Canto Fifth
'Tis dawn:--the distant Andes' rocky spires,One after one, have caught the orient fires.Where the dun condor shoots his upward flight,His wings are touched with momentary light.Meantime, beneath the mountains' glittering heads,A boundless ocean of gray vapour spreads,That o'er the champaign, stretching far below,Moves now, in clustered masses, rising slow,Till all the living landscape is displayedIn various pomp of colour, light, and shade,Hills, forests, rivers, lakes, and level plain,Lessening in sunshine to the southern main.The Llama's fleece fumes with ascending dew;The gem-like humming-birds their toils renew;And there, by the wild river's devious side,The tall flamingo, in its crimson pride,Stalks on, in richest plumage bright arrayed,With snowy neck superb, and legs of lengthening shade.Sad maid, for others may the valleys ring,For other ears the birds of morning sing;For other eyes the palms in beauty wave,Dark is thy prison in the ocean-cave!Amid that winding cavern's inmost shade,A dripping rill its ceaseless murmur made:Masses of dim-discovered crags aloof,Hung, threatening, from the vast and vaulted roof:And through a fissure, in its glimmering height,Seen like a star, appeared the distant light;Beneath the opening, where the sunbeams shine,Far down, the rock-weed hung its slender twine.Here, pale and bound, the Spanish captive lay,Till morn on morn, in silence, passed away;When once, as o'er her sleeping child she hung,And sad her evening supplication sung;Like a small gem, amidst the gloom of night,A glow-worm shot its green and trembling light,--And, 'mid the moss and craggy fragments, shedFaint lustre o'er her sleeping infant's head;And hark! a voice--a woman's voice, its soundDies in faint echoes, 'mid the vault profound:Let us pity the poor white maid!She has no mother near!No friend to dry her tear!Upon the cold earth she is laid:Let us pity the poor white maid!It seemed the burden of a song of woe;And see, across the gloom an Indian girl move slow!Her nearer look is sorrowful, yet mild,Her hanging locks are wreathed with rock-weed wild;Gently she spoke, Poor Christian, dry thy tear:Art thou afraid? all are not cruel here.Oh! still more wretched may my portion be,Stranger, if I could injure thine and thee!And, lo! I bring, from banks and thickets wild,Wood-strawberries, and honey for thy child.Whence, who art thou, who, in this fearful place,Does comfort speak to one of Spanish race?
Words in this poem 16
- condor n.
- A very large bird of the Vulture family (Sarcorhamphus gryphus), found in the most elevated parts of the Andes. [Sp. condor, fr. Peruvian cuntur.]
- vapour n.
- Any substance in the gaseous, or aëriform, state, the condition of which is ordinarily that of a liquid or solid. [OE. vapour, OF. vapour, vapor, vapeur, F. vapeur, L. vapor; probably for cvapor, and akin to Gr. kvepti to breathe, smell, Russ. kopote fine soot. Cf. Vapid.]
- champaign n.
- A flat, open country. [OF. champaigne; same word as campagne.]
- 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.
- devious a.
- Out of a straight line; winding; varying from directness; as, a devious path or way. [L. devius; de + via way. See Viaduct.]
- snowy a.
- White like snow.
- superb a.
- Grand; magnificent; august; stately; as, a superb edifice; a superb colonnade. [F. superbe, L. superbus, fr. super over. See Super-.]
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- 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]
- dripping n.
- A falling in drops, or the sound so made.
- 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]
- ceaseless a.
- Without pause or end; incessant.
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- amidst prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- lustre n.
- A period of five years; a lustrum. [L. lustrum: cf. F. lustre.]
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Canto Fifth is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of William Lisle Bowles, Vol. 1 With Memoir, Critical Dissertation, and Explanatory Notes by George Gilfillan, Project Gutenberg ebook #18915; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Lisle Bowles, Canto Fifth, in The Poetical Works, Volume I (1789–1837), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18915, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bowles-sonnets/canto-fifth.html, id L10007.
