Canto III XII
Secure in guarded coldness, he had mixedAgain in fancied safety with his kind,And deemed his spirit now so firmly fixedAnd sheathed with an invulnerable mind,That, if no joy, no sorrow lurked behind;And he, as one, might midst the many standUnheeded, searching through the crowd to findFit speculation; such as in strange landHe found in wonder-works of God and Nature's hand.
But who can view the ripened rose, nor seekTo wear it? who can curiously beholdThe smoothness and the sheen of beauty's cheek,Nor feel the heart can never all grow old?Who can contemplate fame through clouds unfoldThe star which rises o'er her steep, nor climb?Harold, once more within the vortex rolledOn with the giddy circle, chasing Time,Yet with a nobler aim than in his youth's fond prime.
But soon he knew himself the most unfitOf men to herd with Man; with whom he heldLittle in common; untaught to submitHis thoughts to others, though his soul was quelled,In youth by his own thoughts; still uncompelled,He would not yield dominion of his mindTo spirits against whom his own rebelled;Proud though in desolation; which could findA life within itself, to breathe without mankind.
Words in this poem
- invulnerable a.
- Incapable of being wounded, or of receiving injury. [L. invulnerabilis: cf. F. invulnérable. See In- not, and Vulnerable.]
- speculation n.
- The act of speculating. Specifically: -- (a) Examination by the eye; view. [L. speculatio a spying out, observation: cf. F. spéculation.]
- curiously adv.
- In a curious manner.
- sheen v. i.
- To shine; to glisten.
- contemplate v. t.
- To look at on all sides or in all its bearings; to view or consider with continued attention; to regard with deliberate care; to meditate on; to study. [L. contemplatus, p.p. of contemplari to contemplate; con- + templum a space for observation marked out by the augur. See Temple.]
- desolation n.
- The act of desolating or laying waste; destruction of inhabitants; depopulation. [F. désolation, L. desolatio.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Canto III XII 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 XII, in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1812–1818), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #5131, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/byron-childe-harold/canto-iii-xii.html, id L06542.
Form and metre
Canto III XII 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 90%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 52% 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 mixedA · kindB · fixedA · mindB · behindB · standC · findB · landC · handC
- 2 ABABBCBCC seekA · beholdB · cheekA · oldB · unfoldB · climbC · rolledB · timeC · primeC
- 3 ABABBCBCC unfitA · heldB · submitA · quelledB · uncompelledB · mindC · rebelledB · findC · mankindC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Secure in guarded coldness, he had mixed | 10 | ˘/·/˘/˘··· |
| Again in fancied safety with his kind, | 10 | ˘/·/˘/˘··· |
| And deemed his spirit now so firmly fixed | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And sheathed with an invulnerable mind, | 10 | ····˘/˘˘˘· |
| That, if no joy, no sorrow lurked behind; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And he, as one, might midst the many stand | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Unheeded, searching through the crowd to find | 10 | ˘/˘/˘····· |
| Fit speculation; such as in strange land | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| He found in wonder-works of God and Nature's hand. | 12 | ···/˘····/˘· |
| But who can view the ripened rose, nor seek | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| To wear it? who can curiously behold | 10 | ·····/˘˘˘/ |
| The smoothness and the sheen of beauty's cheek, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Nor feel the heart can never all grow old? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Who can contemplate fame through clouds unfold | 10 | ··/˘····˘/ |
| The star which rises o'er her steep, nor climb? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Harold, once more within the vortex rolled | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| On with the giddy circle, chasing Time, | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Yet with a nobler aim than in his youth's fond prime. | 12 | ···/˘······· |
| But soon he knew himself the most unfit | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| Of men to herd with Man; with whom he held | 10 | ·········· |
| Little in common; untaught to submit | 10 | /˘·/˘···˘/ |
| His thoughts to others, though his soul was quelled, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| In youth by his own thoughts; still uncompelled, | 10 | ·········· |
| He would not yield dominion of his mind | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| To spirits against whom his own rebelled; | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Proud though in desolation; which could find | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| A life within itself, to breathe without mankind. | 12 | ····˘/····// |
Notes from the edition 2
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 2, line 6 [The Temple of Fame is on the summit of a mountain; "Clouds overcome it;" but to the uplifted eye the mists dispel, and behold the goddess pointing to her star--the star of glory!]
- Stanza 2, line 9 [Compare Manfred, act ii. sc. 2, lines 50-58--
"From my youth upwards My spirit walked not with the souls of men, Nor looked upon the earth with human eyes; * * * * * My joys, my griefs, my passions, and my powers Made me a stranger; though I wore the form, I had no sympathy with breathing flesh."
Compare, too, with stanzas xiii., xiv., ibid., lines 58-72.]
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.