Ode on Lord Hay's Birthday
A muse, unskill'd in venal praise,Unstain'd with flattery's art;Who loves simplicity of laysBreathed ardent from the heart;While gratitude and joy inspire,Resumes the long unpractised lyre,To hail, O HAY, thy natal morn:No gaudy wreath of flowers she weaves,But twines with oak the laurel leaves,Thy cradle to adorn.
For not on beds of gaudy flowersThine ancestors reclined,Where sloth dissolves, and spleen devoursAll energy of mind.To hurl the dart, to ride the car,To stem the deluges of war,And snatch from fate a sinking land;Trample the invader's lofty crest,And from his grasp the dagger wrest,And desolating brand:
'Twas this that raised th' illustrious lineTo match the first in fame!A thousand years have seen it shineWith unabated flame;Have seen thy mighty sires appearForemost in glory's high career,The pride and pattern of the brave.Yet pure from lust of blood their fire,And from ambition's wild desire,They triumph'd but to save.
The Muse with joy attends their wayThe vale of peace along:There to its lord the village gayRenews the grateful song.Yon castle's glittering towers containNo pit of woe, nor clanking chain,Nor to the suppliant's wail resound:The open doors the needy bless,The unfriended hail their calm recess,And gladness smiles around.
There to the sympathetic heartLife's best delights belong,To mitigate the mourner's smart,To guard the weak from wrong.Ye sons of luxury be wise:Know happiness for ever fliesThe cold and solitary breast;Then let the social instinct glow,And learn to feel another's woe,And in his joy be blest.
O yet, ere Pleasure plant her snareFor unsuspecting youth;Ere Flattery her song prepareTo check the voice of Truth;O may his country's guardian powerAttend the slumbering infant's bower,And bright inspiring dreams impart;To rouse the hereditary fire,To kindle each sublime desire,Exalt and warm the heart.
Swift to reward a parent's fears,A parent's hopes to crown,Roll on in peace, ye blooming years,That rear him to renown;When in his finish'd form and faceAdmiring multitudes shall traceEach patrimonial charm combined,The courteous yet majestic mien,The liberal smile, the look serene,The great and gentle mind.
Yet, though thou draw a nation's eyes,And win a nation's love,Let not thy towering mind despiseThe village and the grove.No slander there shall wound thy fame,No ruffian take his deadly aim,No rival weave the secret snare:For innocence with angel smile,Simplicity that knows no guile,And Love and Peace are there.
When winds the mountain oak assail,And lay its glories waste,Content may slumber in the vale,Unconscious of the blast.Through scenes of tumult while we roam,The heart, alas! is ne'er at home,It hopes in time to roam no more;The mariner, not vainly brave,Combats the storm and rides the wave,To rest at last on shore.
Ye proud, ye selfish, ye severe,How vain your mask of state!The good alone have joy sincere;The good alone are great:Great, when, amid the vale of peace.They bid the plaint of sorrow cease,And hear the voice of artless praise;As when along the trophied plainSublime they lead the victor train,While shouting nations gaze.
Words in this poem 15
- natal a.
- Of or pertaining to one's birth; accompying or dating from one's birth; native. [L. natalis, fr. natus, p.p. of nasci to be born: cf. F. natal. See Nation, and cf. Noel.]
- 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.]
- reclined a.
- Falling or turned downward; reclinate.
- career n.
- A race course: the ground run over. [F. carrière race course, high road, street, fr. L. carrus wagon. See Car.]
- lust v. i.
- To list; to like. [AS. lystan. See Lust, n., and cf. List to choose.]
- vale n.
- A tract of low ground, or of land between hills; a valley. [OE. val, F. val, L. vallis; perhaps akin to Gr. Avalanche, Vail to lower, Valley.]
- unfriended a.
- Wanting friends; not befriended; not countenanced or supported.
- admiring a.
- Expressing admiration; as, an admiring glance.
- 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,]
- patrimonial a.
- Of or pertaining to a patrimony; inherited from ancestors; as, a patrimonial estate. [L.patrimonialis: cf. F. patrimonial.]
- towering a.
- Very high; elevated; rising aloft; as, a towering height.
- despise v. t.
- To look down upon with disfavor or contempt; to contemn; to scorn; to disdain; to have a low opinion or contemptuous dislike of. [OF. despis-, in some forms of despire to despise, fr. L. despicere, despectum, to look down upon, despise; de- + spicere, specere, to look. See Spy, and cf. Des]
- amid 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]
- plaint n.
- Audible expression of sorrow; lamentation; complaint; hence, a mournful song; a lament. Chaucer."The Psalmist's mournful plaint." [OE. plainte, pleynte, F. plainte, fr. L. plangere, planctum (plancta, fem. p.p.), to beat, beat the breast, lament. Cf. Complain, Plague, Plangent.]
- trophied a.
- Adorned with trophies.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Ode on Lord Hay's Birthday 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, Ode on Lord Hay's Birthday, in The Minstrel and Other Poems (1771–1774), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/beattie-minstrel/ode-on-lord-hay-s-birthday.html, id L09602.
