Music
O Music! if thou hast a charmThat may the sense of pain disarm,Be all thy tender tones addressedTo soothe to peace my Harriet's breast;And bid the magic of thy strainSo still the wakeful throb of pain,That, rapt in the delightful measure,Sweet Hope again may whisper pleasure,And seem the notes of Spring to hear,Prelusive to a happier year!And if thy magic can restoreThe shade of days that smile no more,And softer, sweeter colours giveTo scenes that in remembrance live;Be to her pensive heart a friend,And, whilst the tender shadows blend,Recall, ere the brief trace be lost,Each moment that she prized the most.Perhaps, when many a cheerful dayHereafter shall have stolen away,If then some old and favourite strainShould bring back to her thoughts againThe hours when, silent by her side,I listened to her song and sighed;Perhaps a long-forgotten name,A thought, if not a tear may claim;And when in distant plains away,Alone I count each lingering day,She may a silent prayer preferFor him whose heart once bled for her.
Words in this poem
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- disarm v. t.
- To deprive of arms; to take away the weapons of; to deprive of the means of attack or defense; to render defenseless. [OE. desarmen, F. désarmer; pref. dés- (L. dis-) + armer to arm. See Arm.]
- soothe v. t.
- To assent to as true. Testament of Love. [Originally, to assent to as true; OE. so to verify, AS. ges to prove the truth of, to bear witness. See Sooth, a.]
- wakeful a.
- Not sleeping; indisposed to sleep; watchful; vigilant.
- throb v. i.
- To beat, or pulsate, with more than usual force or rapidity; to beat in consequence of agitation; to palpitate; -- said of the heart, pulse, etc. [OE. ; of uncertain origin; cf. Russ. trepete a trembling, and E. trepidation.]
- rapt n.
- An ecstasy; a trance. Bp. Morton. [From F. rapt abduction, rape, L. raptus, fr. rapere to seize and carry off, to transport; or fr. E. rapt, a. See Rapt, a., and Rapid.]
- prelusive a.
- Of the nature of a prelude; introductory; indicating that something of a like kind is to follow. [See Prelude.]
- hereafter adv.
- In time to come; in some future time or state. [AS. hræfter.]
- 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
Music 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, Music, in The Poetical Works, Volume I (1789–1837), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18915, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bowles-sonnets/music-2.html, id L09957.
Form and metre
Music is 30 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 93% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.4 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 30% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH--IICCJJKKIILL charmA · disarmA · addressedB · breastB · strainC · painC · measureD · pleasureD · hearE · yearE · restoreF · moreF · giveG · liveG · friendH · blendH · lost · most · dayI · awayI · strainC · againC · sideJ · sighedJ · nameK · claimK · awayI · dayI · preferL · herL
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 |
|---|---|---|
| O Music! if thou hast a charm | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| That may the sense of pain disarm, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Be all thy tender tones addressed | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| To soothe to peace my Harriet's breast; | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| And bid the magic of thy strain | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| So still the wakeful throb of pain, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| That, rapt in the delightful measure, | 9 | ····˘/˘/˘ |
| Sweet Hope again may whisper pleasure, | 9 | ··˘/·/˘/˘ |
| And seem the notes of Spring to hear, | 8 | ········ |
| Prelusive to a happier year! | 9 | ˘/˘··/˘˘· |
| And if thy magic can restore | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| The shade of days that smile no more, | 8 | ········ |
| And softer, sweeter colours give | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| To scenes that in remembrance live; | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Be to her pensive heart a friend, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And, whilst the tender shadows blend, | 8 | ···/˘/·· |
| Recall, ere the brief trace be lost, | 8 | /······· |
| Each moment that she prized the most. | 9 | ·/˘···˘·· |
| Perhaps, when many a cheerful day | 9 | ˘/·/˘·/˘· |
| Hereafter shall have stolen away, | 9 | ˘/˘··/˘˘/ |
| If then some old and favourite strain | 9 | ········· |
| Should bring back to her thoughts again | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The hours when, silent by her side, | 9 | ·/˘·/˘··· |
| I listened to her song and sighed; | 10 | ·/˘˘·····˘ |
| Perhaps a long-forgotten name, | 8 | ˘/··˘/˘· |
| A thought, if not a tear may claim; | 8 | ········ |
| And when in distant plains away, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Alone I count each lingering day, | 9 | ˘/···/˘˘· |
| She may a silent prayer prefer | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| For him whose heart once bled for her. | 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.