To Thomas Edwards, Esq.; on the Late Edition of Mr. Pope's Works. 1751
Believe me, Edwards, to restrainThe licence of a railer's tongueIs what but seldom men obtainBy sense or wit, by prose or song:A task for more Herculean powers,Nor suited to the sacred hoursOf leisure in the Muse's bowers.
In bowers where laurel weds with palm,The Muse, the blameless queen, resides:Fair Fame attends, and Wisdom calmHer eloquence harmonious guides:While, shut for ever from her gate,Oft trying, still repining, waitFierce Envy and calumnious Hate.
Who, then, from her delightful boundsWould step one moment forth to heedWhat impotent and savage soundsFrom their unhappy mouths proceed?No: rather Spenser's lyre againPrepare, and let thy pious strainFor Pope's dishonour'd shade complain.
Tell how displeased was every bard,When lately in the Elysian groveThey of his Muse's guardian heard,His delegate to fame above;And what with one accord they saidOf wit in drooping age misled,And Warburton's officious aid:
How Virgil mourn'd the sordid fateTo that melodious lyre assign'd,Beneath a tutor who so lateWith Midas and his rout combinedBy spiteful clamour to confoundThat very lyre's enchanting sound,Though listening realms admired around:
How Horace own'd he thought the fireOf his friend Pope's satiric lineDid further fuel scarce requireFrom such a militant divine:How Milton scorn'd the sophist vain,Who durst approach his hallow'd strainWith unwash'd hands and lips profane.
Then Shakspeare debonair and mildBrought that strange comment forth to view;Conceits more deep, he said and smiled,Than his own fools or madmen knew:But thank'd a generous friend above,Who did with free adventurous loveSuch pageants from his tomb remove.
And if to Pope, in equal need,The same kind office thou wouldst pay,Then, Edwards, all the band decreedThat future bards with frequent layShould call on thy auspicious name,From each absurd intruder's claimTo keep inviolate their fame.
Words in this poem
- herculean a.
- Requiring the strength of Hercules; hence, very great, difficult, or dangerous; as, an Herculean task. [L. herculeus, fr. Hercules: cf. F. herculéen. See Hercules.]
- calumnious a.
- Containing or implying calumny; false, malicious, and injurious to reputation; slanderous; as, calumnious reports. [L. calumniosus.]
- elysian a.
- Pertaining, or the abode of the blessed after death; hence, yielding the highest pleasures; exceedingly delightful; beatific. [L. Elysius, fr. Elysium.]
- sordid a.
- Filthy; foul; dirty. [L. sordidus, fr. sordere to be filthy or dirty; probably akin to E. swart: cf. F. sordide. See Swart, a.]
- midas n.
- A genus of longeared South American monkeys, including numerous species of marmosets. See Marmoset. [So called from L. Midas, a man fabled to have had ass's ears.]
- clamour n.
- A great outcry or vociferation; loud and continued shouting or exclamation. [OF. clamour, clamur, F. clameur, fr. L. clamor, fr. clamare to cry out. See Claim.]
- admired a.
- Regarded with wonder and delight; highly prized; as, an admired poem.
- satiric a.
- Of or pertaining to satire; of the nature of satire; as, a satiric style. [L. satiricus: cf. F. satirique.]
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- militant a.
- Engaged in warfare; fighting; combating; serving as a soldier. [L. militans, -antis, p. pr. of militare to be soldier: cf. F. militant. See Militate.]
- debonair a.
- Characterized by courteousness, affability, or gentleness; of good appearance and manners; graceful; complaisant. [OE. debonere, OF. de bon aire, debonaire, of good descent or lineage, excellent, debonair, F. débonnaire debonair; de of (L. de) + bon good (L. bonus) + aire. S]
- 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.]
- inviolate a.
- Not violated; uninjured; unhurt; unbroken. [L. inviolatus. See In- not, and Violate.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To Thomas Edwards, Esq.; on the Late Edition of Mr. Pope's Works. 1751 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 Thomas Edwards, Esq.; on the Late Edition of Mr. Pope's Works. 1751, in The Poetical Works of Mark Akenside (1744), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9814, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/akenside-poems/to-thomas-edwards-esq-on-the-late-edition-of-mr-pope-s-works.html, id L09535.
