Performed in Gloucester Cathedral, Sept. 18, 1835
Oh, stay, harmonious and sweet sounds, that dieIn the long vaultings of this ancient fane!Stay, for I may not hear on earth againThose pious airs--that glorious harmony;Lifting the soul to brighter orbs on high,Worlds without sin or sorrow!Ah, the strainHas died--ev'n the last sounds that lingeringlyHung on the roof ere they expired!And I,Stand in the world of strife, amidst a throng,A throng that recks not or of death, or sin!Oh, jarring scenes! to cease, indeed, ere long;The worm hears not the discord and the din;But he whose heart thrills to this angel song,Feels the pure joy of heaven on earth begin!
Words in this poem
- fane n.
- A temple; a place consecrated to religion; a church. [L. fanum a place dedicated to some deity, a sanctuary, fr. fari to speak. See Fame.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- lingeringly adv.
- With delay; slowly; tediously.
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- 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]
- jarring a.
- Shaking; disturbing; discordant. [See Jar.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Performed in Gloucester Cathedral, Sept. 18, 1835 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, Performed in Gloucester Cathedral, Sept. 18, 1835, in Sonnets, and Other Poems (1789–1837), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18915, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bowles-sonnets/performed-in-gloucester-cathedral-sept-18-1835.html, id L09907.
Form and metre
Performed in Gloucester Cathedral, Sept. 18, 1835 is 16 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.9 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABB-A-B--ACDCDCD dieA · faneB · againB · harmony · highA · sorrow · strainB · lingeringly · expired · iA · throngC · sinD · longC · dinD · songC · beginD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Oh, stay, harmonious and sweet sounds, that die | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| In the long vaultings of this ancient fane! | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Stay, for I may not hear on earth again | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Those pious airs--that glorious harmony; | 11 | ·/˘··/˘˘/˘˘ |
| Lifting the soul to brighter orbs on high, | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| Worlds without sin or sorrow! | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Ah, the strain | 3 | ··· |
| Has died--ev'n the last sounds that lingeringly | 11 | ·······/˘˘˘ |
| Hung on the roof ere they expired! | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| And I, | 2 | ·· |
| Stand in the world of strife, amidst a throng, | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| A throng that recks not or of death, or sin! | 10 | ·········· |
| Oh, jarring scenes! to cease, indeed, ere long; | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| The worm hears not the discord and the din; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| But he whose heart thrills to this angel song, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Feels the pure joy of heaven on earth begin! | 10 | ·····/··˘/ |
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.