remember, I know, Lisette. | 9 | ··˘/˘··˘/ |
| I saw you, dainty and debonair, | 9 | ···/˘··˘/ |
| With the very same look that you used to wear | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| In the days I should forget. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| And your lips, as red as the vintage we quaffed, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| Were pearl-edged bumpers of wine when you laughed. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Two small slippers with big rosettes | 8 | ··/˘··// |
| Peeped out under your kilt skirt there, | 9 | ·˘······· |
| While we sat smoking our cigarettes | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| (Oh, I shall be dust when my heart forgets') | 10 | ········˘/ |
| And singing that self-same air, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| And between the verses, for interlude, | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| I kissed your throat and your shoulders nude. | 10 | ··˘····/˘· |
| You were so full of a subtle file, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| You were so warm and so sweet, Lisette; | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| You were everything men admire, | 8 | ··/˘··˘/ |
| And there were no fetters to make us tire, | 11 | ····/˘···/˘ |
| For you were--a pretty grisette. | 8 | ····/˘˘/ |
| But you loved, as only such natures can, | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| With a love that makes heaven or hell for a man. | 11 | ·····/····· |
| They have ceased singing that old duet, | 10 | ···˘/˘··˘/ |
| Stately Maud and the tenor, McKey. | 9 | /˘···/˘˘/ |
| "You are burning your coat with your cigarette, | 11 | ··/˘·····˘/ |
| And qu' avez vous, dearest, your lids are wet," | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| Maud says, as she leans o'er me. | 7 | ······· |
| And I smile, and lie to her, husband-wise, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| "Oh, it is nothing but smoke in my eyes." | 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.