Mark Yonder Pomp of Costly Fashion
Mark yonder pomp of costly fashionRound the wealthy, titled bride:But when compar’d with real passion,Poor is all that princely pride.Mark yonder, &c. (four lines repeated).
What are the showy treasures,What are the noisy pleasures?The gay, gaudy glare of vanity and art:The polish’d jewels’ blazeMay draw the wond’ring gaze;And courtly grandeur brightThe fancy may delight,But never, never can come near the heart.
But did you see my dearest Chloris,In simplicity’s array;Lovely as yonder sweet opening flower is,Shrinking from the gaze of day,But did you see, &c.
O then, the heart alarming,And all resistless charming,In Love’s delightful fetters she chains the willing soul!Ambition would disownThe world’s imperial crown,Ev’n Avarice would deny,His worshipp’d deity,And feel thro’ every vein Love’s raptures roll.
’Twas na her bonie blue e’e was my ruin,Fair tho’ she be, that was ne’er my undoin’;’Twas the dear smile when nae body did mind us,’Twas the bewitching, sweet, stown glance o’ kindness:’Twas the bewitching, sweet, stown glance o’ kindness.
Sair do I fear that to hope is denied me,Sair do I fear that despair maun abide me,But tho’ fell fortune should fate us to sever,Queen shall she be in my bosom for ever:Queen shall she be in my bosom for ever.
Chloris, I’m thine wi’ a passion sincerest,And thou hast plighted me love o’ the dearest!And thou’rt the angel that never can alter,Sooner the sun in his motion would falter:Sooner the sun in his motion would falter.
Words in this poem
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- titled a.
- Having or bearing a title.
- glare v. i.
- To shine with a bright, dazzling light. [OE. glaren, gloren; cf. AS. glær amber, LG. glaren to glow or burn like coals, D. gloren to glimmer; prob. akin to E. glass.]
- courtly a.
- Relating or belonging to a court. [From Court.]
- alarming a.
- Exciting, or calculated to excite, alarm; causing apprehension of danger; as, an alarming crisis or report.
- resistless a.
- Having no power to resist; making no opposition.
- avarice n.
- An excessive or inordinate desire of gain; greediness after wealth; covetousness; cupidity. [F. avaritia, fr. avarus avaricious, prob. fr. av to covert, fr. a root av to satiate one's self: cf. Gr. av to satiate one's self, rejoice, protect.]
- 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,]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- falter v. t.
- To thrash in the chaff; also, to cleanse or sift, as barley.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Mark Yonder Pomp of Costly Fashion is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems and Songs of Robert Burns, Project Gutenberg ebook #1279; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Burns, Mark Yonder Pomp of Costly Fashion, in Poems and Songs (1786–1796), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1279, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/burns-poems/mark-yonder-pomp-of-costly-fashion.html, id L03429.
Form and metre
Mark Yonder Pomp of Costly Fashion is 41 lines in 7 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 81%). 86% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.7 syllables. 17 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 10% 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 ABABB fashionA · brideB · passionA · prideB · repeatedB
- 2 AABCCDDB treasuresA · pleasuresA · artB · blazeC · gazeC · brightD · delightD · heartB
- 3 -A-A- chloris · arrayA · is · dayA · —
- 4 AAB----B alarmingA · charmingA · soulB · disown · crown · deny · deity · rollB
- 5 --AAA ruin · undoin · usA · kindnessA · kindnessA
- 6 AABBB meA · meA · severB · everB · everB
- 7 --AAA sincerest · dearest · alterA · falterA · falterA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Mark yonder pomp of costly fashion | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Round the wealthy, titled bride: | 8 | ··/˘/˘˘· |
| But when compar’d with real passion, | 8 | ··˘/··/˘ |
| Poor is all that princely pride. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Mark yonder, &c. (four lines repeated). | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| What are the showy treasures, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| What are the noisy pleasures? | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| The gay, gaudy glare of vanity and art: | 10 | ··/˘··/˘·· |
| The polish’d jewels’ blaze | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| May draw the wond’ring gaze; | 6 | ······ |
| And courtly grandeur bright | 6 | ·/˘˘/· |
| The fancy may delight, | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| But never, never can come near the heart. | 8 | ·//····· |
| But did you see my dearest Chloris, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| In simplicity’s array; | 7 | ·˘/˘˘˘/ |
| Lovely as yonder sweet opening flower is, | 10 | /˘·/˘·/˘/· |
| Shrinking from the gaze of day, | 7 | /˘····· |
| But did you see, &c. | 5 | ····· |
| O then, the heart alarming, | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| And all resistless charming, | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| In Love’s delightful fetters she chains the willing soul! | 13 | ··˘/˘/˘···/˘· |
| Ambition would disown | 6 | ˘/˘·˘/ |
| The world’s imperial crown, | 7 | ··˘/˘˘· |
| Ev’n Avarice would deny, | 7 | ·/˘˘·˘/ |
| His worshipp’d deity, | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| And feel thro’ every vein Love’s raptures roll. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| ’Twas na her bonie blue e’e was my ruin, | 10 | ·········/ |
| Fair tho’ she be, that was ne’er my undoin’; | 10 | ·········· |
| ’Twas the dear smile when nae body did mind us, | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| ’Twas the bewitching, sweet, stown glance o’ kindness: | 11 | ··˘/˘····/˘ |
| ’Twas the bewitching, sweet, stown glance o’ kindness. | 11 | ··˘/˘····/˘ |
| Sair do I fear that to hope is denied me, | 11 | ········˘/· |
| Sair do I fear that despair maun abide me, | 11 | ·····˘/·˘/· |
| But tho’ fell fortune should fate us to sever, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Queen shall she be in my bosom for ever: | 10 | ······/˘·/ |
| Queen shall she be in my bosom for ever. | 10 | ······/˘·/ |
| Chloris, I’m thine wi’ a passion sincerest, | 11 | /˘····/˘˘/˘ |
| And thou hast plighted me love o’ the dearest! | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| And thou’rt the angel that never can alter, | 10 | ···/˘·/·/˘ |
| Sooner the sun in his motion would falter: | 11 | /˘····/˘·/˘ |
| Sooner the sun in his motion would falter. | 11 | /˘····/˘·/˘ |
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