Form and metre
Ode on Lord Hay's Birthday is 100 lines in 10 stanzas of 10 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCCDEED. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.6 syllables. 9 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 18% 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 ABABCCDEED praiseA · artB · laysA · heartB · inspireC · lyreC · mornD · weavesE · leavesE · adornD
- 2 ABABCCDEED flowersA · reclinedB · devoursA · mindB · carC · warC · landD · crestE · wrestE · brandD
- 3 ABABCCDEED lineA · fameB · shineA · flameB · appearC · careerC · braveD · fireE · desireE · saveD
- 4 ABABCCDEED wayA · alongB · gayA · songB · containC · chainC · resoundD · blessE · recessE · aroundD
- 5 ABABCCDEED heartA · belongB · smartA · wrongB · wiseC · fliesC · breastD · glowE · woeE · blestD
- 6 ABABCCDEED snareA · youthB · prepareA · truthB · powerC · bowerC · impartD · fireE · desireE · heartD
- 7 ABABCCDEED fearsA · crownB · yearsA · renownB · faceC · traceC · combinedD · mienE · sereneE · mindD
- 8 ABABCCDEED eyesA · loveB · despiseA · groveB · fameC · aimC · snareD · smileE · guileE · thereD
- 9 ABABCCDEED assailA · wasteB · valeA · blastB · roamC · homeC · moreD · braveE · waveE · shoreD
- 10 ABABCCDEED severeA · stateB · sincereA · greatB · peaceC · ceaseC · praiseD · plainE · trainE · gazeD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A muse, unskill'd in venal praise, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Unstain'd with flattery's art; | 7 | ˘/·/˘˘· |
| Who loves simplicity of lays | 8 | ··˘/˘˘·· |
| Breathed ardent from the heart; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| While gratitude and joy inspire, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Resumes the long unpractised lyre, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| To hail, O HAY, thy natal morn: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| No gaudy wreath of flowers she weaves, | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| But twines with oak the laurel leaves, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Thy cradle to adorn. | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| For not on beds of gaudy flowers | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Thine ancestors reclined, | 6 | ·/·˘˘/ |
| Where sloth dissolves, and spleen devours | 9 | ··˘/··˘/˘ |
| All energy of mind. | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| To hurl the dart, to ride the car, | 8 | ········ |
| To stem the deluges of war, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| And snatch from fate a sinking land; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Trample the invader's lofty crest, | 9 | /˘·˘/˘/˘· |
| And from his grasp the dagger wrest, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And desolating brand: | 6 | ·/˘˘˘· |
| 'Twas this that raised th' illustrious line | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| To match the first in fame! | 6 | ······ |
| A thousand years have seen it shine | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| With unabated flame; | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Have seen thy mighty sires appear | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Foremost in glory's high career, | 8 | /··/˘·˘/ |
| The pride and pattern of the brave. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Yet pure from lust of blood their fire, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| And from ambition's wild desire, | 9 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| They triumph'd but to save. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The Muse with joy attends their way | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| The vale of peace along: | 6 | ····˘/ |
| There to its lord the village gay | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Renews the grateful song. | 6 | ˘/·/˘· |
| Yon castle's glittering towers contain | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘/ |
| No pit of woe, nor clanking chain, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Nor to the suppliant's wail resound: | 8 | ·······/ |
| The open doors the needy bless, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The unfriended hail their calm recess, | 9 | ·˘/˘···˘/ |
| And gladness smiles around. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| There to the sympathetic heart | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Life's best delights belong, | 6 | ··˘/˘/ |
| To mitigate the mourner's smart, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| To guard the weak from wrong. | 6 | ······ |
| Ye sons of luxury be wise: | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Know happiness for ever flies | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| The cold and solitary breast; | 8 | ···/˘·˘· |
| Then let the social instinct glow, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And learn to feel another's woe, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| And in his joy be blest. | 6 | ······ |
| O yet, ere Pleasure plant her snare | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| For unsuspecting youth; | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Ere Flattery her song prepare | 8 | ·/˘˘··˘/ |
| To check the voice of Truth; | 6 | ······ |
| O may his country's guardian power | 8 | ···/˘/˘/ |
| Attend the slumbering infant's bower, | 8 | ˘/·/˘/˘/ |
| And bright inspiring dreams impart; | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| To rouse the hereditary fire, | 9 | ···˘/˘·˘/ |
| To kindle each sublime desire, | 9 | ·/˘·˘/˘/˘ |
| Exalt and warm the heart. | 6 | ˘/···· |
| Swift to reward a parent's fears, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| A parent's hopes to crown, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Roll on in peace, ye blooming years, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That rear him to renown; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| When in his finish'd form and face | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Admiring multitudes shall trace | 8 | ˘/˘/˘··· |
| Each patrimonial charm combined, | 8 | ·/˘·˘·˘/ |
| The courteous yet majestic mien, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| The liberal smile, the look serene, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| The great and gentle mind. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Yet, though thou draw a nation's eyes, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And win a nation's love, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Let not thy towering mind despise | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| The village and the grove. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| No slander there shall wound thy fame, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| No ruffian take his deadly aim, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| No rival weave the secret snare: | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| For innocence with angel smile, | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| Simplicity that knows no guile, | 8 | ˘/˘˘···· |
| And Love and Peace are there. | 6 | ······ |
| When winds the mountain oak assail, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| And lay its glories waste, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Content may slumber in the vale, | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| Unconscious of the blast. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Through scenes of tumult while we roam, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The heart, alas! is ne'er at home, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| It hopes in time to roam no more; | 8 | ········ |
| The mariner, not vainly brave, | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| Combats the storm and rides the wave, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| To rest at last on shore. | 6 | ······ |
| Ye proud, ye selfish, ye severe, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| How vain your mask of state! | 6 | ······ |
| The good alone have joy sincere; | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| The good alone are great: | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Great, when, amid the vale of peace. | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| They bid the plaint of sorrow cease, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And hear the voice of artless praise; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| As when along the trophied plain | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Sublime they lead the victor train, | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| While shouting nations gaze. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
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.