A Discontented Mind
How thick the clouds of night are rang'd o'er head!Confounding darkness o'er the earth is spread.The clouded moon her cheering count'nance hides;And feeble stars, between the ragged sidesOf broken clouds, with unavailing ray,Look thro' to mock the trav'ller on his way.Tree, bush, and rugged rock, and hollow dell,In deeper shades their forms confus'dly tell,To cheat the weary wand'rer's doubtful eye;Whilst chilly passing winds come ruffling by;And tangled briars perplex the darken'd pass;And slimy reptiles glimmer on the grass;And stinging night-flies spend their cursed spite;Unhospitable are thy shades, O Night!
Now hard suspicion bars the creaking door;And safe within the selfish worldlings snore:And wealthy fools are warm in downy bed:And houseless beggars shelter in the shed:And nestling coveys cow'r beneath the brake;While prowling mischief only is awake.Each hole and den fends forth its cursed brood,And savage bloody creatures range the wood.The thievish vagrant plies his thriftless tradeBeneath the friendly shelter of the shade;Whilst boldest risk the lawless robber braves:The day for fools was made, and night for knaves.
O welcome, kindly moon! thy light display,And guide a weary trav'ller on his way.Hill, wood, and valley, brighten in her beam;And wavy silver glitters on the stream.The distant path-way shews distinct and clear,From far inviting, but perplex'd when near.For blackning shadows add deceitful length,And lesser objects gain unwonted strength;Each step misguiding; to the eye unknown,The shining gutter, from the glist'ning stone;While crossing shadows checker o'er the ground,The more perplexing for the brightness round.Deceitful are thy smiles, untoward Night!Thy gloom is better than misguiding light.Then welcome is yon cloud that onward fails,And all this glary shew in darkness veils.But see how soon the fleeting shade is past,And streamy brightness moots across the waste.Now fly the shadows borne upon the wind;Succeeding brightness travels fast behind.And now it low'rs again. Inconstant Night,Confound thy freaks! be either dark or light.Yet let them come; whate'er thy changes be,I was a fool to put my trust in thee.
Words in this poem 15
- dell n.
- A small, retired valley; a ravine. [AS. del, akin to E. dale; cf. D. delle, del, low ground. See Dale.]
- cursed a.
- Deserving a curse; execrable; hateful; detestable; abominable.
- snore v. i.
- To breathe with a rough, hoarse, nasal voice in sleep. [OE. snoren, AS. snora a snoring; akin to LG. snoren, snorken, snurken, to snore, D. snorken, G. schnarchen to snore, schnarren to rattle, MHG. snarren, Sw. snar]
- houseless a.
- Destitute of the shelter of a house; shelterless; homeless; as, a houseless wanderer.
- nestling n.
- A young bird which has not abandoned the nest. Piers Plowman.
- prowling a.
- Accustomed to prowl, or engaged in roving stealthily, as for prey.
- thriftless a.
- Without thrift; not prudent or prosperous in money affairs.
- brighten v. t.
- To make bright or brighter; to make to shine; to increase the luster of; to give a brighter hue to.
- inviting a.
- Alluring; tempting; as, an inviting amusement or prospect.
- unwonted a.
- Not wonted; unaccustomed; unused; not made familiar by practice; as, a child unwonted to strangers.
- checker n.
- One who checks. [From Check, v. t.]
- untoward a.
- Froward; perverse. [Pref. un- not + toward.]
- glary a.
- Of a dazzling luster; glaring; bright; shining; smooth.
- shew n.
- Show. [Obs. except in shewbread.]
- streamy a.
- Abounding with streams, or with running water; streamful.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Discontented Mind is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, &c. (1790) Wherein It Is Attempted To Describe Certain Views Of Nature And Of Rustic Manners; And Also, To Point Out, In Some Instances, The Different Influence Which The Same Circumstances Produce On Different Characters, Project Gutenberg ebook #14617; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Joanna Baillie, A Discontented Mind, in Poems (1790) (1790), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #14617, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/baillie-poems/a-discontented-mind.html, id L09866.
Form and metre
A Discontented Mind is 50 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 92% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 95%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables.
See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGG headA · spreadA · hidesB · sidesB · rayC · wayC · dellD · tellD · eyeE · byE · passF · grassF · spiteG · nightG
- 2 AABBCC--DDEE doorA · snoreA · bedB · shedB · brakeC · awakeC · brood · wood · tradeD · shadeD · bravesE · knavesE
- 3 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH--IIGGJJ displayA · wayA · beamB · streamB · clearC · nearC · lengthD · strengthD · unknownE · stoneE · groundF · roundF · nightG · lightG · failsH · veilsH · past · waste · windI · behindI · nightG · lightG · beJ · theeJ
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| How thick the clouds of night are rang'd o'er head! | 10 | ·········· |
| Confounding darkness o'er the earth is spread. | 10 | ˘/˘/˘····· |
| The clouded moon her cheering count'nance hides; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| And feeble stars, between the ragged sides | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Of broken clouds, with unavailing ray, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| Look thro' to mock the trav'ller on his way. | 10 | ·········· |
| Tree, bush, and rugged rock, and hollow dell, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| In deeper shades their forms confus'dly tell, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| To cheat the weary wand'rer's doubtful eye; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Whilst chilly passing winds come ruffling by; | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| And tangled briars perplex the darken'd pass; | 10 | ·/˘/˘/·/˘· |
| And slimy reptiles glimmer on the grass; | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| And stinging night-flies spend their cursed spite; | 10 | ·/˘·····˘· |
| Unhospitable are thy shades, O Night! | 10 | ˘/˘˘˘····· |
| Now hard suspicion bars the creaking door; | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| And safe within the selfish worldlings snore: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And wealthy fools are warm in downy bed: | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And houseless beggars shelter in the shed: | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| And nestling coveys cow'r beneath the brake; | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| While prowling mischief only is awake. | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Each hole and den fends forth its cursed brood, | 10 | ········˘· |
| And savage bloody creatures range the wood. | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| The thievish vagrant plies his thriftless trade | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Beneath the friendly shelter of the shade; | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Whilst boldest risk the lawless robber braves: | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| The day for fools was made, and night for knaves. | 10 | ·········· |
| O welcome, kindly moon! thy light display, | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| And guide a weary trav'ller on his way. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Hill, wood, and valley, brighten in her beam; | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| And wavy silver glitters on the stream. | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| The distant path-way shews distinct and clear, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| From far inviting, but perplex'd when near. | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/·· |
| For blackning shadows add deceitful length, | 10 | ···/··˘/˘· |
| And lesser objects gain unwonted strength; | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Each step misguiding; to the eye unknown, | 10 | ··˘/˘···˘/ |
| The shining gutter, from the glist'ning stone; | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| While crossing shadows checker o'er the ground, | 10 | ·/˘/·/˘··· |
| The more perplexing for the brightness round. | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Deceitful are thy smiles, untoward Night! | 10 | ˘/˘···˘˘/· |
| Thy gloom is better than misguiding light. | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Then welcome is yon cloud that onward fails, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And all this glary shew in darkness veils. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| But see how soon the fleeting shade is past, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And streamy brightness moots across the waste. | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| Now fly the shadows borne upon the wind; | 10 | ···/······ |
| Succeeding brightness travels fast behind. | 10 | ˘/˘/˘/˘··· |
| And now it low'rs again. Inconstant Night, | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘· |
| Confound thy freaks! be either dark or light. | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| Yet let them come; whate'er thy changes be, | 11 | ····˘˘/·/˘· |
| I was a fool to put my trust in thee. | 10 | ·········· |
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