Ode to Hope III. 3
But whence the sudden beam that shoots along?Why shrink aghast the hostile throng?Lo! from amidst affliction's nightHope bursts all radiant on the sight:Her words the troubled bosom soothe."Why thus dismay'd?Though foes invade,Hope ne'er is wanting to their aidWho tread the path of truth.'Tis I, who smoothe the rugged way,I, who close the eyes of Sorrow,And with glad visions of to-morrowRepair the weary soul's decay.When Death's cold touch thrills to the freezing heart,Dreams of Heaven's opening glories I impart,Till the freed spirit springs on highIn rapture too severe for weak mortality."
Words in this poem
- 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]
- soothe v. t.
- To assent to as true. Testament of Love. [Originally, to assent to as true; OE. so to verify, AS. ges to prove the truth of, to bear witness. See Sooth, a.]
- mortality n.
- The condition or quality of being mortal; subjection to death or to the necessity of dying. [L. mortalitas: cf. F. mortalité.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Ode to Hope III. 3 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 to Hope III. 3, in The Minstrel and Other Poems (1771–1774), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/beattie-minstrel/ode-to-hope-iii-3.html, id L09589.
Form and metre
Ode to Hope III. 3 is 17 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.2 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 24% 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 AABB-CCC-DEEDFF-- alongA · throngA · nightB · sightB · soothe · dismay'dC · invadeC · aidC · truth · wayD · sorrowE · morrowE · decayD · heartF · impartF · high · mortality
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 |
|---|---|---|
| But whence the sudden beam that shoots along? | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Why shrink aghast the hostile throng? | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Lo! from amidst affliction's night | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| Hope bursts all radiant on the sight: | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| Her words the troubled bosom soothe. | 9 | ···/˘˘/˘· |
| "Why thus dismay'd? | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Though foes invade, | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Hope ne'er is wanting to their aid | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Who tread the path of truth. | 6 | ······ |
| 'Tis I, who smoothe the rugged way, | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| I, who close the eyes of Sorrow, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And with glad visions of to-morrow | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Repair the weary soul's decay. | 8 | ˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| When Death's cold touch thrills to the freezing heart, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Dreams of Heaven's opening glories I impart, | 11 | ··/˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Till the freed spirit springs on high | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| In rapture too severe for weak mortality." | 11 | ·/˘·˘/··˘/˘ |
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.