On Woman
May God be praised for womanThat gives up all her mind,A man may find in no manA friendship of her kindThat covers all he has broughtAs with her flesh and bone,Nor quarrels with a thoughtBecause it is not her own.
Though pedantry deniesIt's plain the Bible meansThat Solomon grew wiseWhile talking with his queens.Yet never could, althoughThey say he counted grass,Count all the praises dueWhen Sheba was his lass,When she the iron wrought, orWhen from the smithy fireIt shuddered in the water:Harshness of their desireThat made them stretch and yawn,Pleasure that comes with sleep,Shudder that made them one.What else He give or keepGod grant me--no, not here,For I am not so boldTo hope a thing so dearNow I am growing old,But when if the tale's trueThe Pestle of the moonThat pounds up all anewBrings me to birth again--To find what once I hadAnd know what once I have known,Until I am driven mad,Sleep driven from my bed,By tenderness and care,Pity, an aching head,Gnashing of teeth, despair;And all because of some onePerverse creature of chance,And live like SolomonThat Sheba led a dance.
Words in this poem
- pedantry n.
- The act, character, or manners of a pedant; vain ostentation of learning. [Cf. F. pédanterie.]
- solomon n.
- One of the kings of Israel, noted for his superior wisdom and magnificent reign; hence, a very wise man.
- lass n.
- A youth woman; a girl; a sweetheart. [OE. lasse; prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. llodes girl, fem. of llawd lad. (Lad a youth.]
- smithy n.
- The workshop of a smith, esp. a blacksmith; a smithery; a stithy. [AS. smi, fr. smi; akin to D. smidse, smids, OHG. smitta, G. schmiede, Icel. smi. See Smith, n.]
- aching a.
- That aches; continuously painful. See Ache.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On Woman is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Wild Swans at Coole, Project Gutenberg ebook #32491; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: W. B. Yeats, On Woman, in The Wild Swans at Coole (1919), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #32491, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/yeats-wild-swans/on-woman.html, id L20012.
Form and metre
On Woman is 43 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
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 ABABCDCD womanA · mindB · manA · kindB · broughtC · boneD · thoughtC · ownD
- 2 ABAB-C-C-D-D-E-EFGFGH-H-I-IJKJKLMLM deniesA · meansB · wiseA · queensB · although · grassC · due · lassC · or · fireD · water · desireD · yawn · sleepE · one · keepE · hereF · boldG · dearF · oldG · trueH · moon · anewH · again · hadI · known · madI · bedJ · careK · headJ · despairK · oneL · chanceM · solomonL · danceM
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| May God be praised for woman | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| That gives up all her mind, | 6 | ······ |
| A man may find in no man | 7 | ······· |
| A friendship of her kind | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| That covers all he has brought | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| As with her flesh and bone, | 6 | ······ |
| Nor quarrels with a thought | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Because it is not her own. | 7 | ······· |
| Though pedantry denies | 6 | ·/˘˘˘/ |
| It's plain the Bible means | 6 | ···/˘· |
| That Solomon grew wise | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| While talking with his queens. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Yet never could, although | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| They say he counted grass, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Count all the praises due | 6 | ···/˘· |
| When Sheba was his lass, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| When she the iron wrought, or | 6 | ···/·· |
| When from the smithy fire | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| It shuddered in the water: | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Harshness of their desire | 7 | /˘··˘/˘ |
| That made them stretch and yawn, | 6 | ······ |
| Pleasure that comes with sleep, | 6 | /˘···· |
| Shudder that made them one. | 6 | /˘···· |
| What else He give or keep | 6 | ······ |
| God grant me--no, not here, | 6 | ······ |
| For I am not so bold | 6 | ······ |
| To hope a thing so dear | 6 | ······ |
| Now I am growing old, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| But when if the tale's true | 6 | ······ |
| The Pestle of the moon | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| That pounds up all anew | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Brings me to birth again-- | 6 | ····˘/ |
| To find what once I had | 6 | ······ |
| And know what once I have known, | 7 | ······· |
| Until I am driven mad, | 6 | ····/· |
| Sleep driven from my bed, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| By tenderness and care, | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| Pity, an aching head, | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| Gnashing of teeth, despair; | 6 | /˘··˘/ |
| And all because of some one | 7 | ······· |
| Perverse creature of chance, | 6 | ˘//˘·· |
| And live like Solomon | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| That Sheba led a dance. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
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.