Netley Abbey
Fall'n pile! I ask not what has been thy fate;But when the winds, slow wafted from the main,Through each rent arch, like spirits that complain,Come hollow to my ear, I meditateOn this world's passing pageant, and the lotOf those who once majestic in their primeStood smiling at decay, till bowed by timeOr injury, their early boast forgot,They may have fall'n like thee! Pale and forlorn,Their brow, besprent with thin hairs, white as snow,They lift, still unsubdued, as they would scornThis short-lived scene of vanity and woe;Whilst on their sad looks smilingly they bearThe trace of creeping age, and the pale hue of care!
Words in this poem
- pageant n.
- A theatrical exhibition; a spectacle. [OE. pagent, pagen, originally, a movable scaffold or stage, hence, what was exhibited on it, fr. LL. pagina, akin to pangere to fasten; cf. L. pagina page, leaf]
- forlorn a.
- Deserted abandoned; lost. [OE., p.p. of forlesen to lose utterly, AS. forleósan (p.p. forloren); pref. for- + leósan (in comp.) to lose; cf. D. verliezen to lose, G. verlieren, Sw. förlor]
- besprent p. p.
- Sprinkled over; strewed. [OE. bespreynt, p. p. of besprengen, bisprengen, to besprinkle, AS. besprengan, akin to D. & G. besprengen; pref. be- + sprengan to sprinkle. See Sprinkle.]
- smilingly adv.
- In a smiling manner.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Netley Abbey 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, Netley Abbey, in The Poetical Works, Volume I (1789–1837), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18915, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bowles-sonnets/netley-abbey.html, id L09899.
Form and metre
Netley Abbey is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABABCDCDEFEFGG, the pattern of the English sonnet. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 43% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other English sonnets, 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 ABABCDCDEFEFGG fateA · mainB · complainA · meditateB · lotC · primeD · timeC · forgotD · forlornE · snowF · scornE · woeF · bearG · careG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Fall'n pile! I ask not what has been thy fate; | 10 | ·········· |
| But when the winds, slow wafted from the main, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Through each rent arch, like spirits that complain, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Come hollow to my ear, I meditate | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| On this world's passing pageant, and the lot | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Of those who once majestic in their prime | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Stood smiling at decay, till bowed by time | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| Or injury, their early boast forgot, | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘·˘/ |
| They may have fall'n like thee! Pale and forlorn, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Their brow, besprent with thin hairs, white as snow, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| They lift, still unsubdued, as they would scorn | 10 | ·····˘···· |
| This short-lived scene of vanity and woe; | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| Whilst on their sad looks smilingly they bear | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| The trace of creeping age, and the pale hue of care! | 12 | ···/˘······· |
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.