To the Evening Star
To-night retired, the queen of heavenWith young Endymion stays:And now to Hesper it is givenA while to rule the vacant sky,Till she shall to her lamp supplyA stream of brighter rays.
O Hesper, while the starry throngWith awe thy path surrounds,Oh, listen to my suppliant song,If haply now the vocal sphereCan suffer thy delighted earTo stoop to mortal sounds.
So may the bridegroom's genial strainThee still invoke to shine:So may the bride's unmarried trainTo Hymen chant their flattering vow,Still that his lucky torch may glowWith lustre pure as thine.
Far other vows must I preferTo thy indulgent power.Alas, but now I paid my tearOn fair Olympia's virgin tomb:And lo, from thence, in quest I roamOf Philomela's bower.
Propitious send thy golden ray,Thou purest light above:Let no false flame seduce to strayWhere gulf or steep lie hid for harm:But lead where music's healing charmMay soothe afflicted love.
To them, by many a grateful songIn happier seasons vow'd,These lawns, Olympia's haunt, belong:Oft by yon silver stream we walk'd,Or fix'd, while Philomela talk'd,Beneath yon copses stood.
Nor seldom, where the beechen boughsThat roofless tower invade,We came while her enchanting MuseThe radiant moon above us held:Till by a clamorous owl compell'dShe fled the solemn shade.
But hark; I hear her liquid tone.Now, Hesper, guide my feetDown the red marl with moss o'ergrown,Through yon wild thicket next the plain,Whose hawthorns choke the winding lane,Which leads to her retreat.
See the green space; on either handEnlarged it spreads around:See, in the midst she takes her stand,Where one old oak his awful shadeExtends o'er half the level meadEnclosed in woods profound.
Hark, through many a melting noteShe now prolongs her lays:How sweetly down the void they float!The breeze their magic path attends,The stars shine out, the forest bends,The wakeful heifers gaze.
Whoe'er thou art whom chance may bringTo this sequester'd spot,If then the plaintive Syren sing,Oh! softly tread beneath her bower,And think of heaven's disposing power,Of man's uncertain lot.
Oh! think, o'er all this mortal stage,What mournful scenes arise:What ruin waits on kingly rage,How often virtue dwells with woe,How many griefs from knowledge flow,How swiftly pleasure flies.
O sacred bird, let me at eve,Thus wandering all alone,Thy tender counsel oft receive,Bear witness to thy pensive airs,And pity Nature's common cares,Till I forget my own.
Words in this poem 15
- hesper n.
- The evening; Hesperus. [See Hesperian.]
- 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,]
- starry a.
- Abounding with stars; adorned with stars.
- suppliant a.
- Asking earnestly and submissively; entreating; beseeching; supplicating. [F., p.pr. of supplier to entreat, L. supplicare. See Supplicate, and cf. Supplicant.]
- haply adv.
- By hap, chance, luck, or accident; perhaps; it may be.
- delighted a.
- Endowed with delight.
- genial a.
- Contributing to, or concerned in, propagation or production; generative; procreative; productive. [L. genialis: cf. OF. genial. See Genius.]
- hymen n.
- A fold of muscous membrane often found at the orifice of the vagina; the vaginal membrane.
- lustre n.
- A period of five years; a lustrum. [L. lustrum: cf. F. lustre.]
- seduce v. t.
- To draw aside from the path of rectitude and duty in any manner; to entice to evil; to lead astray; to tempt and lead to iniquity; to corrupt. [L. seducere, seductum; pref. se- aside + ducere to lead. See Duke.]
- soothe v. t.
- To assent to as true. Testament of Love. [Originally, to assent to as true; OE. so to verify, AS. ges to prove the truth of, to bear witness. See Sooth, a.]
- philomela n.
- The nightingale; philomel.
- beechen a.
- Consisting, or made, of the wood or bark of the beech; belonging to the beech. [AS. b.]
- roofless a.
- Having no roof; as, a roofless house.
- wakeful a.
- Not sleeping; indisposed to sleep; watchful; vigilant.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To the Evening Star 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 the Evening Star, in The Poetical Works of Mark Akenside (1744), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9814, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/akenside-poems/to-the-evening-star.html, id L09516.
