August
Why should this Negro insolently strideDown the red noonday on such noiseless feet?Piled in his barrow, tawnier than wheat,Lie heaps of smoldering daisies, somber-eyed,Their copper petals shriveled up with pride,Hot with a superfluity of heat,Like a great brazier borne along the streetBy captive leopards, black and burning pied.
Are there no water-lilies, smooth as cream,With long stems dripping crystal? Are there noneLike those white lilies, luminous and cool,Plucked from some hemlock-darkened northern streamBy fair-haired swimmers, diving where the sunScarce warms the surface of the deepest pool?
Words in this poem
- insolently adv.
- In an insolent manner.
- stride v. t.
- To walk with long steps, especially in a measured or pompous manner. [AS. stridan to stride, to strive; akin to LG. striden, OFries. strida to strive, D. strijden to strive, to contend, G. streiten, OHG. stritan; of uncertain orig]
- noonday n.
- Midday; twelve o'clock in the day; noon.
- piled a.
- Having a pile or point; pointed. [From 2d Pile.]
- brazier n.
- An artificer who works in brass. Franklin. [OE. brasiere, F. braise live coals. See Brass.]
- dripping n.
- A falling in drops, or the sound so made.
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
August is in the public domain. This text is taken from Nets to Catch the Wind, Project Gutenberg ebook #6682; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Elinor Wylie, August, in Nets to Catch the Wind (1921), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #6682, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wylie-nets/august.html, id L12757.
Form and metre
August is 14 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.8 syllables. 36% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABBAABBA strideA · feetB · wheatB · eyedA · prideA · heatB · streetB · piedA
- 2 ABCABC creamA · noneB · coolC · streamA · sunB · poolC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Why should this Negro insolently stride | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘˘· |
| Down the red noonday on such noiseless feet? | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Piled in his barrow, tawnier than wheat, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Lie heaps of smoldering daisies, somber-eyed, | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Their copper petals shriveled up with pride, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| Hot with a superfluity of heat, | 9 | ········· |
| Like a great brazier borne along the street | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| By captive leopards, black and burning pied. | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Are there no water-lilies, smooth as cream, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| With long stems dripping crystal? Are there none | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Like those white lilies, luminous and cool, | 9 | ···/˘/˘·· |
| Plucked from some hemlock-darkened northern stream | 10 | ···/·/˘/˘· |
| By fair-haired swimmers, diving where the sun | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Scarce warms the surface of the deepest pool? | 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.