Canto III CXV
I have not loved the world, nor the world me;I have not flattered its rank breath, nor bowedTo its idolatries a patient knee,--Nor coined my cheek to smiles, nor cried aloudIn worship of an echo; in the crowdThey could not deem me one of such; I stoodAmong them, but not of them; in a shroudOf thoughts which were not their thoughts, and still could,Had I not filed my mind, which thus itself subdued.
I have not loved the world, nor the world me,--But let us part fair foes; I do believe,Though I have found them not, that there may beWords which are things,--hopes which will not deceive,And virtues which are merciful, nor weaveSnares for the falling: I would also deemO'er others' griefs that some sincerely grieve;That two, or one, are almost what they seem,--That goodness is no name, and happiness no dream.
My daughter! with thy name this song begun--My daughter! with thy name this much shall end--I see thee not, I hear thee not,--but noneCan be so wrapt in thee; thou art the friendTo whom the shadows of far years extend:Albeit my brow thou never shouldst behold,My voice shall with thy future visions blend,And reach into thy heart, when mine is cold,--A token and a tone, even from thy father's mould.
Words in this poem
- aloud adv.
- With a loud voice, or great noise; loudly; audibly. [Pref. a- + loud.]
- deem v. t.
- To decide; to judge; to sentence; to condemn. [OE. demen to judge, condemn, AS. d, fr. d doom; akin to OFries. d, OS. ad, D. doemen, OHG. tuommen, Icel. dæma, Sw. dömma, Dan. dömme, Goth. d. See Doom, n., an]
- sincerely adv.
- In a sincere manner. Specifically: (a) Purely; without alloy.
- 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,]
- albeit conj.
- Even though; although; notwithstanding. [OE. al be although it be, where al is our all. Cf. Although.]
- mould n.
- Crumbling, soft, friable earth; esp., earth containing the remains or constituents of organic matter, and suited to the growth of plants; soil. [OE. molde, AS. molde; akin to D. mul, G. mull, mulm, OHG. molt, molta, Icel. mold, Dan. muld, Sw. mull, Goth. mulda, and E. meal flour. See Meal, and cf. Mole a]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Canto III CXV is in the public domain. This text is taken from Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Project Gutenberg ebook #5131; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Lord Byron, Canto III CXV, in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1812–1818), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #5131, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/byron-childe-harold/canto-iii-cxv.html, id L06577.
Form and metre
Canto III CXV is 27 lines in 3 stanzas of 9 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABBCBCC, the Spenserian stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 37% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in the Spenserian stanza, 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 ABABBCBCC meA · bowedB · kneeA · aloudB · crowdB · stoodC · shroudB · couldC · subduedC
- 2 ABABBCBCC meA · believeB · beA · deceiveB · weaveB · deemC · grieveB · seemC · dreamC
- 3 ABABBCBCC begunA · endB · noneA · friendB · extendB · beholdC · blendB · coldC · mouldC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I have not loved the world, nor the world me; | 10 | ·········· |
| I have not flattered its rank breath, nor bowed | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| To its idolatries a patient knee,-- | 10 | ··˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| Nor coined my cheek to smiles, nor cried aloud | 10 | ········˘/ |
| In worship of an echo; in the crowd | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| They could not deem me one of such; I stood | 10 | ·········· |
| Among them, but not of them; in a shroud | 10 | ·········· |
| Of thoughts which were not their thoughts, and still could, | 10 | ·········· |
| Had I not filed my mind, which thus itself subdued. | 12 | ········˘/˘/ |
| I have not loved the world, nor the world me,-- | 10 | ·········· |
| But let us part fair foes; I do believe, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Though I have found them not, that there may be | 10 | ·········· |
| Words which are things,--hopes which will not deceive, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| And virtues which are merciful, nor weave | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘·· |
| Snares for the falling: I would also deem | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| O'er others' griefs that some sincerely grieve; | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| That two, or one, are almost what they seem,-- | 10 | ·····/···· |
| That goodness is no name, and happiness no dream. | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| My daughter! with thy name this song begun-- | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| My daughter! with thy name this much shall end-- | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| I see thee not, I hear thee not,--but none | 10 | ·········· |
| Can be so wrapt in thee; thou art the friend | 10 | ·········· |
| To whom the shadows of far years extend: | 10 | ···/····˘/ |
| Albeit my brow thou never shouldst behold, | 10 | ˘/˘···/·˘/ |
| My voice shall with thy future visions blend, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| And reach into thy heart, when mine is cold,-- | 10 | ·········· |
| A token and a tone, even from thy father's mould. | 12 | ·/˘···/··/˘· |
Notes from the edition 4
E. H. Coleridge's notes to Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, The Works of Lord Byron, Poetry vol. II (John Murray, 1899; Project Gutenberg #25340). Bracketed passages are the editor's; unbracketed are Byron's own (Cantos I-III) or John Cam Hobhouse's (Canto IV, his 'Historical Notes'). Digit footnotes ('[17]') are informational and numbered continuously through the whole book; end-notes keyed '[n.B.]' (Byron) or '[n.H.]' (Hobhouse) follow each canto and are numbered afresh from 1 there. Both kinds are placed here by matching each note's own quoted words against the site's text, not by the number or stanza the note states, because the site's text (Gutenberg #5131) and this edition (#25340) are different editions with different stanza counts in Canto I. Lettered footnotes ('[h]', '[dn]') are manuscript and edition variant readings and are not harvested, matching the treatment of Don Juan's and byron-works-3's lettered notes.
- Stanza 1, line 2 [Compare Shakespeare, Coriolanus, act iii. sc. 1, lines 66, 67--
"For the mutable, rank-scented many, let them Regard me as I do not flatter."] - Stanza 1, line 7 [Compare Manfred, act ii. sc. 2, lines 54-57--
"My spirit walked not with the souls of men, Nor looked upon the earth with human eyes; The thirst of their ambition was not mine, The aim of their existence was not mine."] - Stanza 1, line 9 "----If't be so, For Banquo's issue have I filed my mind." Macbeth, [act iii. sc. 1, line 64].
- Stanza 2, line 7 It is said by Rochefoucault, that "there is always something in the misfortunes of men's best friends not displeasing to them."
["Dans l'adversite de nos meilleurs amis, nous trouvons toujours quelque chose qui ne nous deplait pas."--Appendice aux Maximes de La Rochefoucauld, Pantheon Litteraire, Paris, 1836, p. 460.]
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.