The Hermit
At the close of the day, when the hamlet is still,And mortals the sweets of forgetfulness prove,When nought but the torrent is heard on the hill,And nought but the nightingale's song in the grove'Twas thus, by the cave of the mountain afar,While his harp rung symphonious, a hermit began:No more with himself or with nature at war,He thought as a sage, though he felt as a man.
"Ah! why, all abandon'd to darkness and woe,Why, lone Philomela, that languishing fall?For Spring shall return, and a lover bestow,And sorrow no longer thy bosom enthrall.But if pity inspire thee, renew the sad lay,Mourn, sweetest complainer, man calls thee to mourn:O, soothe him whose pleasures like thine pass away:Full quickly they pass--but they never return.
Now gliding remote on the verge of the sky,The Moon, half extinguish'd, her crescent displays:But lately I mark'd when majestic on highShe shone, and the planets were lost in her blaze.Roll on, thou fair orb, and with gladness pursueThe path that conducts thee to splendour again.But man's faded glory what change shall renew?Ah, fool! to exult in a glory so vain!
'Tis night, and the landscape is lovely no more;I mourn, but, ye woodlands, I mourn not for you:For morn is approaching, your charms to restore,Perfumed with fresh fragrance, and glittering with dew:Nor yet for the ravage of winter I mourn;Kind Nature the embryo blossom will save.But when shall spring visit the mouldering urn?O when shall it dawn on the night of the grave?
'Twas thus, by the glare of false Science betray'd,That leads to bewilder, and dazzles to blind;My thoughts wont to roam, from shade onward to shade,Destruction before me, and sorrow behind.'O pity, great Father of light,' then I cried,'Thy creature, who fain would not wander from thee:Lo, humbled in dust, I relinquish my pride:From doubt and from darkness thou only canst free.'
And darkness and doubt are now flying away;No longer I roam in conjecture forlorn:So breaks on the traveller, faint, and astray,The bright and the balmy effulgence of morn.See Truth, Love, and Mercy in triumph descending,And nature all glowing in Eden's first bloom!On the cold cheek of Death smiles and roses are blending,And Beauty immortal awakes from the tomb."
Words in this poem 17
- 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.]
- rung n.
- A floor timber in a ship. [OE. ronge, AS. hrung, a staff, rod, pole; akin to G. runge a short, thick piece of iron or wood, OD. ronghe a prop, support, Icel. röng a rib in a ship, Goth. H]
- symphonious a.
- Agreeing in sound; accordant; harmonious. [From Symphony.]
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- philomela n.
- The nightingale; philomel.
- 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,]
- enthrall v. t.
- To hold in thrall; to enslave. See Inthrall. [Pref. en- + thrall. Cf. Inthrall.]
- complainer n.
- One who complains or laments; one who finds fault; a murmurer.
- 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.]
- splendour n.
- Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
- 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.]
- 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.]
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- 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]
- balmy a.
- Having the qualities of balm; odoriferous; aromatic; assuaging; soothing; refreshing; mild.
- effulgence n.
- The state of being effulgent; extreme brilliancy; a flood of light; great luster or brightness; splendor.
- blending n.
- The act of mingling.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Hermit 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, The Hermit, in The Minstrel and Other Poems (1771–1774), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8695, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/beattie-minstrel/the-hermit.html, id L09608.
