From the Gentleman's Magazine, May 1759
Amidst a wood of oaks with canvas leaves,Which form'd a floating forest on the waves,There stood a tower, whose vast stupendous sizeRear'd its huge mast, and seem'd to gore the skies,From which a bloody pendant stretch'd afarIts comet-tail, denouncing ample war:Two younger giants, of inferior height,Display'd their sporting streamers to the sight:The base below, another island rose,To pour Britannia's thunder on her foes:With bulk immense, like Ætna, she surveysAbove the rest, the lesser Cyclades:Profuse of gold, in lustre like the sun,Splendid with regal luxury she shone,Lavish in wealth, luxuriant in her pride,Behold the gilded mass exulting ride!Her curious prow divides the silver waves,In the salt ooze her radiant sides she laves;From stem to stern, her wondrous length survey,Rising a beauteous Venus from the sea:Her stem, with naval drapery engraved,Show'd mimic warriors, who the tempest braved;Whose visage fierce defied the lashing surge,Of Gallic pride the emblematic scourge.Tremendous figures, lo! her stern displays,And holds a Pharos of distinguish'd blaze:By night it shines a star of brightest form,To point her way, and light her through the storm:See dread engagements pictured to the life,See admirals maintain the glorious strife:Here breathing images in painted ire,Seem for their country's freedom to expire:Victorious fleets the flying fleets pursue--Here strikes a ship, and there exults a crew:A frigate here blows up with hideous glare,And adds fresh terrors to the bleeding war.But leaving feigned ornaments, behold!Eight hundred youths, of heart and sinew bold,Mount up her shrouds, or to her tops ascend,Some haul her braces, some her foresail bend;Full ninety brazen guns her port-holes fill,Ready with nitrous magazines to kill;From dread embrazures formidably peep,And seem to threaten ruin to the deep:On pivots fix'd, the well-ranged swivels lie,Or to point downward, or to brave the sky;While peteraroes swell with infant rage,Prepared, though small, with fury to engage.Thus arm'd, may Britain long her state maintain,And with triumphant navies rule the main!
Words in this poem 20
- amidst prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- stupendous a.
- Astonishing; wonderful; amazing; especially, astonishing in magnitude or elevation; as, a stupendous pile. [L. stupendus astonishing, p. future pass. of stupere to be astonished at. Cf. Stupid.]
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
- lustre n.
- A period of five years; a lustrum. [L. lustrum: cf. F. lustre.]
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- exulting a.
- Rejoicing triumphantly or exceedingly; exultant.
- curious a.
- Difficult to please or satisfy; solicitous to be correct; careful; scrupulous; nice; exact. [OF. curios, curius, F. curieux, L. curiosus careful, inquisitive, fr. cura care. See Cure.]
- wondrous adv.
- In a wonderful or surprising manner or degree; wonderfully. [OE. wonders, adv. (later also adj.). See Wonder, n., and cf. -wards.]
- beauteous a.
- Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
- 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.]
- lashing n.
- The act of one who, or that which, lashes; castigation; chastisement. South. Lashing out, a striking out; also, extravagance.
- scourge n.
- A lash; a strap or cord; especially, a lash used to inflict pain or punishment; an instrument of punishment or discipline; a whip. [F. escourgée, fr. L. excoriata (sc. scutica) a stripped off (lash or whip), fr. excoriate to strip, to skin. See Excoriate.]
- tremendous a.
- Fitted to excite fear or terror; such as may astonish or terrify by its magnitude, force, or violence; terrible; dreadful; as, a tremendous wind; a tremendous shower; a tremendous shock or fall. [L. tremendus that is to be trembled at, fearful, fr. tremere to tremble. See Tremble.]
- pharos n.
- A lighthouse or beacon for the guidance of seamen.
- pictured a.
- Furnished with pictures; represented by a picture or pictures; as, a pictured scene.
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- glare v. i.
- To shine with a bright, dazzling light. [OE. glaren, gloren; cf. AS. glær amber, LG. glaren to glow or burn like coals, D. gloren to glimmer; prob. akin to E. glass.]
- sinew n.
- A tendon or tendonous tissue. See Tendon. [OE. sinewe, senewe, AS. sinu, seonu; akin to D. zenuw, OHG. senawa, G. sehne, Icel. sin, Sw. sena, Dan. sene; cf. Skr. snava. sq. root290.]
