Advent
Even in the time when as yetI had no certain knowledge of herShe sprang from the nest, a young crow,Whose first flight circled the forest.I know now how then she showed meHer mind, reaching out to the horizon,She close above the tree tops.I saw her eyes straining at the new distanceAnd as the woods fell from her flyingLikewise they fell from me as I followed--So that I strongly guessed all that I must put from meTo come through ready for the high courses.
But one day, crossing the ferryWith the great towers of Manhattan before me,Out at the prow with the sea wind blowing,I had been wearying many questionsWhich she had put on to try me:How shall I be a mirror to this modernity?When lo! in a rush, draggingA blunt boat on the yielding river--Suddenly I saw her! And she waved meFrom the white wet in midst of her playing!She cried me, “Haia! Here I am, son!See how strong my little finger is!Can I not swim well?I can fly too!” And with that a great sea-gullWent to the left, vanishing with a wild cry--But in my mind all the persons of godheadFollowed after.
Words in this poem
- circled a.
- Having the form of a circle; round.
- 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,]
- modernity n.
- Modernness; something modern. Walpole.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Advent is in the public domain. This text is taken from A Book of Poems, Al Que Quiere!, Project Gutenberg ebook #51997; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Carlos Williams, Advent, in Al Que Quiere! (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #51997, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/williams-al-que-quiere/advent.html, id L01138.
Form and metre
Advent is 29 lines in 2 stanzas. 87% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.2 syllables. 13 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 41% 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- yet · her · crow · forest · meA · horizon · tops · distance · flying · followed · meA · courses
- 2 -A--A---A-------- ferry · meA · blowing · questions · meA · modernity · dragging · river · meA · playing · son · is · well · gull · cry · godhead · after
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Even in the time when as yet | 8 | /˘······ |
| I had no certain knowledge of her | 9 | ···/˘/˘·· |
| She sprang from the nest, a young crow, | 8 | ········ |
| Whose first flight circled the forest. | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| I know now how then she showed me | 8 | ········ |
| Her mind, reaching out to the horizon, | 10 | ··/˘···˘/˘ |
| She close above the tree tops. | 7 | ······· |
| I saw her eyes straining at the new distance | 11 | ····/˘···/˘ |
| And as the woods fell from her flying | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Likewise they fell from me as I followed-- | 10 | /·······/˘ |
| So that I strongly guessed all that I must put from me | 13 | ···/˘········ |
| To come through ready for the high courses. | 10 | ···/˘···/˘ |
| But one day, crossing the ferry | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| With the great towers of Manhattan before me, | 12 | ···/˘·˘/˘··· |
| Out at the prow with the sea wind blowing, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| I had been wearying many questions | 10 | ···/˘˘/˘/˘ |
| Which she had put on to try me: | 8 | ········ |
| How shall I be a mirror to this modernity? | 13 | ·····/˘··˘/˘˘ |
| When lo! in a rush, dragging | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| A blunt boat on the yielding river-- | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Suddenly I saw her! And she waved me | 10 | /˘˘······· |
| From the white wet in midst of her playing! | 10 | ········/˘ |
| She cried me, “Haia! Here I am, son! | 8 | ········ |
| See how strong my little finger is! | 9 | ····/˘/˘· |
| Can I not swim well? | 5 | ····· |
| I can fly too!” And with that a great sea-gull | 11 | ··········· |
| Went to the left, vanishing with a wild cry-- | 11 | ····/˘˘···· |
| But in my mind all the persons of godhead | 11 | ······/˘·/· |
| Followed after. | 4 | /˘·· |
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.