The Discovery
Yet not my own; but likely so to prove;Though but the pledge of an unlawful Love:I cherish'd him, to hide a Sister's shame:He shar'd my best affections, and my name.But why, young folks, should I detain you here?Go; and may blessings wait upon your cheer:I too will travel on;--perhaps to findThe only treasure that I left behind.Such kindly thoughts my fainting hopes revive!--Phoebe, my Cherub, ART thou still alive?'
Could Nature hold!--Could youthful Love forbear!George clasp'd the wond'ring Maid, and whisper'd, 'There!You're mine for, ever!--O, sustain the rest;And hush the tumult of your throbbing breast.'Then to the Soldier turn'd, with manly pride,And fondly led his long-intended Bride:'Here see your Child; nor wish a sweeter flow'r.'Tis George that speaks; thou'lt bless the happy hour!--
Nay, be compos'd; for all will yet be well,Though here our history's too long to tell'--
A long-lost Father found, the mystery clear'd,What mingled transports in her face appear'd!The gazing Veteran stood with hands uprais'd--'Art thou indeed my Child! then, God be prais'd.'O'er his rough cheeks the tears profusely spread:Such as fools say become not Men to shed;Past hours of bliss, regenerated charms,Rose, when he felt his Daughter in his arms:So tender was the scene, the generous DameWept, as she told of Phoebe's virtuous fame,And the good Host, with gestures passing strange,Abstracted seem'd through fields of joy to range:Rejoicing that his favour'd Roof should proveVirtue's asylum, and the nurse of Love;Rejoicing that to him the task was given,his full Soul was mounting up to Heav'n.
Words in this poem
- folks n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- phoebe n.
- The pewee, or pewit.
- cherub n.
- A mysterious composite being, the winged footstool and chariot of the Almighty, described in Ezekiel i. and x. [Heb. kerub.]
- fondly adv.
- Foolishly. Verstegan (1673).
- profusely adv.
- In a profuse manner.
- generous a.
- Of honorable birth or origin; highborn. [F. généreux, fr. L. generous of noble birth, noble, excellent, magnanimous, fr. genus birth, race: cf. It. generoso. See 2d Gender.]
- dame n.
- A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a womam in authority; especially, a lady. [F. dame, LL. domna, fr. L. domina mistress, lady, fem. of dominus master, ruler, lord; akin to domare to tame, subdue. See Tame, and cf. Dam mother, Dan, Danger]
- virtuous a.
- Possessing or exhibiting virtue. Specifically: -- (a) Exhibiting manly courage and strength; valorous; valiant; brave. [OE. vertuous, OF. vertuos, vertuous, F. vertueux, fr. L. Virtuous. See Virtue, and cf. Virtuoso.]
- asylum n.
- A sanctuary or place of refuge and protection, where criminals and debtors found shelter, and from which they could not be forcibly taken without sacrilege.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Discovery is in the public domain. This text is taken from Rural Tales, Ballads, and Songs, Project Gutenberg ebook #9093; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Bloomfield, The Discovery, in Rural Tales, Ballads and Songs (1802), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9093, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bloomfield-tales/the-discovery.html, id L09697.
Form and metre
The Discovery is 36 lines in 4 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 83% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 8% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 AABBCCDDEE proveA · loveA · shameB · nameB · hereC · cheerC · findD · behindD · reviveE · aliveE
- 2 --AABB-- forbear · there · restA · breastA · prideB · brideB · flow'r · hour
- 3 AA wellA · tellA
- 4 AABBCCDDEEFFGG-- clear'dA · appear'dA · uprais'dB · prais'dB · spreadC · shedC · charmsD · armsD · dameE · fameE · strangeF · rangeF · proveG · loveG · given · heav'n
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Yet not my own; but likely so to prove; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Though but the pledge of an unlawful Love: | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| I cherish'd him, to hide a Sister's shame: | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| He shar'd my best affections, and my name. | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| But why, young folks, should I detain you here? | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Go; and may blessings wait upon your cheer: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| I too will travel on;--perhaps to find | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| The only treasure that I left behind. | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Such kindly thoughts my fainting hopes revive!-- | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Phoebe, my Cherub, ART thou still alive?' | 10 | /˘·/˘···˘/ |
| Could Nature hold!--Could youthful Love forbear! | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| George clasp'd the wond'ring Maid, and whisper'd, 'There! | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| You're mine for, ever!--O, sustain the rest; | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| And hush the tumult of your throbbing breast.' | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Then to the Soldier turn'd, with manly pride, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And fondly led his long-intended Bride: | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| 'Here see your Child; nor wish a sweeter flow'r. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| 'Tis George that speaks; thou'lt bless the happy hour!-- | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| Nay, be compos'd; for all will yet be well, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Though here our history's too long to tell'-- | 10 | ··//˘˘···· |
| A long-lost Father found, the mystery clear'd, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| What mingled transports in her face appear'd! | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| The gazing Veteran stood with hands uprais'd-- | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| 'Art thou indeed my Child! then, God be prais'd.' | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| O'er his rough cheeks the tears profusely spread: | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Such as fools say become not Men to shed; | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Past hours of bliss, regenerated charms, | 10 | ·/··˘/˘·˘· |
| Rose, when he felt his Daughter in his arms: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| So tender was the scene, the generous Dame | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Wept, as she told of Phoebe's virtuous fame, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| And the good Host, with gestures passing strange, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Abstracted seem'd through fields of joy to range: | 10 | /·˘······· |
| Rejoicing that his favour'd Roof should prove | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| Virtue's asylum, and the nurse of Love; | 10 | /˘˘/˘····· |
| Rejoicing that to him the task was given, | 11 | ˘/˘······/˘ |
| his full Soul was mounting up to Heav'n. | 9 | ····/˘··· |
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.