The Perplexity
Became absorb'd in this unwelcome theme;Nay every meditation, every dream,Th'inexplicable sentence held to view,'They're not both mine,' was every morning new:For, till this hour, the Maid had never prov'dHow far she was enthrall'd, how much she lov'd:In that fond character he first appear'd;His kindness charm'd her, and his smiles endear'd:This dubious mystery the passion crost;Her peace was wounded, and her Lover lost.For George, with all his resolution stroveTo check the progress of his growing love;Or, if he e'er indulg'd a tender kiss,Th'unravell'd secret robb'd him of his bliss.Health's foe, Suspense, so irksome to be borne,An ever-piercing and retreating thorn,Hung on their Hearts, when Nature bade them rise,And stole Content's bright ensign from their eyes.
The good folks saw the change, and griev'd to findThese troubles labouring in Phoebe's mind;They lov'd them both; and with one voice propos'dThe only means whence Truth might be disclos'd;That, when the Summer Months should shrink the rill,And scarce its languid stream would turn the Mill,When the Spring broods, and Pigs, and Lambs were rear'd,(A time when George and Phoebe might be spar'd,)Their birth-place they should visit once again,To try with joint endeavours to obtainFrom Record, or Tradition, what might beTo chain, or set their chain'd affections free:Affinity beyond all doubts to prove;Or clear the road for Nature and for Love.Never, till now, did PHOEBE count the hours,Or think May long, or wish away its flowers;With mutual sighs both fann'd the wings of Time;As we climb Hills and gladden as we climb,
Words in this poem
- dubious a.
- Doubtful or not settled in opinion; being in doubt; wavering or fluctuating; undetermined. [L. dubius, dubiosus, fr. duo two. See Two, and cf. Doubt.]
- irksome a.
- Wearisome; tedious; disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; as, irksome hours; irksome tasks.
- bade
- A form of the pat tense of Bid.
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
- 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.]
- labouring a.
- That labors; performing labor; esp., performing coarse, heavy work, not requiring skill also, set apart for labor; as, laboring days.
- rill n.
- A very small brook; a streamlet. [Cf. LG. rille a small channel or brook, a furrow, a chamfer, OE. rigol a small brook, F. rigole a trench or furrow for water, W. rhill a row, rhigol a little di]
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- phoebe n.
- The pewee, or pewit.
- gladden v. t.
- To make glad; to cheer; to please; to gratify; to rejoice; to exhilarate. [See Glad, v. t.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Perplexity 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 Perplexity, in Rural Tales, Ballads and Songs (1802), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9093, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bloomfield-tales/the-perplexity.html, id L09693.
Form and metre
The Perplexity is 36 lines in 2 stanzas of 18 lines each. 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%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 17% 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 AABB--CCDD--EEFFGG themeA · dreamA · viewB · newB · prov'd · lov'd · appear'dC · endear'dC · crostD · lostD · strove · love · kissE · blissE · borneF · thornF · riseG · eyesG
- 2 AABBCC--DDEEFFGGHH findA · mindA · propos'dB · disclos'dB · rillC · millC · rear'd · spar'd · againD · obtainD · beE · freeE · proveF · loveF · hoursG · flowersG · timeH · climbH
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Became absorb'd in this unwelcome theme; | 10 | ˘/˘/··˘/˘· |
| Nay every meditation, every dream, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘/˘· |
| Th'inexplicable sentence held to view, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| 'They're not both mine,' was every morning new: | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| For, till this hour, the Maid had never prov'd | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| How far she was enthrall'd, how much she lov'd: | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| In that fond character he first appear'd; | 10 | ···/˘˘··˘/ |
| His kindness charm'd her, and his smiles endear'd: | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| This dubious mystery the passion crost; | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| Her peace was wounded, and her Lover lost. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| For George, with all his resolution strove | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| To check the progress of his growing love; | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| Or, if he e'er indulg'd a tender kiss, | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| Th'unravell'd secret robb'd him of his bliss. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Health's foe, Suspense, so irksome to be borne, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| An ever-piercing and retreating thorn, | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Hung on their Hearts, when Nature bade them rise, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And stole Content's bright ensign from their eyes. | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| The good folks saw the change, and griev'd to find | 10 | ·········· |
| These troubles labouring in Phoebe's mind; | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| They lov'd them both; and with one voice propos'd | 10 | ········˘/ |
| The only means whence Truth might be disclos'd; | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| That, when the Summer Months should shrink the rill, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And scarce its languid stream would turn the Mill, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| When the Spring broods, and Pigs, and Lambs were rear'd, | 10 | ·········· |
| (A time when George and Phoebe might be spar'd,) | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Their birth-place they should visit once again, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| To try with joint endeavours to obtain | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| From Record, or Tradition, what might be | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| To chain, or set their chain'd affections free: | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Affinity beyond all doubts to prove; | 10 | ˘/˘˘······ |
| Or clear the road for Nature and for Love. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Never, till now, did PHOEBE count the hours, | 11 | /˘···/˘··/˘ |
| Or think May long, or wish away its flowers; | 11 | ······˘/·/˘ |
| With mutual sighs both fann'd the wings of Time; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| As we climb Hills and gladden as we climb, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
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