The Rhine
'Twas morn, and beauteous on the mountain's brow(Hung with the clusters of the bending vine)Shone in the early light, when on the RhineWe bounded, and the white waves round the prowIn murmurs parted:--varying as we go,Lo! the woods open, and the rocks retire,As some gray convent-wall or glistening spire'Mid the bright landscape's track unfolding slow!Here dark, with furrowed aspect, like Despair,Frowns the bleak cliff! There on the woodland's sideThe shadowy sunshine pours its streaming tide;Whilst Hope, enchanted with the scene so fair,Counts not the hours of a long summer's day,Nor heeds how fast the prospect winds away.
Words in this poem
- 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.]
- beauteous a.
- Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
- 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.
- streaming a.
- Sending forth streams.
- enchanted a.
- Under the power of enchantment; possessed or exercised by enchanters; as, an enchanted castle.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Rhine 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, The Rhine, in The Poetical Works, Volume I (1789–1837), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18915, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bowles-sonnets/the-rhine.html, id L09885.
Form and metre
The Rhine 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 84%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 36% 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 browA · vineB · rhineA · prowB · goC · retireD · spireC · slowD · despairE · sideF · tideE · fairF · dayG · awayG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 'Twas morn, and beauteous on the mountain's brow | 11 | ···/˘˘··/˘· |
| (Hung with the clusters of the bending vine) | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Shone in the early light, when on the Rhine | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| We bounded, and the white waves round the prow | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| In murmurs parted:--varying as we go, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| Lo! the woods open, and the rocks retire, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| As some gray convent-wall or glistening spire | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| 'Mid the bright landscape's track unfolding slow! | 10 | ···/··˘/˘· |
| Here dark, with furrowed aspect, like Despair, | 10 | ···/˘/··˘/ |
| Frowns the bleak cliff! There on the woodland's side | 10 | ·······/·· |
| The shadowy sunshine pours its streaming tide; | 10 | ·/˘/···/˘· |
| Whilst Hope, enchanted with the scene so fair, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Counts not the hours of a long summer's day, | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| Nor heeds how fast the prospect winds away. | 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.