Form and metre
The Hermit is 48 lines in 6 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCDCD. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 73% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 11.0 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 6% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in anapaestic 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 ABABCDCD stillA · proveB · hillA · groveB · afarC · beganD · warC · manD
- 2 ABABCDCD woeA · fallB · bestowA · enthrallB · layC · mournD · awayC · returnD
- 3 ABABCDCD skyA · displaysB · highA · blazeB · pursueC · againD · renewC · vainD
- 4 ABABCDCD moreA · youB · restoreA · dewB · mournC · saveD · urnC · graveD
- 5 ABABCDCD betray'dA · blindB · shadeA · behindB · criedC · theeD · prideC · freeD
- 6 ABABCDCD awayA · forlornB · astrayA · mornB · descendingC · bloomD · blendingC · tombD
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 anapaestic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| At the close of the day, when the hamlet is still, | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| And mortals the sweets of forgetfulness prove, | 11 | ·/˘···˘/˘˘· |
| When nought but the torrent is heard on the hill, | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| And nought but the nightingale's song in the grove | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| 'Twas thus, by the cave of the mountain afar, | 11 | ·······/˘˘/ |
| While his harp rung symphonious, a hermit began: | 13 | ····˘/˘˘·/˘˘/ |
| No more with himself or with nature at war, | 11 | ···˘/··/˘·· |
| He thought as a sage, though he felt as a man. | 11 | ··········· |
| "Ah! why, all abandon'd to darkness and woe, | 11 | ···˘/˘·/˘·· |
| Why, lone Philomela, that languishing fall? | 10 | ···˘/˘·/˘· |
| For Spring shall return, and a lover bestow, | 11 | ···˘/··/˘˘/ |
| And sorrow no longer thy bosom enthrall. | 11 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘˘/ |
| But if pity inspire thee, renew the sad lay, | 12 | ··/˘˘/·˘/··· |
| Mourn, sweetest complainer, man calls thee to mourn: | 11 | ·/˘˘/˘····· |
| O, soothe him whose pleasures like thine pass away: | 11 | ····/˘···˘/ |
| Full quickly they pass--but they never return. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘/ |
| Now gliding remote on the verge of the sky, | 11 | ·/˘˘/······ |
| The Moon, half extinguish'd, her crescent displays: | 11 | ···˘/˘·/˘˘/ |
| But lately I mark'd when majestic on high | 11 | ·/˘···˘/˘·· |
| She shone, and the planets were lost in her blaze. | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| Roll on, thou fair orb, and with gladness pursue | 11 | ·······/˘˘/ |
| The path that conducts thee to splendour again. | 11 | ···˘/··/˘˘/ |
| But man's faded glory what change shall renew? | 11 | ··/˘/˘···˘/ |
| Ah, fool! to exult in a glory so vain! | 11 | ···˘/··/˘·· |
| 'Tis night, and the landscape is lovely no more; | 11 | ····/··/˘·· |
| I mourn, but, ye woodlands, I mourn not for you: | 11 | ····/······ |
| For morn is approaching, your charms to restore, | 11 | ···˘/˘···˘/ |
| Perfumed with fresh fragrance, and glittering with dew: | 11 | ˘/··/˘·/˘·· |
| Nor yet for the ravage of winter I mourn; | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| Kind Nature the embryo blossom will save. | 11 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| But when shall spring visit the mouldering urn? | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| O when shall it dawn on the night of the grave? | 11 | ··········· |
| 'Twas thus, by the glare of false Science betray'd, | 11 | ·······/˘˘/ |
| That leads to bewilder, and dazzles to blind; | 11 | ···˘/˘·/˘·· |
| My thoughts wont to roam, from shade onward to shade, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| Destruction before me, and sorrow behind. | 11 | ˘/˘····/˘·· |
| 'O pity, great Father of light,' then I cried, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘····· |
| 'Thy creature, who fain would not wander from thee: | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| Lo, humbled in dust, I relinquish my pride: | 11 | ·/˘···˘/˘·· |
| From doubt and from darkness thou only canst free.' | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| And darkness and doubt are now flying away; | 11 | ·/˘····/˘˘/ |
| No longer I roam in conjecture forlorn: | 11 | ·/˘···˘/˘˘/ |
| So breaks on the traveller, faint, and astray, | 10 | ····/˘··˘/ |
| The bright and the balmy effulgence of morn. | 11 | ····/˘˘/˘·· |
| See Truth, Love, and Mercy in triumph descending, | 12 | ····/˘·/˘˘/˘ |
| And nature all glowing in Eden's first bloom! | 11 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘·· |
| On the cold cheek of Death smiles and roses are blending, | 13 | ········/˘·/˘ |
| And Beauty immortal awakes from the tomb." | 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.