Book IV: Metre III
The sails which wise Ulysses bore,And ships which in the seas long time did strayThe eastern wind drave to that shoreWhere the fair Goddess Lady Circe lay,Daughter by birth to Phoebus bright,Who with enchanted cups and charms did stayHer guests, deceived with their delightAnd into sundry figures them did change,Being most skilful in the mightAnd secret force of herbs and simples strange;Some like to savage boars, and someLike lions fierce, which daily use to rangeThrough Libya, in tooth and claw become.Others are changed to the shape and guiseOf ravenous wolves, and waxing dumbUse howling in the stead of manly cries.Others like to the tiger roveWhich in the scorched Indian desert lies.And though the winged son of JoveFrom these bewitchéd cups' delightful tasteTo keep the famous captain strove,Yet them the greedy mariners embracedWith much desire, till turned to swineInstead of bread they fed on oaken mast.Ruined in voice and form, no signRemains to them of any human grace;Only their minds unchanged repineTo see their bodies in such ugly case.O feeble hand and idle artWhich, though it could the outward limbs deface,Yet had no force to change the heart.For all the force of men given by God's armLies hidden in their inmost part.The poisons therefore which within them swarmMore deeply pierce, and with more might,For to the body though they do no harm,Yet on the soul they work their spite."
Words in this poem
- drave
- , old imp. of Drive.
- phoebus n.
- Apollo; the sun god.
- enchanted a.
- Under the power of enchantment; possessed or exercised by enchanters; as, an enchanted castle.
- sundry a.
- Several; divers; more than one or two; various. [OE. sundry, sondry, AS. syndrig, fr. sundor asunder. See Sunder, v. t.]
- jove n.
- The chief divinity of the ancient Romans; Jupiter. [L. Jupiter, gen. Jovis, OL. Jovis, nom. & gen. for Djovis; akin to E. Tuesday. See Tuesday, and cf. Jupiter.]
- oaken a.
- Made or consisting of oaks or of the wood of oaks. [AS. acen.]
- repine v. i.
- To fail; to wane. [Pref. re- + pine to languish.]
- inmost a.
- Deepest within; farthest from the surface or external part; innermost. [OE. innemest, AS. innemest, a double superlative form fr. inne within, fr. in in. The modern form is due to confusion with most. See In, and cf. Aftermost, Fore]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book IV: Metre III is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Consolation of Philosophy, Project Gutenberg ebook #13316, the I.T. (1609), rev. H. F. Stewart translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Boethius, Book IV: Metre III, in The Consolation of Philosophy (1918), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13316, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/boethius-consolation/book-iv-metre-iii.html, id L26405.
Form and metre
Book IV: Metre III is 37 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
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 ABABCBCDCDEDEFEFGFGHGHI-IJ-JKJKLK-MLM boreA · strayB · shoreA · layB · brightC · stayB · delightC · changeD · mightC · strangeD · someE · rangeD · becomeE · guiseF · dumbE · criesF · roveG · liesF · joveG · tasteH · stroveG · embracedH · swineI · mast · signI · graceJ · repine · caseJ · artK · defaceJ · heartK · armL · partK · swarm · mightM · harmL · spiteM
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The sails which wise Ulysses bore, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| And ships which in the seas long time did stray | 10 | ·········· |
| The eastern wind drave to that shore | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Where the fair Goddess Lady Circe lay, | 9 | ···/˘/˘·· |
| Daughter by birth to Phoebus bright, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Who with enchanted cups and charms did stay | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Her guests, deceived with their delight | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| And into sundry figures them did change, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Being most skilful in the might | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| And secret force of herbs and simples strange; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Some like to savage boars, and some | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Like lions fierce, which daily use to range | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Through Libya, in tooth and claw become. | 10 | ·/˘˘····˘/ |
| Others are changed to the shape and guise | 9 | /˘······· |
| Of ravenous wolves, and waxing dumb | 9 | ·/˘˘··/˘· |
| Use howling in the stead of manly cries. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Others like to the tiger rove | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Which in the scorched Indian desert lies. | 10 | ····/˘˘˘/· |
| And though the winged son of Jove | 7 | ······· |
| From these bewitchéd cups' delightful taste | 9 | ·····˘/˘· |
| To keep the famous captain strove, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Yet them the greedy mariners embraced | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘˘/ |
| With much desire, till turned to swine | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| Instead of bread they fed on oaken mast. | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| Ruined in voice and form, no sign | 8 | /˘······ |
| Remains to them of any human grace; | 10 | ˘/···/˘/˘· |
| Only their minds unchanged repine | 8 | /˘··˘/˘/ |
| To see their bodies in such ugly case. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| O feeble hand and idle art | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Which, though it could the outward limbs deface, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Yet had no force to change the heart. | 8 | ········ |
| For all the force of men given by God's arm | 10 | ······/··· |
| Lies hidden in their inmost part. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The poisons therefore which within them swarm | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| More deeply pierce, and with more might, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| For to the body though they do no harm, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Yet on the soul they work their spite." | 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.