To a Friend, Unsuccessful in Love
Indeed, my Phaedria, if to findThat wealth can female wishes gain,Had e'er disturb'd your thoughtful mind,Or caused one serious moment's pain,I should have said that all the rulesYou learn'd of moralists and schoolsWere very useless, very vain.
Yet I perhaps mistake the case--Say, though with this heroic air,Like one that holds a nobler chase,You try the tender loss to bear,Does not your heart renounce your tongue?Seems not my censure strangely wrongTo count it such a slight affair?
When Hesper gilds the shaded sky,Oft as you seek the well-known grove,Methinks I see you cast your eyeBack to the morning scenes of love:Each pleasing word you heard her say,Her gentle look, her graceful way,Again your struggling fancy move.
Then tell me, is your soul entire?Does Wisdom calmly hold her throne?Then can you question each desire,Bid this remain, and that be gone?No tear half-starting from your eye?No kindling blush, you know not why?No stealing sigh, nor stifled groan?
Away with this unmanly mood!See where the hoary churl appears,Whose hand hath seized the favourite goodWhich you reserved for happier years:While, side by side, the blushing maidShrinks from his visage, half afraid,Spite of the sickly joy she wears.
Ye guardian powers of love and fame,This chaste, harmonious pair behold;And thus reward the generous flameOf all who barter vows for gold.O bloom of youth, O tender charmsWell-buried in a dotard's arms!O equal price of beauty sold!
Cease then to gaze with looks of love:Bid her adieu, the venal fair:Unworthy she your bliss to prove;Then wherefore should she prove your care?No: lay your myrtle garland down;And let a while the willow's crownWith luckier omens bind your hair.
O just escaped the faithless main,Though driven unwilling on the land;To guide your favour'd steps again,Behold your better Genius stand:Where Truth revolves her page divine,Where Virtue leads to Honour's shrine,Behold, he lifts his awful hand.
Fix but on these your ruling aim,And Time, the sire of manly care,Will fancy's dazzling colours tame;A soberer dress will beauty wear:Then shall esteem, by knowledge led,Enthrone within your heart and headSome happier love, some truer fair.
Words in this poem
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- strangely adv.
- As something foreign, or not one's own; in a manner adapted to something foreign and strange.
- hesper n.
- The evening; Hesperus. [See Hesperian.]
- methinks v.
- It seems to me; I think. See Me. [AS. þyncan to seem, me þynceedh, me þuhte, OE. me thinketh, me thoughte; akin to G. dünken to seem, denken to think, and E. think. See Me, and Think.]
- hoary a.
- White or whitish."The hoary willows."
- visage n.
- The face, countenance, or look of a person or an animal; -- chiefly applied to the human face. [F. visage, from L. visus a seeing, a look, fr. videre, visum, to see. See Vision.]
- generous a.
- Of honorable birth or origin; highborn. [F. généreux, fr. L. generous of noble birth, noble, excellent, magnanimous, fr. genus birth, race: cf. It. generoso. See 2d Gender.]
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
- sire n.
- A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.]
- 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,]
- enthrone v. t.
- To seat on a throne; to exalt to the seat of royalty or of high authority; hence, to invest with sovereign authority or dignity. [Pref. en- + throne: cf. OF. enthroner. Cf. Inthronize.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To a Friend, Unsuccessful in Love 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, To a Friend, Unsuccessful in Love, in The Poetical Works of Mark Akenside (1744), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9814, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/akenside-poems/to-a-friend-unsuccessful-in-love.html, id L09500.
Form and metre
To a Friend, Unsuccessful in Love is 63 lines in 9 stanzas of 7 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCCB, complete in 5 of its 9 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 92% 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. 18% 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 ABABCCB findA · gainB · mindA · painB · rulesC · schoolsC · vainB
- 2 ABAB--B caseA · airB · chaseA · bearB · tongue · wrong · affairB
- 3 A-ABCCB skyA · grove · eyeA · loveB · sayC · wayC · moveB
- 4 ABA-CCB entireA · throneB · desireA · gone · eyeC · whyC · groanB
- 5 -A-ABB- mood · appearsA · good · yearsA · maidB · afraidB · wears
- 6 ABABCCB fameA · beholdB · flameA · goldB · charmsC · armsC · soldB
- 7 ABABCCB loveA · fairB · proveA · careB · downC · crownC · hairB
- 8 ABABCCB mainA · landB · againA · standB · divineC · shrineC · handB
- 9 ABABCCB aimA · careB · tameA · wearB · ledC · headC · fairB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Indeed, my Phaedria, if to find | 8 | ˘/······ |
| That wealth can female wishes gain, | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| Had e'er disturb'd your thoughtful mind, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Or caused one serious moment's pain, | 10 | ··˘·/˘˘/˘· |
| I should have said that all the rules | 8 | ········ |
| You learn'd of moralists and schools | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Were very useless, very vain. | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Yet I perhaps mistake the case-- | 8 | ··˘/˘/·· |
| Say, though with this heroic air, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Like one that holds a nobler chase, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| You try the tender loss to bear, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Does not your heart renounce your tongue? | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Seems not my censure strangely wrong | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| To count it such a slight affair? | 8 | ······˘/ |
| When Hesper gilds the shaded sky, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Oft as you seek the well-known grove, | 8 | ········ |
| Methinks I see you cast your eye | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Back to the morning scenes of love: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Each pleasing word you heard her say, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Her gentle look, her graceful way, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Again your struggling fancy move. | 9 | ˘/·/˘˘/˘· |
| Then tell me, is your soul entire? | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Does Wisdom calmly hold her throne? | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Then can you question each desire, | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| Bid this remain, and that be gone? | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| No tear half-starting from your eye? | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| No kindling blush, you know not why? | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| No stealing sigh, nor stifled groan? | 9 | ·/˘··/˘˘· |
| Away with this unmanly mood! | 8 | ˘/······ |
| See where the hoary churl appears, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Whose hand hath seized the favourite good | 10 | ····˘····· |
| Which you reserved for happier years: | 10 | ··˘/˘·/˘˘· |
| While, side by side, the blushing maid | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Shrinks from his visage, half afraid, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Spite of the sickly joy she wears. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Ye guardian powers of love and fame, | 10 | ·/˘˘/˘···· |
| This chaste, harmonious pair behold; | 9 | ··˘/˘˘·˘/ |
| And thus reward the generous flame | 9 | ··˘/·/˘˘· |
| Of all who barter vows for gold. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| O bloom of youth, O tender charms | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Well-buried in a dotard's arms! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| O equal price of beauty sold! | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Cease then to gaze with looks of love: | 8 | ········ |
| Bid her adieu, the venal fair: | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Unworthy she your bliss to prove; | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| Then wherefore should she prove your care? | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| No: lay your myrtle garland down; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And let a while the willow's crown | 8 | ·····/·· |
| With luckier omens bind your hair. | 9 | ·/˘˘/˘··· |
| O just escaped the faithless main, | 9 | ··˘/˘·/˘· |
| Though driven unwilling on the land; | 9 | ·/˘˘/˘··· |
| To guide your favour'd steps again, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Behold your better Genius stand: | 8 | ˘/·/˘/˘· |
| Where Truth revolves her page divine, | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| Where Virtue leads to Honour's shrine, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Behold, he lifts his awful hand. | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| Fix but on these your ruling aim, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And Time, the sire of manly care, | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| Will fancy's dazzling colours tame; | 9 | ·/˘/˘˘/˘· |
| A soberer dress will beauty wear: | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Then shall esteem, by knowledge led, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Enthrone within your heart and head | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Some happier love, some truer fair. | 9 | ·/˘˘··/˘· |
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.