Form and metre
To the Evening Star is 78 lines in 13 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABACCB, complete in 11 of its 13 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.6 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 31% 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 ABACCB heavenA · staysB · givenA · skyC · supplyC · raysB
- 2 ABACCB throngA · surroundsB · songA · sphereC · earC · soundsB
- 3 ABA--B strainA · shineB · trainA · vow · glow · thineB
- 4 -A---A prefer · powerA · tear · tomb · roam · bowerA
- 5 ABACCB rayA · aboveB · strayA · harmC · charmC · loveB
- 6 ABACCB songA · vow'dB · belongA · walk'dC · talk'dC · stoodB
- 7 ABACCB boughsA · invadeB · museA · heldC · compell'dC · shadeB
- 8 ABACCB toneA · feetB · o'ergrownA · plainC · laneC · retreatB
- 9 ABACCB handA · aroundB · standA · shadeC · meadC · profoundB
- 10 ABACCB noteA · laysB · floatA · attendsC · bendsC · gazeB
- 11 ABACCB bringA · spotB · singA · bowerC · powerC · lotB
- 12 ABACCB stageA · ariseB · rageA · woeC · flowC · fliesB
- 13 ABACCB eveA · aloneB · receiveA · airsC · caresC · ownB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| To-night retired, the queen of heaven | 9 | ··˘/···/˘ |
| With young Endymion stays: | 6 | ······ |
| And now to Hesper it is given | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| A while to rule the vacant sky, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Till she shall to her lamp supply | 8 | ······˘/ |
| A stream of brighter rays. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| O Hesper, while the starry throng | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| With awe thy path surrounds, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Oh, listen to my suppliant song, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘˘· |
| If haply now the vocal sphere | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Can suffer thy delighted ear | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| To stoop to mortal sounds. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| So may the bridegroom's genial strain | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| Thee still invoke to shine: | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| So may the bride's unmarried train | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| To Hymen chant their flattering vow, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Still that his lucky torch may glow | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| With lustre pure as thine. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Far other vows must I prefer | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| To thy indulgent power. | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| Alas, but now I paid my tear | 8 | ˘/······ |
| On fair Olympia's virgin tomb: | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| And lo, from thence, in quest I roam | 8 | ········ |
| Of Philomela's bower. | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| Propitious send thy golden ray, | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| Thou purest light above: | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Let no false flame seduce to stray | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Where gulf or steep lie hid for harm: | 8 | ········ |
| But lead where music's healing charm | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| May soothe afflicted love. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| To them, by many a grateful song | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| In happier seasons vow'd, | 7 | ·/˘˘/˘· |
| These lawns, Olympia's haunt, belong: | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| Oft by yon silver stream we walk'd, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Or fix'd, while Philomela talk'd, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Beneath yon copses stood. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Nor seldom, where the beechen boughs | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| That roofless tower invade, | 7 | ·/˘/˘˘/ |
| We came while her enchanting Muse | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| The radiant moon above us held: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Till by a clamorous owl compell'd | 9 | ···/˘˘·˘/ |
| She fled the solemn shade. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| But hark; I hear her liquid tone. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Now, Hesper, guide my feet | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Down the red marl with moss o'ergrown, | 8 | ········ |
| Through yon wild thicket next the plain, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Whose hawthorns choke the winding lane, | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| Which leads to her retreat. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| See the green space; on either hand | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Enlarged it spreads around: | 6 | ˘/···· |
| See, in the midst she takes her stand, | 8 | ········ |
| Where one old oak his awful shade | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Extends o'er half the level mead | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| Enclosed in woods profound. | 6 | ˘/··˘/ |
| Hark, through many a melting note | 8 | ··/˘·/˘· |
| She now prolongs her lays: | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| How sweetly down the void they float! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The breeze their magic path attends, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| The stars shine out, the forest bends, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The wakeful heifers gaze. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Whoe'er thou art whom chance may bring | 8 | ········ |
| To this sequester'd spot, | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| If then the plaintive Syren sing, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Oh! softly tread beneath her bower, | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| And think of heaven's disposing power, | 9 | ···/˘˘/˘/ |
| Of man's uncertain lot. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Oh! think, o'er all this mortal stage, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| What mournful scenes arise: | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| What ruin waits on kingly rage, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| How often virtue dwells with woe, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| How many griefs from knowledge flow, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| How swiftly pleasure flies. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| O sacred bird, let me at eve, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Thus wandering all alone, | 7 | ·/˘˘·˘/ |
| Thy tender counsel oft receive, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Bear witness to thy pensive airs, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And pity Nature's common cares, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Till I forget my own. | 6 | ··˘/·· |
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