Popularity

Robert Browning 1812 (Camberwell) – 1889 (Venice)



I.

Stand still, true poet that you are!
  I know you; let me try and draw you.
Some night you'll fail us: when afar
  You rise, remember one man saw you,
Knew you, and named a star!

II.

My star, God's glow-worm! Why extend
  That loving hand of his which leads you
Yet locks you safe from end to end
  Of this dark world, unless he needs you,
just saves your light to spend?

III.

His clenched hand shall unclose at last,
  I know, and let out all the beauty:
My poet holds the future fast,
  Accepts the coming ages' duty,
Their present for this past.

IV.

That day, the earth's feast-master's brow
  Shall clear, to God the chalice raising;
``Others give best at first, but thou
  ``Forever set'st our table praising,
``Keep'st the good wine till now!''

V.

Meantime, I'll draw you as you stand,
  With few or none to watch and wonder:
I'll say---a fisher, on the sand
  By Tyre the old, with ocean-plunder,
A netful, brought to land.

VI.

Who has not heard how Tyrian shells
  Enclosed the blue, that dye of dyes
Whereof one drop worked miracles,
  And coloured like Astarte's eyes
Raw silk the merchant sells?

VII.

And each bystander of them all
  Could criticize, and quote tradition
How depths of blue sublimed some pall
  ---To get which, pricked a king's ambition
Worth sceptre, crown and ball.

VIII.

Yet there's the dye, in that rough mesh,
  The sea has only just o'erwhispered!
Live whelks, each lip's beard dripping fresh,
  As if they still the water's lisp heard
Through foam the rock-weeds thresh.

IX.

Enough to furnish Solomon
  Such hangings for his cedar-house,
That, when gold-robed he took the throne
  In that abyss of blue, the Spouse
Might swear his presence shone

X.

Most like the centre-spike of gold
  Which burns deep in the blue-bell's womb,
What time, with ardours manifold,
  The bee goes singing to her groom,
Drunken and overbold.

XI.

Mere conchs! not fit for warp or woof!
  Till cunning come to pound and squeeze
And clarify,---refine to proof
  The liquor filtered by degrees,
While the world stands aloof.

XII.

And there's the extract, flasked and fine,
  And priced and saleable at last!
And Hobbs, Nobbs, Stokes and Nokes combine
  To paint the future from the past,
Put blue into their line.

XIII.

Hobbs hints blue,---Straight he turtle eats:
  Nobbs prints blue,---claret crowns his cup:
Nokes outdares Stokes in azure feats,---
  Both gorge. Who fished the murex up?
What porridge had John Keats?

* 1  The Syrian Venus.
* 2  Molluscs from which the famous Tyrian
*    purple dye was obtained.

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 18, 2023

2:18 min read
99

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABA CBCBC DEDED FGFGF HIHIH JKXKJ LMXML NCNXN MOPOP QRQRC STSTS UDUDU VWVWV XMX
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 2,473
Words 445
Stanzas 14
Stanza Lengths 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 3

Robert Browning

Robert Browning was the father of poet Robert Browning. more…

All Robert Browning poems | Robert Browning Books

13 fans

Discuss the poem Popularity with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Popularity" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/30403/popularity>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    2
    days
    13
    hours
    17
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Who was “admirably schooled in every grace”?
    A Odysseus
    B J. Alfred Prufrock
    C Richard Cory
    D Miniver Cheevy