Occasioned by the Death of Friends
My happiness was once a goodly tree,Which promis'd every day to grow more fair,And rear'd its lofty branches in the air,In sooth, it was a pleasant sight, to see!Amidst, fair honey-suckles crept along,Twin'd round the bark, and hung from every bough,While birds, which Fancy held by slender strings,Plum'd the dark azure of their shining wings,Or dipp'd them in the silver stream below,With many a joyful note, and many a song!
When lo! a tempest hurtles in the sky!Dark low'r the clouds! the thunders burst around!Fiercely the arrowy flakes of lightning fly!While the scar'd songsters leave the quiv'ring bough,The blasted honey-suckles droop below,And many noble branches strew the ground!
Though soon the air is calm, the sky serene,Though wide the broad and leafy arms are spread,Yet still the scars of recent wounds are seen;Their shelter henceforth seems but insecure;The winged tribes disdain the frequent lure,Where many a songster lies benumb'd or dead;And when I would the flow'ry tendrils train,I find my late delightful labour vain.
Affection thus, once light of heart, and gay,Chasten'd by memory, and, unnerv'd by fear,Shall sadden each endearment with a tear,Sorrowing the offices of love shall pay,And scarcely dare to think that good her own,Which fate's imperious hand may snatch away,In the warm sunshine of meridian day,And when her hopes are full and fairest blown.
I love not yon gay, painted flower,Of bold and coarsely blended dye,But one, whose nicely varied powerMay long detain the curious eye.
I love the tones that softly rise,And in a fine accordance close;That waken no abrupt surprise,Nor leave us to inert repose.
I love the moon's pure, holy light,Pour'd on the calm, sequester'd stream;The gale, fresh from the wings of night,Which drinks the early solar beam;
The smile of heaven, when storms subside,When the moist clouds first break away;The sober tints of even-tide,Ere yet forgotten by the day.
Such sights, such sounds, my fancy please,And set my wearied spirit free:And one who takes delight in these,Can never fail of loving thee!
Words in this poem
- goodly a.
- Pleasant; agreeable; desirable. [OE. godlich, AS. g. See Good, and Like.]
- sooth a.
- True; faithful; trustworthy. [OE. soth, AS. s, for san; akin to OS. s, OHG. sand, Icel. sannr, Sw. sann, Dan. sand, Skr. sat, sant, real, genuine, present, being; properly p. pr. from a root]
- 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]
- arrowy a.
- Consisting of arrows.
- blasted a.
- Blighted; withered.
- henceforth adv.
- From this time forward; henceforward.
- songster n.
- One who sings; one skilled in singing; -- not often applied to human beings. [AS. sangestre a female singer.]
- 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,]
- sadden v. t.
- To make sad. Specifically: (a) To render heavy or cohesive.
- imperious a.
- Commanding; ascendant; imperial; lordly; majestic. [L. imperiosus: cf. F. impérieux. See Imperial.]
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- 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.]
- waken v. i.
- To wake; to cease to sleep; to be awakened. [OE. waknen, AS. wæcnan; akin to Goth. gawaknan. See Wake, v. i.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Occasioned by the Death of Friends is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #9998; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Matilda Betham, Occasioned by the Death of Friends, in Poems (1808), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9998, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/betham-poems/occasioned-by-the-death-of-friends.html, id L23514.
Form and metre
Occasioned by the Death of Friends is 52 lines in 9 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 5 of its 9 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
See 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 ABBAC-DD-C treeA · fairB · airB · seeA · alongC · bough · stringsD · wingsD · below · songC
- 2 ABA--B skyA · aroundB · flyA · bough · below · groundB
- 3 ABA--BCC sereneA · spreadB · seenA · insecure · lure · deadB · trainC · vainC
- 4 ABBACAAC gayA · fearB · tearB · payA · ownC · awayA · dayA · blownC
- 5 ABAB flowerA · dyeB · powerA · eyeB
- 6 ABAB riseA · closeB · surpriseA · reposeB
- 7 ABAB lightA · streamB · nightA · beamB
- 8 ABAB subsideA · awayB · tideA · dayB
- 9 ABAB pleaseA · freeB · theseA · theeB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| My happiness was once a goodly tree, | 10 | ·/˘˘···/˘· |
| Which promis'd every day to grow more fair, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| And rear'd its lofty branches in the air, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| In sooth, it was a pleasant sight, to see! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Amidst, fair honey-suckles crept along, | 10 | ˘/·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Twin'd round the bark, and hung from every bough, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| While birds, which Fancy held by slender strings, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Plum'd the dark azure of their shining wings, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Or dipp'd them in the silver stream below, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| With many a joyful note, and many a song! | 10 | ·/·/˘··/·· |
| When lo! a tempest hurtles in the sky! | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Dark low'r the clouds! the thunders burst around! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Fiercely the arrowy flakes of lightning fly! | 11 | /˘·/˘˘··/˘· |
| While the scar'd songsters leave the quiv'ring bough, | 10 | ·········· |
| The blasted honey-suckles droop below, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| And many noble branches strew the ground! | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| Though soon the air is calm, the sky serene, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Though wide the broad and leafy arms are spread, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Yet still the scars of recent wounds are seen; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Their shelter henceforth seems but insecure; | 10 | ·/˘//··/˘˘ |
| The winged tribes disdain the frequent lure, | 9 | ···˘/·/˘· |
| Where many a songster lies benumb'd or dead; | 10 | ·/·/˘····· |
| And when I would the flow'ry tendrils train, | 10 | ·········· |
| I find my late delightful labour vain. | 10 | ····˘/˘/·· |
| Affection thus, once light of heart, and gay, | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| Chasten'd by memory, and, unnerv'd by fear, | 10 | /˘·/˘·˘/·· |
| Shall sadden each endearment with a tear, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| Sorrowing the offices of love shall pay, | 10 | /˘·/˘˘···· |
| And scarcely dare to think that good her own, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Which fate's imperious hand may snatch away, | 10 | ··˘/˘···˘/ |
| In the warm sunshine of meridian day, | 10 | ···/··˘/˘· |
| And when her hopes are full and fairest blown. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I love not yon gay, painted flower, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Of bold and coarsely blended dye, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| But one, whose nicely varied power | 9 | ···/˘/˘/˘ |
| May long detain the curious eye. | 9 | ··˘/·/˘˘· |
| I love the tones that softly rise, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And in a fine accordance close; | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| That waken no abrupt surprise, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘/ |
| Nor leave us to inert repose. | 8 | ····˘/˘/ |
| I love the moon's pure, holy light, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Pour'd on the calm, sequester'd stream; | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| The gale, fresh from the wings of night, | 8 | ········ |
| Which drinks the early solar beam; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The smile of heaven, when storms subside, | 9 | ···/˘··˘/ |
| When the moist clouds first break away; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The sober tints of even-tide, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Ere yet forgotten by the day. | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Such sights, such sounds, my fancy please, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And set my wearied spirit free: | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And one who takes delight in these, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Can never fail of loving thee! | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
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.