Retirement. 1758
When in the crimson cloud of evenThe lingering light decays,And Hesper on the front of heavenHis glittering gem displays;Deep in the silent vale, unseen,Beside a lulling stream,A pensive Youth, of placid mien,Indulged this tender theme:
"Ye cliffs, in hoary grandeur piledHigh o'er the glimmering dale;Ye woods, along whose windings wildMurmurs the solemn gale:Where Melancholy strays forlorn,And Woe retires to weep,What time the wan Moon's yellow hornGleams on the western deep!
To you, ye wastes, whose artless charmsNe'er drew ambition's eye,'Scaped a tumultuous world's alarms,To your retreats I fly.Deep in your most sequester'd bowerLet me at last recline,Where Solitude, mild, modest power,Leans on her ivied shrine.
How shall I woo thee, matchless fair?Thy heavenly smile how win?Thy smile that smooths the brow of Care,And stills the storm within.O wilt thou to thy favourite groveThine ardent votary bring,And bless his hours, and bid them moveSerene on silent wing?
Oft let Remembrance soothe his mindWith dreams of former days,When in the lap of Peace reclinedHe framed his infant lays;When Fancy roved at large, nor CareNor cold distrust alarm'd,Nor Envy, with malignant glare,His simple youth had harm'd.
Twas then, O Solitude, to theeHis early vows were paid,From heart sincere, and warm, and free,Devoted to the shade.Ah! why did Fate his steps decoyIn stormy paths to roam,Remote from all congenial joy?--O take the wanderer home!
Thy shades, thy silence now be mine,Thy charms my only theme;My haunt the hollow cliff, whose pineWaves o'er the gloomy stream.Whence the scared owl on pinions grayBreaks from the rustling boughs,And down the lone vale sails awayTo more profound repose.
Oh, while to thee the woodland poursIts wildly-warbling song,And balmy from the bank of flowersThe Zephyr breathes along;Let no rude sound invade from far,No vagrant foot be nigh,No ray from Grandeur's gilded carFlash on the startled eye.
But if some pilgrim through the gladeThy hallow'd bowers explore,O guard from harm his hoary head,And listen to his lore;For he of joys divine shall tell,That wean from earthly woe,And triumph o'er the mighty spellThat chains his heart below.
For me no more the path invitesAmbition loves to tread;No more I climb those toilsome heightsBy guileful hope misled;Leaps my fond fluttering heart no moreTo Mirth's enlivening strain;For present pleasure soon is o'er,And all the past is vain."
Words in this poem 18
- hesper n.
- The evening; Hesperus. [See Hesperian.]
- 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.]
- unseen a.
- Not seen or discovered.
- placid a.
- Pleased; contented; unruffied; undisturbed; serene; peaceful; tranquil; quiet; gentle. [L. placidus, originally, pleasing, mild, from placere to please: cf. F. placide. See Please.]
- hoary a.
- White or whitish."The hoary willows."
- piled a.
- Having a pile or point; pointed. [From 2d Pile.]
- 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]
- ivied a.
- Overgrown with ivy. [From Ivy.]
- 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,]
- 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.]
- reclined a.
- Falling or turned downward; reclinate.
- 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.]
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- balmy a.
- Having the qualities of balm; odoriferous; aromatic; assuaging; soothing; refreshing; mild.
- zephyr n.
- The west wind; poetically, any soft, gentle breeze. [L. zephyrus, Gr. zéphyr.]
- glade n.
- An open passage through a wood; a grassy open or cleared space in a forest. [Prob. of Scand. origin, and akin to glad, a.; cf. also W. golead, goleuad, a lighting, illumination, fr. goleu light, clear, bright, goleu fwlch glade, lit., a ]
- explore v. t.
- To seek for or after; to strive to attain by search; to look wisely and carefully for. [L. explorare to explore; ex out+plorare to cry out aloud,prob. orig., to cause to flow; perh. akin to E. flow: cf. F. explorer.]
- guileful a.
- Full of guile; characterized by cunning, deceit, or treachery; guilty.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Retirement. 1758 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, Retirement. 1758, in The Minstrel and Other Poems (1771–1774), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/beattie-minstrel/retirement-1758.html, id L09607.
