On the Regret of Youth
Before a rose is fully blown,The outward leaves announce decay;So, ere the spring of Youth is flown,Its tiny pleasures die away;
The gay security we feel,The careless soul's delighted rest,That lively hope, that ardent zeal,And smiling sunshine of the breast.
Those simple tints, so bright and clear,No healing dew-drops can restore;For joys, which early life endear,Once blighted, can revive no more.
Yet lovely is the full-blown rose,Although its infant graces fly;The various opening leaves disclose,A fairer banquet to the eye;
A ruby's beams on drifted snow,Such pure, harmonious blushes shed;If distant, cast a tender glow,But near, its own imperial red;
The form assumes a prouder air,And bends more graceful in the gale;While, from its cup, of essence rare,A richer hoard of sweets exhale.
Could we again, by fancy led,That bower of swelling leaves confine,And round that fine, luxuriant head,The mossy tendrils now entwine,
Over what multitudes of bloomWould a few timid leaflets close!What mental joys resign their room,To causeless mirth, and tame repose!
The change to Reason's steady eye,Would neither good nor wise appear;And we may lay one precept by,Our discontent is insincere.
Words in this poem
- flown a.
- Flushed, inflated.
- delighted a.
- Endowed with delight.
- 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.
- endear v. t.
- To make dear or beloved.
- entwine v. t.
- To twine, twist, or wreathe together or round. [Pref. en- + twine. Cf. Intwine.]
- causeless a.
- 1. Self-originating; uncreated.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On the Regret of Youth 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, On the Regret of Youth, in Poems (1808), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9998, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/betham-poems/on-the-regret-of-youth.html, id L23524.
Form and metre
On the Regret of Youth is 36 lines in 9 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%).
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 ABAB blownA · decayB · flownA · awayB
- 2 ABAB feelA · restB · zealA · breastB
- 3 ABAB clearA · restoreB · endearA · moreB
- 4 ABAB roseA · flyB · discloseA · eyeB
- 5 ABAB snowA · shedB · glowA · redB
- 6 ABAB airA · galeB · rareA · exhaleB
- 7 ABAB ledA · confineB · headA · entwineB
- 8 ABAB bloomA · closeB · roomA · reposeB
- 9 ABAB eyeA · appearB · byA · insincereB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Before a rose is fully blown, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The outward leaves announce decay; | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘/ |
| So, ere the spring of Youth is flown, | 8 | ········ |
| Its tiny pleasures die away; | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| The gay security we feel, | 8 | ··˘/˘˘·· |
| The careless soul's delighted rest, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| That lively hope, that ardent zeal, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And smiling sunshine of the breast. | 8 | ·/˘/···· |
| Those simple tints, so bright and clear, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| No healing dew-drops can restore; | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| For joys, which early life endear, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Once blighted, can revive no more. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| Yet lovely is the full-blown rose, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Although its infant graces fly; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The various opening leaves disclose, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| A fairer banquet to the eye; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| A ruby's beams on drifted snow, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Such pure, harmonious blushes shed; | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| If distant, cast a tender glow, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| But near, its own imperial red; | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| The form assumes a prouder air, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| And bends more graceful in the gale; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| While, from its cup, of essence rare, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A richer hoard of sweets exhale. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Could we again, by fancy led, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| That bower of swelling leaves confine, | 8 | ·/·/˘·˘/ |
| And round that fine, luxuriant head, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| The mossy tendrils now entwine, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Over what multitudes of bloom | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Would a few timid leaflets close! | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| What mental joys resign their room, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| To causeless mirth, and tame repose! | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| The change to Reason's steady eye, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Would neither good nor wise appear; | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| And we may lay one precept by, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Our discontent is insincere. | 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.