The Whole Day Thro', in Contempt and Pity
A drummer marches through the sunlit city streets, beating his drum amid the noise and movement of crowds. Though blinded by the sun and fluttering ribbons, he continues his relentless march, drawing recruits who fall into step behind him in a steadily growing procession. The marchers cry out that their goal is near, convinced of their own heroism. The poem presents this scene with a layered irony. The drummer moves through the city in a state of contempt and pity for those around him, yet the march itself carries an air of self-delusion. The recruits who join are swept up in collective enthusiasm, their footsteps falling steady and firm, persuaded that glory and purpose are within reach simply by virtue of marching together. The drumbeat functions as both a literal sound cutting through urban noise and a metaphor for the call to some cause or collective movement. The image of ordinary people becoming self-proclaimed heroes merely by joining a procession suggests a critique of mob mentality, military recruitment, or any form of mass enthusiasm that substitutes noise and momentum for genuine valor or purpose. The narrator occupies an ambiguous position, simultaneously contemptuous of the crowd and yet himself part of the spectacle, driving the very procession he seems to regard with disdain. This tension between the drummer's apparent superiority and his role as instigator gives the poem its central unease. Ultimately the poem captures the seductive power of collective movement and shared purpose, while questioning whether such enthusiasm rests on anything more substantial than the rhythm of a drum and the intoxication of marching together through crowded streets.
By Robert Louis Stevenson · First published 1882 · Genre: Poetry, Lyric Poetry, Philosophical Poetry · 181 words
First lines
The whole day thro', in contempt and pity, / I pass your houses and beat my drum, / In the roar of people that go and come, / In the sunlit streets of the city.
Hark! do you hear the ictus coming, / Mid the roar and clatter of feet?
Hark! in the ebb and flow of the street / Do you hear the sound of my drumming?
Sun and the fluttering ribbons blind me; / But still I beat as I travel the town, / And still the recruits come manfully down, / And the march grows long behind me.
Genres
- Poetry — The title's lyrical structure and Stevenson's primary identity as a poet suggests this is a verse work rather than prose fiction.
- Lyric Poetry — The introspective emotional tone implied by 'Contempt and Pity' indicates personal, emotional expression characteristic of lyric verse.
- Philosophical Poetry — The abstract concepts of contempt and pity suggest exploration of human nature, morality, and social commentary typical of philosophical verse.
- Social Commentary — The themes of contempt and pity suggest critique of social conditions and human behavior within society.
Tags
poetry · Victorian literature · lyric poem · melancholy · contempt · pity · disillusionment · emotional conflict · introspection · human nature · social observation · moral reflection
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The Whole Day Thro', in Contempt and Pity is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson, dated 1882 CE.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
- Date: 1882 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric Poetry, Philosophical Poetry, Social Commentary, Romantic Poetry
- Length: 181 words
- Structure: 1 section, 5 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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More by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Treasure Island (1883)
- The Pavilion on the Links (1909)
- Olalla (1885)
- A Child's Garden of Verses (1885)
- Father Damien, An Open Letter To The Reverend Doctor Hyde Of Honolulu (1914)
- A Lowden Sabbath Morn (1916)
- Songs of Travel and Other Verses (1908)
- Prayers Written At Vailima (1916)
- All works by Robert Louis Stevenson