Clarity
“Come!” cried my mind and by her mightThat was upon us we flew above the riverSeeking her, grey gulls among the white--In the air speaking as she had willed it:“I am given,” cried I, “now I know it!I know now all my time is forespent!For me one face is all the world!For I have seen her at last, this day,In whom age in age is united--Indifferent, out of sequence, marvelously!Saving alone that one sequenceWhich is the beauty of all the world, for surelyEither there in the rolling smoke spheres below usOr here with us in the air intercircling,Certainly somewhere here about usI know she is revealing these things!”
And as gulls we flew and with soft criesWe seemed to speak, flying, “It is sheThe mighty, recreating the whole world,This the first day of wonders!She is attiring herself before me--Taking shape before me for worship,A red leaf that falls upon a stone!It is she of whom I told you, oldForgiveless, unreconcilable;That high wanderer of by-waysWalking imperious in beggary!At her throat is loose gold, a single chainFrom among many, on her bent fingersAre rings from which the stones are fallen,Her wrists wear a diminished state, her anklesAre bare! Toward the river! Is it she there?”And we swerved clamorously downward--“I will take my peace in her henceforth!”
Words in this poem
- forespent a.
- Already spent; gone by; past. [Fore + spent.]
- marvelously adv.
- In a marvelous manner; wonderfully; strangely.
- somewhere adv.
- In some place unknown or not specified; in one place or another.
- imperious a.
- Commanding; ascendant; imperial; lordly; majestic. [L. imperiosus: cf. F. impérieux. See Imperial.]
- henceforth adv.
- From this time forward; henceforward.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Clarity 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, Clarity, in Al Que Quiere! (1917), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #51997, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/williams-al-que-quiere/clarity.html, id L01139.
Form and metre
Clarity is 34 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is trochaic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 71%). 86% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.5 syllables. 12 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 38% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic 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 A-ABB-------C-C- mightA · river · whiteA · itB · itB · forespent · world · day · united · marvelously · sequence · surely · usC · intercircling · usC · things
- 2 AB-AB----C-DCD---- criesA · sheB · world · wondersA · meB · worship · stone · old · unreconcilable · waysC · beggary · chainD · fingersC · fallenD · ankles · there · downward · henceforth
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 trochaic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| “Come!” cried my mind and by her might | 8 | ········ |
| That was upon us we flew above the river | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| Seeking her, grey gulls among the white-- | 9 | /˘······· |
| In the air speaking as she had willed it: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| “I am given,” cried I, “now I know it! | 9 | ··/······ |
| I know now all my time is forespent! | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| For me one face is all the world! | 8 | ········ |
| For I have seen her at last, this day, | 9 | ········· |
| In whom age in age is united-- | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Indifferent, out of sequence, marvelously! | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| Saving alone that one sequence | 8 | /˘˘/··/˘ |
| Which is the beauty of all the world, for surely | 12 | ···/˘·····/˘ |
| Either there in the rolling smoke spheres below us | 12 | /˘···/˘····· |
| Or here with us in the air intercircling, | 11 | ··········· |
| Certainly somewhere here about us | 9 | /˘˘/····· |
| I know she is revealing these things!” | 9 | ····˘/˘·· |
| And as gulls we flew and with soft cries | 9 | ········· |
| We seemed to speak, flying, “It is she | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| The mighty, recreating the whole world, | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘··· |
| This the first day of wonders! | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| She is attiring herself before me-- | 10 | ··˘/˘˘/··· |
| Taking shape before me for worship, | 9 | /˘·····/˘ |
| A red leaf that falls upon a stone! | 9 | ········· |
| It is she of whom I told you, old | 9 | ········· |
| Forgiveless, unreconcilable; | 10 | ·········· |
| That high wanderer of by-ways | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| Walking imperious in beggary! | 10 | /˘˘/˘˘·/˘˘ |
| At her throat is loose gold, a single chain | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| From among many, on her bent fingers | 10 | ···/˘···/˘ |
| Are rings from which the stones are fallen, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Her wrists wear a diminished state, her ankles | 11 | ····˘/˘··/˘ |
| Are bare! Toward the river! Is it she there?” | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| And we swerved clamorously downward-- | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| “I will take my peace in her henceforth!” | 9 | ·······// |
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.