July 1740
From pompous life's dull masquerade,From Pride's pursuits, and Passion's war,Far, my Cordelia, very far,To thee and me may Heaven assignThe silent pleasures of the shade,The joys of peace, unenvied, though divine!
Safe in the calm embowering grove,As thy own lovely brow serene;Behold the world's fantastic scene!What low pursuits employ the great,What tinsel things their wishes move,The forms of Fashion, and the toys of State.
In vain are all Contentment's charms,Her placid mien, her cheerful eye,For look, Cordelia, how they fly!Allured by Power, Applause, or Gain,They fly her kind protecting arms;Ah, blind to pleasure, and in love with pain!
Turn, and indulge a fairer view,Smile on the joys which here conspire;O joys harmonious as my lyre!O prospect of enchanting things,As ever slumbering poet knew,When Love and Fancy wrapt him in their wings!
Here, no rude storm of Passion blows,But Sports and Smiles, and Virtues play,Cheer'd by Affection's purest ray;The air still breathes Contentment's balm,And the clear stream of Pleasure flowsFor ever active, yet for ever calm.
Words in this poem
- placid a.
- Pleased; contented; unruffied; undisturbed; serene; peaceful; tranquil; quiet; gentle. [L. placidus, originally, pleasing, mild, from placere to please: cf. F. placide. See Please.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
July 1740 is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Mark Akenside, Project Gutenberg ebook #9814; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Mark Akenside, July 1740, in The Poetical Works of Mark Akenside (1744), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9814, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/akenside-poems/july-1740.html, id L09553.
Form and metre
July 1740 is 30 lines in 5 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABBCAC, complete in 4 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.5 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 7% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 ABBCAC masqueradeA · warB · farB · assignC · shadeA · divineC
- 2 ABBCAC groveA · sereneB · sceneB · greatC · moveA · stateC
- 3 ABBCAC charmsA · eyeB · flyB · gainC · armsA · painC
- 4 A--BAB viewA · conspire · lyre · thingsB · knewA · wingsB
- 5 ABBCAC blowsA · playB · rayB · balmC · flowsA · calmC
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| From pompous life's dull masquerade, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| From Pride's pursuits, and Passion's war, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Far, my Cordelia, very far, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To thee and me may Heaven assign | 8 | ·····/˘/ |
| The silent pleasures of the shade, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| The joys of peace, unenvied, though divine! | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Safe in the calm embowering grove, | 9 | ········· |
| As thy own lovely brow serene; | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Behold the world's fantastic scene! | 8 | ˘/··˘/˘· |
| What low pursuits employ the great, | 8 | ··˘/˘/·· |
| What tinsel things their wishes move, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The forms of Fashion, and the toys of State. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| In vain are all Contentment's charms, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Her placid mien, her cheerful eye, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| For look, Cordelia, how they fly! | 8 | ········ |
| Allured by Power, Applause, or Gain, | 8 | ˘/·/˘/·· |
| They fly her kind protecting arms; | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Ah, blind to pleasure, and in love with pain! | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Turn, and indulge a fairer view, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Smile on the joys which here conspire; | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| O joys harmonious as my lyre! | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| O prospect of enchanting things, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| As ever slumbering poet knew, | 8 | ·//˘˘/˘· |
| When Love and Fancy wrapt him in their wings! | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Here, no rude storm of Passion blows, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But Sports and Smiles, and Virtues play, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Cheer'd by Affection's purest ray; | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| The air still breathes Contentment's balm, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| And the clear stream of Pleasure flows | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| For ever active, yet for ever calm. | 8 | ·//˘··/· |
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.