- formidably adv.
- In a formidable manner.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
From the Gentleman's Magazine, May 1759 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, From the Gentleman's Magazine, May 1759, in The Minstrel and Other Poems (1771–1774), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/beattie-minstrel/from-the-gentleman-s-magazine-may-1759.html, id L09629.
Form and metre
From the Gentleman's Magazine, May 1759 is 50 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 80% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 6% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 --AA--BBCCCC--DDEE--FFGGHHIIJJKKLL--MMNNOOPPQQRRSS leaves · waves · sizeA · skiesA · afar · war · heightB · sightB · roseC · foesC · surveysC · cycladesC · sun · shone · prideD · rideD · wavesE · lavesE · survey · sea · engravedF · bravedF · surgeG · scourgeG · displaysH · blazeH · formI · stormI · lifeJ · strifeJ · ireK · expireK · pursueL · crewL · glare · war · beholdM · boldM · ascendN · bendN · fillO · killO · peepP · deepP · lieQ · skyQ · rageR · engageR · maintainS · mainS
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Amidst a wood of oaks with canvas leaves, | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| Which form'd a floating forest on the waves, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| There stood a tower, whose vast stupendous size | 10 | ···/··˘/˘· |
| Rear'd its huge mast, and seem'd to gore the skies, | 10 | ·········· |
| From which a bloody pendant stretch'd afar | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Its comet-tail, denouncing ample war: | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘/˘· |
| Two younger giants, of inferior height, | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Display'd their sporting streamers to the sight: | 10 | ˘/·/˘/˘··· |
| The base below, another island rose, | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘· |
| To pour Britannia's thunder on her foes: | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| With bulk immense, like Ætna, she surveys | 9 | ··˘/···/· |
| Above the rest, the lesser Cyclades: | 10 | ·····/˘˘/˘ |
| Profuse of gold, in lustre like the sun, | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| Splendid with regal luxury she shone, | 10 | /˘·/˘/˘˘·· |
| Lavish in wealth, luxuriant in her pride, | 10 | /˘··˘/˘··· |
| Behold the gilded mass exulting ride! | 10 | ˘/·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Her curious prow divides the silver waves, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| In the salt ooze her radiant sides she laves; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| From stem to stern, her wondrous length survey, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Rising a beauteous Venus from the sea: | 11 | /˘·/˘˘/˘··· |
| Her stem, with naval drapery engraved, | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘˘/ |
| Show'd mimic warriors, who the tempest braved; | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Whose visage fierce defied the lashing surge, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| Of Gallic pride the emblematic scourge. | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| Tremendous figures, lo! her stern displays, | 10 | ˘/˘/˘···˘/ |
| And holds a Pharos of distinguish'd blaze: | 10 | ···/··˘/˘· |
| By night it shines a star of brightest form, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| To point her way, and light her through the storm: | 10 | ·········· |
| See dread engagements pictured to the life, | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| See admirals maintain the glorious strife: | 10 | ·/˘˘˘/·/˘· |
| Here breathing images in painted ire, | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| Seem for their country's freedom to expire: | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Victorious fleets the flying fleets pursue-- | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Here strikes a ship, and there exults a crew: | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| A frigate here blows up with hideous glare, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And adds fresh terrors to the bleeding war. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| But leaving feigned ornaments, behold! | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘˘/ |
| Eight hundred youths, of heart and sinew bold, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Mount up her shrouds, or to her tops ascend, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Some haul her braces, some her foresail bend; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Full ninety brazen guns her port-holes fill, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Ready with nitrous magazines to kill; | 10 | /˘·/˘/˘··· |
| From dread embrazures formidably peep, | 10 | ·····/˘˘˘· |
| And seem to threaten ruin to the deep: | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| On pivots fix'd, the well-ranged swivels lie, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Or to point downward, or to brave the sky; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| While peteraroes swell with infant rage, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Prepared, though small, with fury to engage. | 10 | ˘/···/˘·˘/ |
| Thus arm'd, may Britain long her state maintain, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| And with triumphant navies rule the main! | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
Notes from the edition 2
Beattie's own notes to The Minstrel (Project Gutenberg #8695).
- Line 7 'Younger giants:' fore and mizen masts.
- Line 26 'Pharos:' her poop lanthorn.
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