Ode VIII
If rightly tuneful bards decide,If it be fix'd in Love's decrees,That Beauty ought not to be triedBut by its native power to please,Then tell me, youths and lovers, tell,What fair can Amoret excel?
Behold that bright unsullied smile,And wisdom speaking in her mien:Yet (she so artless all the while,So little studious to be seen)We nought but instant gladness know,Nor think to whom the gift we owe.
But neither music, nor the powersOf youth and mirth and frolic cheer,Add half that sunshine to the hours,Or make life's prospect half so clear,As memory brings it to the eyeFrom scenes where Amoret was by.
Yet not a satirist could thereOr fault or indiscretion find;Nor any prouder sage declareOne virtue, pictured in his mind,Whose form with lovelier colours glowsThan Amoret's demeanour shows.
This sure is Beauty's happiest part:This gives the most unbounded sway:This shall enchant the subject heartWhen rose and lily fade away;And she be still, in spite of time,Sweet Amoret in all her prime.
Words in this poem
- rightly adv.
- Straightly; directly; in front. [AS. richtlice.]
- tuneful a.
- Harmonious; melodious; musical; as, tuneful notes.
- ought p. p.
- Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
- amoret n.
- An amorous girl or woman; a wanton. J. Warton. [OF. amorette, F. amourette, dim. of amour.]
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- satirist n.
- One who satirizes; especially, one who writes satire. [Cf. F. satiriste.]
- indiscretion n.
- The quality or state of being indiscreet; want of discretion; imprudence. [Pref. in- not + discretion: cf. F. indiscrétion.]
- pictured a.
- Furnished with pictures; represented by a picture or pictures; as, a pictured scene.
- demeanour n.
- Management; treatment; conduct. [For demeanure, fr. demean. See Demean, v. t.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- enchant v. t.
- To charm by sorcery; to act on by enchantment; to get control of by magical words and rites. [F. enchanter, L. incantare to chant or utter a magic formula over or against one, to bewitch; in in, against + cantare to sing. See Chant, and cf. Incantation.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Ode VIII 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, Ode VIII, in The Poetical Works of Mark Akenside (1744), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9814, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/akenside-poems/ode-viii.html, id L09533.
Form and metre
Ode VIII is 30 lines in 5 stanzas of 6 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCC. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.3 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 23% 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 ABABCC decideA · decreesB · triedA · pleaseB · tellC · excelC
- 2 ABABCC smileA · mienB · whileA · seenB · knowC · oweC
- 3 ABABCC powersA · cheerB · hoursA · clearB · eyeC · byC
- 4 ABABCC thereA · findB · declareA · mindB · glowsC · showsC
- 5 ABABCC partA · swayB · heartA · awayB · timeC · primeC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| If rightly tuneful bards decide, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| If it be fix'd in Love's decrees, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| That Beauty ought not to be tried | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But by its native power to please, | 9 | ···/˘/˘·· |
| Then tell me, youths and lovers, tell, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| What fair can Amoret excel? | 8 | ···/˘˘˘/ |
| Behold that bright unsullied smile, | 8 | ˘/··˘/˘· |
| And wisdom speaking in her mien: | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Yet (she so artless all the while, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| So little studious to be seen) | 9 | ·/˘/˘˘··· |
| We nought but instant gladness know, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Nor think to whom the gift we owe. | 8 | ········ |
| But neither music, nor the powers | 9 | ·/˘/˘··/˘ |
| Of youth and mirth and frolic cheer, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Add half that sunshine to the hours, | 9 | ···/···/˘ |
| Or make life's prospect half so clear, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| As memory brings it to the eye | 9 | ·/˘˘····· |
| From scenes where Amoret was by. | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Yet not a satirist could there | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Or fault or indiscretion find; | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Nor any prouder sage declare | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| One virtue, pictured in his mind, | 9 | ·/˘/˘˘··· |
| Whose form with lovelier colours glows | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Than Amoret's demeanour shows. | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| This sure is Beauty's happiest part: | 9 | ···/˘/˘˘· |
| This gives the most unbounded sway: | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| This shall enchant the subject heart | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| When rose and lily fade away; | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| And she be still, in spite of time, | 8 | ········ |
| Sweet Amoret in all her prime. | 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.