Which Separates Itself from the Dee, at Bedkellert
Let others hail the tranquil stream,Whose glassy waters smoothly flow,And, in the undulating gleam,Reflect another world below!
The yellow Conway as it raves,Demands my tributary song!When, rushing forth, resistless wavesO'er rocky fragments foam along!
Like him, whose vigorous mind reviewsThe troubles which around him roll;The ceaseless warfare still pursues,And keeps a firm, undaunted soul.
Though sternly bent by toil and care,The brow hang darkly o'er his eye--His features the fix'd meaning wearOf one who knows not how to sigh.
It is not apathy that reigns,O'erweening arrogance, or pride,For, in his warmly-flowing veins,The genial feelings all reside.
It is the breast-plate fortitudeShould still to injury oppose;It is the shield with power imbu'd,To blunt the malice of his foes.
And should the savage country round,A more engaging aspect show,O Conway! it will then be found,How sweet and clear thy waters flow!
The birds will dip the taper wing--The pilgrim there his thirst assuage,The wandering minstrel sit and sing,Or muse upon a distant age!
Bold River! soon within the deep,Each weary strife and conflict o'er,Thy venerable waves shall sleep,And feel opposing rocks no more!
Words in this poem
- resistless a.
- Having no power to resist; making no opposition.
- ceaseless a.
- Without pause or end; incessant.
- undaunted a.
- Not daunted; not subdued or depressed by fear.
- sternly adv.
- In a stern manner.
- genial a.
- Contributing to, or concerned in, propagation or production; generative; procreative; productive. [L. genialis: cf. OF. genial. See Genius.]
- fortitude n.
- Power to resist attack; strength; firmness. [L. fortitudo, fr. fortis strong. See Fort.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Which Separates Itself from the Dee, at Bedkellert 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, Which Separates Itself from the Dee, at Bedkellert, in Poems (1808), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9998, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/betham-poems/which-separates-itself-from-the-dee-at-bedkellert.html, id L23527.
Form and metre
Which Separates Itself from the Dee, at Bedkellert is 36 lines in 9 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 8 of its 9 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%).
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 streamA · flowB · gleamA · belowB
- 2 ABAB ravesA · songB · wavesA · alongB
- 3 ABAB reviewsA · rollB · pursuesA · soulB
- 4 ABAB careA · eyeB · wearA · sighB
- 5 ABAB reignsA · prideB · veinsA · resideB
- 6 ABAB fortitudeA · opposeB · imbu'dA · foesB
- 7 ABAB roundA · showB · foundA · flowB
- 8 ABAB wingA · assuageB · singA · ageB
- 9 A-A- deepA · o'er · sleepA · more
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Let others hail the tranquil stream, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Whose glassy waters smoothly flow, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| And, in the undulating gleam, | 8 | ···/˘·˘· |
| Reflect another world below! | 8 | ˘/˘/˘··· |
| The yellow Conway as it raves, | 8 | ·/˘/···· |
| Demands my tributary song! | 8 | ˘/·/˘·˘· |
| When, rushing forth, resistless waves | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| O'er rocky fragments foam along! | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Like him, whose vigorous mind reviews | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| The troubles which around him roll; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The ceaseless warfare still pursues, | 8 | ·/˘/··˘/ |
| And keeps a firm, undaunted soul. | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Though sternly bent by toil and care, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The brow hang darkly o'er his eye-- | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| His features the fix'd meaning wear | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Of one who knows not how to sigh. | 8 | ········ |
| It is not apathy that reigns, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| O'erweening arrogance, or pride, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| For, in his warmly-flowing veins, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The genial feelings all reside. | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| It is the breast-plate fortitude | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Should still to injury oppose; | 8 | ···/˘˘˘/ |
| It is the shield with power imbu'd, | 8 | ·····/˘/ |
| To blunt the malice of his foes. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And should the savage country round, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| A more engaging aspect show, | 8 | ··˘/˘/·· |
| O Conway! it will then be found, | 8 | ·/······ |
| How sweet and clear thy waters flow! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The birds will dip the taper wing-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The pilgrim there his thirst assuage, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| The wandering minstrel sit and sing, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Or muse upon a distant age! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Bold River! soon within the deep, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Each weary strife and conflict o'er, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Thy venerable waves shall sleep, | 8 | ·/˘˘˘··· |
| And feel opposing rocks no more! | 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.