Canto IV CLIX
Thou seest not all; but piecemeal thou must breakTo separate contemplation, the great whole;And as the ocean many bays will make,That ask the eye--so here condense thy soulTo more immediate objects, and controlThy thoughts until thy mind hath got by heartIts eloquent proportions, and unrollIn mighty graduations, part by part,The glory which at once upon thee did not dart.
Not by its fault--but thine: Our outward senseIs but of gradual grasp--and as it isThat what we have of feeling most intenseOutstrips our faint expression; e'en so thisOutshining and o'erwhelming edificeFools our fond gaze, and greatest of the greatDefies at first our nature's littleness,Till, growing with its growth, we thus dilateOur spirits to the size of that they contemplate.
Then pause and be enlightened; there is moreIn such a survey than the sating gazeOf wonder pleased, or awe which would adoreThe worship of the place, or the mere praiseOf art and its great masters, who could raiseWhat former time, nor skill, nor thought could plan;The fountain of sublimity displaysIts depth, and thence may draw the mind of manIts golden sands, and learn what great conceptions can.
Words in this poem
- piecemeal adv.
- In pieces; in parts or fragments. [OE. pecemele; pece a piece + AS. m, dat. pl. of m part. See Meal a portion.]
- unroll v. t.
- To open, as what is rolled or convolved; as, to unroll cloth; to unroll a banner. [1st pref. un- + roll.]
- 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.]
- adore v. t.
- To worship with profound reverence; to pay divine honors to; to honor as deity or as divine. [OE. aouren, anouren, adoren, OF. aorer, adorer, F. adorer, fr. L. adorare; ad + orare to speak, pray, os, oris, mouth. In OE. confused with honor, the French pr]
- sublimity n.
- The quality or state of being sublime (in any sense of the adjective). [L. sublimitas: cf. F. sublimité.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Canto IV CLIX 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 IV CLIX, in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1812–1818), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #5131, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/byron-childe-harold/canto-iv-clix.html, id L06631.
Form and metre
Canto IV CLIX 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 87%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.3 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 70% 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 breakA · wholeB · makeA · soulB · controlB · heartC · unrollB · partC · dartC
- 2 ABABBCBCC senseA · isB · intenseA · thisB · edificeB · greatC · littlenessB · dilateC · contemplateC
- 3 ABABBCBCC moreA · gazeB · adoreA · praiseB · raiseB · planC · displaysB · manC · canC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Thou seest not all; but piecemeal thou must break | 10 | ·····/···· |
| To separate contemplation, the great whole; | 11 | ·/˘˘·˘/˘··· |
| And as the ocean many bays will make, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| That ask the eye--so here condense thy soul | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| To more immediate objects, and control | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Thy thoughts until thy mind hath got by heart | 10 | ·········· |
| Its eloquent proportions, and unroll | 10 | ·/˘˘˘/˘·˘/ |
| In mighty graduations, part by part, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| The glory which at once upon thee did not dart. | 12 | ·/˘········· |
| Not by its fault--but thine: Our outward sense | 10 | ······//˘· |
| Is but of gradual grasp--and as it is | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| That what we have of feeling most intense | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Outstrips our faint expression; e'en so this | 10 | ˘//·˘/˘··· |
| Outshining and o'erwhelming edifice | 10 | /·˘····/˘˘ |
| Fools our fond gaze, and greatest of the great | 10 | ·/···/˘··· |
| Defies at first our nature's littleness, | 11 | ˘/··/˘/˘/˘˘ |
| Till, growing with its growth, we thus dilate | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Our spirits to the size of that they contemplate. | 12 | //˘······/˘· |
| Then pause and be enlightened; there is more | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| In such a survey than the sating gaze | 10 | ···˘/····· |
| Of wonder pleased, or awe which would adore | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| The worship of the place, or the mere praise | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Of art and its great masters, who could raise | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| What former time, nor skill, nor thought could plan; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| The fountain of sublimity displays | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘˘/ |
| Its depth, and thence may draw the mind of man | 10 | ·········· |
| Its golden sands, and learn what great conceptions can. | 12 | ·/˘·····˘/˘· |
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.