Form and metre
To Thomas Edwards, Esq.; on the Late Edition of Mr. Pope's Works. 1751 is 56 lines in 8 stanzas of 7 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCCC, complete in 6 of its 8 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.4 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 46% 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 A-A-BBB restrainA · tongue · obtainA · song · powersB · hoursB · bowersB
- 2 ABABCCC palmA · residesB · calmA · guidesB · gateC · waitC · hateC
- 3 ABABCCC boundsA · heedB · soundsA · proceedB · againC · strainC · complainC
- 4 ----AA- bard · grove · heard · above · saidA · misledA · aid
- 5 ABABCCC fateA · assign'dB · lateA · combinedB · confoundC · soundC · aroundC
- 6 ABABCCC fireA · lineB · requireA · divineB · vainC · strainC · profaneC
- 7 ABABCCC mildA · viewB · smiledA · knewB · aboveC · loveC · removeC
- 8 ABABCCC needA · payB · decreedA · layB · nameC · claimC · fameC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Believe me, Edwards, to restrain | 8 | ˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| The licence of a railer's tongue | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Is what but seldom men obtain | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| By sense or wit, by prose or song: | 8 | ········ |
| A task for more Herculean powers, | 10 | ····˘/˘˘/˘ |
| Nor suited to the sacred hours | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘/˘ |
| Of leisure in the Muse's bowers. | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| In bowers where laurel weds with palm, | 9 | ·/˘·/˘··· |
| The Muse, the blameless queen, resides: | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Fair Fame attends, and Wisdom calm | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Her eloquence harmonious guides: | 9 | ·/˘˘˘/˘˘· |
| While, shut for ever from her gate, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Oft trying, still repining, wait | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Fierce Envy and calumnious Hate. | 9 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘· |
| Who, then, from her delightful bounds | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Would step one moment forth to heed | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| What impotent and savage sounds | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| From their unhappy mouths proceed? | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| No: rather Spenser's lyre again | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Prepare, and let thy pious strain | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| For Pope's dishonour'd shade complain. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Tell how displeased was every bard, | 10 | ··˘/˘·/˘˘· |
| When lately in the Elysian grove | 9 | ·/˘··˘/˘· |
| They of his Muse's guardian heard, | 9 | ···/˘/˘˘· |
| His delegate to fame above; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And what with one accord they said | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Of wit in drooping age misled, | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| And Warburton's officious aid: | 8 | ·/˘˘˘/˘· |
| How Virgil mourn'd the sordid fate | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| To that melodious lyre assign'd, | 9 | ··˘/˘˘·˘/ |
| Beneath a tutor who so late | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| With Midas and his rout combined | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| By spiteful clamour to confound | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| That very lyre's enchanting sound, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Though listening realms admired around: | 10 | ·/˘˘·˘/˘·· |
| How Horace own'd he thought the fire | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Of his friend Pope's satiric line | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Did further fuel scarce require | 9 | ·/˘/˘··/˘ |
| From such a militant divine: | 8 | ···/˘˘˘/ |
| How Milton scorn'd the sophist vain, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Who durst approach his hallow'd strain | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| With unwash'd hands and lips profane. | 8 | ·˘/···˘/ |
| Then Shakspeare debonair and mild | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Brought that strange comment forth to view; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Conceits more deep, he said and smiled, | 9 | ˘/······˘ |
| Than his own fools or madmen knew: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But thank'd a generous friend above, | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| Who did with free adventurous love | 9 | ····˘/˘˘· |
| Such pageants from his tomb remove. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| And if to Pope, in equal need, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The same kind office thou wouldst pay, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Then, Edwards, all the band decreed | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| That future bards with frequent lay | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Should call on thy auspicious name, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| From each absurd intruder's claim | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| To keep inviolate their fame. | 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.