Elegy
Tired with the busy crowds, that all the dayImpatient throng where Folly's altars flame,My languid powers dissolve with quick decay,Till genial Sleep repair the sinking frame.
Hail, kind reviver! that canst lull the cares,And every weary sense compose to rest,Lighten the oppressive load which anguish bears,And warm with hope the cold desponding breast.
Touch'd by thy rod, from Power's majestic browDrops the gay plume; he pines a lowly clown;And on the cold earth stretch'd, the son of WoeQuaffs Pleasure's draught, and wears a fancied crown.
When roused by thee, on boundless pinions borne,Fancy to fairy scenes exults to rove,Now scales the cliff gay-gleaming on the morn,Now sad and silent treads the deepening grove;
Or skims the main, and listens to the storms,Marks the long waves roll far remote away;Or, mingling with ten thousand glittering forms,Floats on the gale, and basks in purest day.
Haply, ere long, pierced by the howling blast,Through dark and pathless deserts I shall roam,Plunge down the unfathom'd deep, or shrink aghastWhere bursts the shrieking spectre from the tomb:
Perhaps loose Luxury's enchanting smileShall lure my steps to some romantic dale,Where Mirth's light freaks the unheeded hours beguile,And airs of rapture warble in the gale.
Instructive emblem of this mortal state!Where scenes as various every hour ariseIn swift succession, which the hand of FatePresents, then snatches from our wondering eyes.
Be taught, vain man, how fleeting all thy joys,Thy boasted grandeur and thy glittering store:Death comes, and all thy fancied bliss destroys;Quick as a dream it fades, and is no more.
And, sons of Sorrow! though the threatening stormOf angry Fortune overhang awhile,Let not her frowns your inward peace deform;Soon happier days in happier climes shall smile.
Through Earth's throng'd visions while we toss forlorn,'Tis tumult all, and rage, and restless strife;But these shall vanish like the dreams of morn,When Death awakes us to immortal life.
Words in this poem 15
- genial a.
- Contributing to, or concerned in, propagation or production; generative; procreative; productive. [L. genialis: cf. OF. genial. See Genius.]
- reviver n.
- One who, or that which, revives.
- lull v. t.
- To cause to rest by soothing influences; to compose; to calm; to soothe; to quiet. [Akin to OD. lullen to sing to sleep, G. lullen, Dan. lulle, Sw. lulla; all of imitative origin. Cf. Loll, Lollard.]
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- haply adv.
- By hap, chance, luck, or accident; perhaps; it may be.
- pathless a.
- Having no beaten path or way; untrodden; impenetrable; as, pathless woods.
- 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,]
- spectre n.
- Something preternaturally visible; an apparition; a ghost; a phantom. [F. spectre, fr. L. spectrum an appearance, image, specter, fr. specere to look. See Spy, and cf. Spectrum.]
- warble v. t.
- To sing in a trilling, quavering, or vibratory manner; to modulate with turns or variations; to trill; as, certain birds are remarkable for warbling their songs. [OE. werbelen, OF. werbler; of Teutonic origin; cf. G. wirbeln to turn, to warble, D. wervelen, akin to E. whirl. See Whirl.]
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
- overhang v. t.
- To impend or hang over. Beau. & Fl.
- awhile adv.
- For a while; for some time; for a short time. [Adj. a + while time, interval.]
- deform a.
- Deformed; misshapen; shapeless; horrid. [L. deformis; de- + forma form: cf. OF. deforme, F. difforme. Cf. Difform.]
- forlorn a.
- Deserted abandoned; lost. [OE., p.p. of forlesen to lose utterly, AS. forleósan (p.p. forloren); pref. for- + leósan (in comp.) to lose; cf. D. verliezen to lose, G. verlieren, Sw. förlor]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Elegy is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Beattie, Blair, and Falconer With Lives, Critical Dissertations, and Explanatory Notes, Project Gutenberg ebook #8695; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: James Beattie, Elegy, in The Minstrel and Other Poems (1771–1774), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/beattie-minstrel/elegy.html, id L09605.
Form and metre
Elegy is 44 lines in 11 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 10 of its 11 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 18% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 ABAB dayA · flameB · decayA · frameB
- 2 ABAB caresA · restB · bearsA · breastB
- 3 -A-A brow · clownA · woe · crownA
- 4 ABAB borneA · roveB · mornA · groveB
- 5 ABAB stormsA · awayB · formsA · dayB
- 6 ABAB blastA · roamB · aghastA · tombB
- 7 ABAB smileA · daleB · beguileA · galeB
- 8 ABAB stateA · ariseB · fateA · eyesB
- 9 ABAB joysA · storeB · destroysA · moreB
- 10 ABAB stormA · awhileB · deformA · smileB
- 11 ABAB forlornA · strifeB · mornA · lifeB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Tired with the busy crowds, that all the day | 10 | /··/˘····· |
| Impatient throng where Folly's altars flame, | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘/˘· |
| My languid powers dissolve with quick decay, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/··˘/ |
| Till genial Sleep repair the sinking frame. | 10 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| Hail, kind reviver! that canst lull the cares, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| And every weary sense compose to rest, | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| Lighten the oppressive load which anguish bears, | 11 | /˘·˘/˘··/˘· |
| And warm with hope the cold desponding breast. | 10 | ·········· |
| Touch'd by thy rod, from Power's majestic brow | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Drops the gay plume; he pines a lowly clown; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And on the cold earth stretch'd, the son of Woe | 10 | ·········· |
| Quaffs Pleasure's draught, and wears a fancied crown. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| When roused by thee, on boundless pinions borne, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Fancy to fairy scenes exults to rove, | 10 | /˘·/˘·˘/·· |
| Now scales the cliff gay-gleaming on the morn, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Now sad and silent treads the deepening grove; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Or skims the main, and listens to the storms, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Marks the long waves roll far remote away; | 10 | ······˘/˘/ |
| Or, mingling with ten thousand glittering forms, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Floats on the gale, and basks in purest day. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Haply, ere long, pierced by the howling blast, | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| Through dark and pathless deserts I shall roam, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Plunge down the unfathom'd deep, or shrink aghast | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| Where bursts the shrieking spectre from the tomb: | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Perhaps loose Luxury's enchanting smile | 10 | ˘/·/˘˘˘/˘· |
| Shall lure my steps to some romantic dale, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Where Mirth's light freaks the unheeded hours beguile, | 11 | ·····˘/˘/˘/ |
| And airs of rapture warble in the gale. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Instructive emblem of this mortal state! | 10 | ˘/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Where scenes as various every hour arise | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘/ |
| In swift succession, which the hand of Fate | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Presents, then snatches from our wondering eyes. | 10 | ˘/·/˘·//˘· |
| Be taught, vain man, how fleeting all thy joys, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Thy boasted grandeur and thy glittering store: | 10 | ·/˘˘/··/˘· |
| Death comes, and all thy fancied bliss destroys; | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Quick as a dream it fades, and is no more. | 10 | ·········· |
| And, sons of Sorrow! though the threatening storm | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Of angry Fortune overhang awhile, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Let not her frowns your inward peace deform; | 10 | ·····/˘··/ |
| Soon happier days in happier climes shall smile. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Through Earth's throng'd visions while we toss forlorn, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| 'Tis tumult all, and rage, and restless strife; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| But these shall vanish like the dreams of morn, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| When Death awakes us to immortal life. | 10 | ··˘/··˘/˘· |
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.