---
title: I have frequently known poems to be written under the most trying ci… — In Ghostly Japan · tree and pragmatics
description: I have frequently known poems to be written under the most trying circumstances of misery or suffering,—nay even upon a bed of death;-and if the verses did not display any extraordinary talent, they at least afforded extraordinary proof of self-mastery under pain…. Who acts: I, verses. A sentence of
---

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# In Ghostly Japan, Names of Incense Used., part 8, sentence 16

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I have frequently known poems to be written under the most trying circumstances of misery or suffering,—nay even upon a bed of death;-and if the verses did not display any extraordinary talent, they at least afforded extraordinary proof of self-mastery under pain….

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**Who acts:** I, verses · **What happens:** know, write, try, not display, afford, proof · **To what, where:** poems, trying circumstances, extraordinary talent, verses, least, self mastery

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This is a sentence of «In Ghostly Japan» by Lafcadio Hearn, Names of Incense Used., part 8. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (I, verses), what happens, when and where, as Mova's frames read it from the tree.

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**Mova's own parse.** This tree may be wrong.

## The tree {#tree}

```conllu
# sent_id = book:pg8128:10:16
# text = I have frequently known poems to be written under the most trying circumstances of misery or suffering,—nay even upon a bed of death;-and if the verses did not display any extraordinary talent, they at least afforded extraordinary proof of self-mastery under pain….
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	have	have	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	frequently	frequently	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	known	know	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
5	poems	poem	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
7	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	aux:pass	_	_
8	written	write	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	acl	_	_
9	under	under	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
11	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	12	advmod	_	_
12	trying	try	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	13	amod	_	_
13	circumstances	circumstance	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	_
14	of	of	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	misery	misery	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nmod	_	_
16	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
17	suffering	suffering	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	24	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	—	-	PUNCT	:	_	24	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	nay	nay	INTJ	UH	_	24	discourse	_	_
21	even	even	ADV	RB	_	24	advmod	_	_
22	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	24	case	_	_
23	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	24	det	_	_
24	bed	bed	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
25	of	of	ADP	IN	_	26	case	_	_
26	death	death	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	24	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	35	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
28	-	-	PUNCT	,	_	35	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	35	cc	_	_
30	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	35	mark	_	_
31	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	32	det	_	_
32	verses	verse	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	35	nsubj	_	_
33	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	35	aux	_	_
34	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	35	advmod	_	_
35	display	display	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	parataxis	_	_
36	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	38	det	_	_
37	extraordinary	extraordinary	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	38	amod	_	_
38	talent	talent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	35	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
39	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	43	punct	_	_
40	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	43	nsubj:pass	_	_
41	at	at	ADP	IN	_	42	case	_	_
42	least	least	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	43	obl	_	_
43	afforded	afford	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	35	conj	_	_
44	extraordinary	extraordinary	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	45	amod	_	_
45	proof	proof	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	43	obj	_	_
46	of	of	ADP	IN	_	49	case	_	_
47	self	self	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	49	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
48	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	47	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
49	mastery	mastery	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	45	nmod	_	_
50	under	under	ADP	IN	_	51	case	_	_
51	pain	pain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	43	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
52	….	..	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **know** | present · perfect | I | poems and a bed of death |  |  |  | frequently *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Experiencer poem=Stimulus |
| 2 | **write** | to-infinitive · passive | I *not said here* | poems and a bed of death *not said here* |  | the trying circumstances of misery or suffering |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V» |
| 3 | **try** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |
| 4 | **not** **display** *a condition, not said to happen* | past · do-support | the verses | any extraordinary talent |  |  |  |  | vn reflexive\_appearance-48.1.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent talent=Theme |
| 5 | **afford** | participle · passive |  | verses *= verse* |  | least |  | under pain; extraordinary proof of self mastery *obj* | tree rules |
| 6 | **proof** |  |  | self mastery |  |  |  |  | nom proof «cognition transitive»: of=patient |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

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**Text:** «In Ghostly Japan» by Lafcadio Hearn, Project Gutenberg book 8128 (public domain in the USA). **Tree:** Mova's own parse, Elamur Cosmic License. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), the chapter read in order.

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