Form and metre
Canto Fifth is 57 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 67% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.8 syllables. 5% 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 --AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOOPPQQRRSSTUUTTVVWWXXYYZZaa spires · fires · flightA · lightA · headsB · spreadsB · belowC · slowC · displayedD · shadeD · plainE · mainE · dewF · renewF · sideG · prideG · arrayedH · shadeH · ringI · singI · waveJ · caveJ · shadeK · madeK · aloofL · roofL · heightM · lightM · shineN · twineN · layO · awayO · hungP · sungP · nightQ · lightQ · shedR · headR · soundS · profoundS · maidT · nearU · tearU · laidT · maidT · woeV · slowV · mildW · wildW · tearX · hereX · beY · theeY · wildZ · childZ · placea · racea
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 'Tis dawn:--the distant Andes' rocky spires, | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| One after one, have caught the orient fires. | 11 | ·······/˘·/ |
| Where the dun condor shoots his upward flight, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| His wings are touched with momentary light. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘· |
| Meantime, beneath the mountains' glittering heads, | 10 | /····/˘/˘· |
| A boundless ocean of gray vapour spreads, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| That o'er the champaign, stretching far below, | 10 | ···˘//˘··· |
| Moves now, in clustered masses, rising slow, | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Till all the living landscape is displayed | 10 | ···/˘/··˘/ |
| In various pomp of colour, light, and shade, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Hills, forests, rivers, lakes, and level plain, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Lessening in sunshine to the southern main. | 10 | /˘·/···/˘· |
| The Llama's fleece fumes with ascending dew; | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| The gem-like humming-birds their toils renew; | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| And there, by the wild river's devious side, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| The tall flamingo, in its crimson pride, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Stalks on, in richest plumage bright arrayed, | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| With snowy neck superb, and legs of lengthening shade. | 12 | ·/˘·˘/···/˘· |
| Sad maid, for others may the valleys ring, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| For other ears the birds of morning sing; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| For other eyes the palms in beauty wave, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Dark is thy prison in the ocean-cave! | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Amid that winding cavern's inmost shade, | 10 | ˘/·/˘/˘/˘· |
| A dripping rill its ceaseless murmur made: | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Masses of dim-discovered crags aloof, | 10 | /˘··˘/˘·˘/ |
| Hung, threatening, from the vast and vaulted roof: | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And through a fissure, in its glimmering height, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Seen like a star, appeared the distant light; | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| Beneath the opening, where the sunbeams shine, | 10 | ···/˘··/·· |
| Far down, the rock-weed hung its slender twine. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Here, pale and bound, the Spanish captive lay, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Till morn on morn, in silence, passed away; | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| When once, as o'er her sleeping child she hung, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And sad her evening supplication sung; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Like a small gem, amidst the gloom of night, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| A glow-worm shot its green and trembling light,-- | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And, 'mid the moss and craggy fragments, shed | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Faint lustre o'er her sleeping infant's head; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| And hark! a voice--a woman's voice, its sound | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Dies in faint echoes, 'mid the vault profound: | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Let us pity the poor white maid! | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| She has no mother near! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| No friend to dry her tear! | 6 | ······ |
| Upon the cold earth she is laid: | 8 | ········ |
| Let us pity the poor white maid! | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| It seemed the burden of a song of woe; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And see, across the gloom an Indian girl move slow! | 12 | ··˘/···/˘··· |
| Her nearer look is sorrowful, yet mild, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘·· |
| Her hanging locks are wreathed with rock-weed wild; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Gently she spoke, Poor Christian, dry thy tear: | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| Art thou afraid? all are not cruel here. | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| Oh! still more wretched may my portion be, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Stranger, if I could injure thine and thee! | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| And, lo! I bring, from banks and thickets wild, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Wood-strawberries, and honey for thy child. | 10 | ·/·˘·/˘··· |
| Whence, who art thou, who, in this fearful place, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Does comfort speak to one of Spanish race? | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
Notes from the edition 2
Bowles's own notes to his Poetical Works (Project Gutenberg #18915).
- Line 18 The neck of the flamingo is white, and its wings of rich and beautiful crimson.
- Line 41 From Mungo Park.
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