Form and metre
Retirement. 1758 is 80 lines in 10 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 9 of its 10 stanzas. 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 7.3 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 31% 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 ABABACAC evenA · decaysB · heavenA · displaysB · unseenA · streamC · mienA · themeC
- 2 ABABCDCD piledA · daleB · wildA · galeB · forlornC · weepD · hornC · deepD
- 3 ABABCDCD charmsA · eyeB · alarmsA · flyB · bowerC · reclineD · powerC · shrineD
- 4 ABABCDCD fairA · winB · careA · withinB · groveC · bringD · moveC · wingD
- 5 ABABCDCD mindA · daysB · reclinedA · laysB · careC · alarm'dD · glareC · harm'dD
- 6 ABABCDCD theeA · paidB · freeA · shadeB · decoyC · roamD · joyC · homeD
- 7 ABABCDCD mineA · themeB · pineA · streamB · grayC · boughsD · awayC · reposeD
- 8 ABABCDCD poursA · songB · flowersA · alongB · farC · nighD · carC · eyeD
- 9 ABABCDCD gladeA · exploreB · headA · loreB · tellC · woeD · spellC · belowD
- 10 ABABCDCD invitesA · treadB · heightsA · misledB · moreC · strainD · o'erC · vainD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When in the crimson cloud of even | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| The lingering light decays, | 7 | ·/˘˘·˘/ |
| And Hesper on the front of heaven | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| His glittering gem displays; | 7 | ·/˘˘·˘/ |
| Deep in the silent vale, unseen, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Beside a lulling stream, | 6 | ˘/·/˘· |
| A pensive Youth, of placid mien, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Indulged this tender theme: | 6 | ˘/·/˘· |
| "Ye cliffs, in hoary grandeur piled | 8 | ···/˘˘/· |
| High o'er the glimmering dale; | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Ye woods, along whose windings wild | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Murmurs the solemn gale: | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| Where Melancholy strays forlorn, | 8 | ·/˘·˘·˘/ |
| And Woe retires to weep, | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| What time the wan Moon's yellow horn | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Gleams on the western deep! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| To you, ye wastes, whose artless charms | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Ne'er drew ambition's eye, | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| 'Scaped a tumultuous world's alarms, | 9 | ···/˘˘·˘/ |
| To your retreats I fly. | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Deep in your most sequester'd bower | 9 | ····˘/˘/˘ |
| Let me at last recline, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Where Solitude, mild, modest power, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Leans on her ivied shrine. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| How shall I woo thee, matchless fair? | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Thy heavenly smile how win? | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| Thy smile that smooths the brow of Care, | 8 | ········ |
| And stills the storm within. | 6 | ······ |
| O wilt thou to thy favourite grove | 9 | ········· |
| Thine ardent votary bring, | 7 | ·/˘/˘˘· |
| And bless his hours, and bid them move | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Serene on silent wing? | 6 | ˘/·/˘· |
| Oft let Remembrance soothe his mind | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| With dreams of former days, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| When in the lap of Peace reclined | 8 | ······˘/ |
| He framed his infant lays; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| When Fancy roved at large, nor Care | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Nor cold distrust alarm'd, | 6 | ··˘/˘/ |
| Nor Envy, with malignant glare, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| His simple youth had harm'd. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Twas then, O Solitude, to thee | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| His early vows were paid, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| From heart sincere, and warm, and free, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Devoted to the shade. | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| Ah! why did Fate his steps decoy | 8 | ······˘/ |
| In stormy paths to roam, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Remote from all congenial joy?-- | 8 | ˘/··˘/˘· |
| O take the wanderer home! | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Thy shades, thy silence now be mine, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Thy charms my only theme; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| My haunt the hollow cliff, whose pine | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Waves o'er the gloomy stream. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Whence the scared owl on pinions gray | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Breaks from the rustling boughs, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And down the lone vale sails away | 8 | ······˘/ |
| To more profound repose. | 6 | ··˘/˘/ |
| Oh, while to thee the woodland pours | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Its wildly-warbling song, | 7 | ·/˘/˘˘· |
| And balmy from the bank of flowers | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| The Zephyr breathes along; | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| Let no rude sound invade from far, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| No vagrant foot be nigh, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| No ray from Grandeur's gilded car | 8 | ···˘//˘· |
| Flash on the startled eye. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| But if some pilgrim through the glade | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Thy hallow'd bowers explore, | 7 | ·/˘/˘˘/ |
| O guard from harm his hoary head, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And listen to his lore; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| For he of joys divine shall tell, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| That wean from earthly woe, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And triumph o'er the mighty spell | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| That chains his heart below. | 6 | ······ |
| For me no more the path invites | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Ambition loves to tread; | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| No more I climb those toilsome heights | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| By guileful hope misled; | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| Leaps my fond fluttering heart no more | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| To Mirth's enlivening strain; | 7 | ··˘/˘˘· |
| For present pleasure soon is o'er, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And all the past is vain." | 6 | ······ |
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