Canto IV CXX
Here didst thou dwell, in this enchanted cover,Egeria! thy all heavenly bosom beatingFor the far footsteps of thy mortal lover;The purple Midnight veiled that mystic meetingWith her most starry canopy, and seatingThyself by thine adorer, what befell?This cave was surely shaped out for the greetingOf an enamoured Goddess, and the cellHaunted by holy Love--the earliest oracle!
And didst thou not, thy breast to his replying,Blend a celestial with a human heart;And Love, which dies as it was born, in sighing,Share with immortal transports? could thine artMake them indeed immortal, and impartThe purity of heaven to earthly joys,Expel the venom and not blunt the dart--The dull satiety which all destroys--And root from out the soul the deadly weed which cloys?
Alas! our young affections run to waste,Or water but the desert: whence ariseBut weeds of dark luxuriance, tares of haste,Rank at the core, though tempting to the eyes,Flowers whose wild odours breathe but agonies,And trees whose gums are poison; such the plantsWhich spring beneath her steps as Passion fliesO'er the world's wilderness, and vainly pantsFor some celestial fruit forbidden to our wants.
Words in this poem
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- enchanted a.
- Under the power of enchantment; possessed or exercised by enchanters; as, an enchanted castle.
- veiled a.
- Covered by, or as by, a veil; hidden.
- starry a.
- Abounding with stars; adorned with stars.
- seating n.
- The act of providong with a seat or seats; as, the seating of an audience.
- adorer n.
- One who adores; a worshiper; one who admires or loves greatly; an ardent admirer.
- haunted a.
- Inhabited by, or subject to the visits of, apparitions; frequented by a ghost.
- oracle v. i.
- To utter oracles.
- luxuriance n.
- The state or quality of being luxuriant; rank, vigorous growth; excessive abundance produced by rank growth. [Cf. F. luxuriance.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Canto IV CXX 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 CXX, in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1812–1818), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #5131, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/byron-childe-harold/canto-iv-cxx.html, id L06618.
Form and metre
Canto IV CXX 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%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.5 syllables. 10 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 41% 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 coverA · beatingB · loverA · meetingB · seatingB · befellC · greetingB · cellC · oracleC
- 2 ABABBCBCC replyingA · heartB · sighingA · artB · impartB · joysC · dartB · destroysC · cloysC
- 3 ABABBCBCC wasteA · ariseB · hasteA · eyesB · agoniesB · plantsC · fliesB · pantsC · wantsC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Here didst thou dwell, in this enchanted cover, | 11 | ······˘/˘/˘ |
| Egeria! thy all heavenly bosom beating | 11 | ·····/˘/˘/˘ |
| For the far footsteps of thy mortal lover; | 11 | ···/···/˘/˘ |
| The purple Midnight veiled that mystic meeting | 11 | ·/˘/···/˘/˘ |
| With her most starry canopy, and seating | 11 | ···/˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| Thyself by thine adorer, what befell? | 10 | ˘/··˘/˘·˘/ |
| This cave was surely shaped out for the greeting | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Of an enamoured Goddess, and the cell | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| Haunted by holy Love--the earliest oracle! | 11 | /˘·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| And didst thou not, thy breast to his replying, | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| Blend a celestial with a human heart; | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| And Love, which dies as it was born, in sighing, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Share with immortal transports? could thine art | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| Make them indeed immortal, and impart | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| The purity of heaven to earthly joys, | 10 | ·/˘˘·/·/˘· |
| Expel the venom and not blunt the dart-- | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| The dull satiety which all destroys-- | 10 | ··˘/˘˘··˘/ |
| And root from out the soul the deadly weed which cloys? | 12 | ·······/˘··· |
| Alas! our young affections run to waste, | 10 | ˘//·˘/˘··· |
| Or water but the desert: whence arise | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| But weeds of dark luxuriance, tares of haste, | 11 | ····˘/˘˘··· |
| Rank at the core, though tempting to the eyes, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Flowers whose wild odours breathe but agonies, | 11 | /˘··/˘··/˘˘ |
| And trees whose gums are poison; such the plants | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Which spring beneath her steps as Passion flies | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| O'er the world's wilderness, and vainly pants | 10 | ···/˘˘·/˘· |
| For some celestial fruit forbidden to our wants. | 11 | ··˘/˘·/˘·/· |
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