Fragment from the "Monk of Athos"
Beside the confines of the AEgean main,Where northward Macedonia bounds the flood,And views opposed the Asiatic plain,Where once the pride of lofty Ilion stood,Like the great Father of the giant brood,With lowering port majestic Athos stands,Crowned with the verdure of eternal wood,As yet unspoiled by sacrilegious hands,And throws his mighty shade o'er seas and distant lands.
And deep embosomed in his shady grovesFull many a convent rears its glittering spire,Mid scenes where Heavenly Contemplation lovesTo kindle in her soul her hallowed fire,Where air and sea with rocks and woods conspireTo breathe a sweet religious calm around,Weaning the thoughts from every low desire,And the wild waves that break with murmuring soundAlong the rocky shore proclaim it holy ground.
Sequestered shades where Piety has givenA quiet refuge from each earthly care,Whence the rapt spirit may ascend to Heaven!
Oh, ye condemned the ills of life to bear!As with advancing age your woes increase,What bliss amidst these solitudes to shareThe happy foretaste of eternal Peace,Till Heaven in mercy bids your pain and sorrows cease.
Words in this poem
- northward a.
- Toward the north; nearer to the north than to the east or west point. [AS. noredhweard.]
- sacrilegious a.
- Violating sacred things; polluted with sacrilege; involving sacrilege; profane; impious. [From sacrilege: cf. L. sacrilegus.]
- rapt n.
- An ecstasy; a trance. Bp. Morton. [From F. rapt abduction, rape, L. raptus, fr. rapere to seize and carry off, to transport; or fr. E. rapt, a. See Rapt, a., and Rapid.]
- amidst prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- foretaste n.
- A taste beforehand; enjoyment in advance; anticipation.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Fragment from the "Monk of Athos" is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Works of Lord Byron. Vol. 3, Project Gutenberg ebook #21811; 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, Fragment from the "Monk of Athos", in The Giaour, and Other Poems (1816), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #21811, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/byron-works-3/fragment-from-the-monk-of-athos.html, id L23835.
Form and metre
Fragment from the "Monk of Athos" is 26 lines in 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
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 ABAB-CBCC mainA · floodB · plainA · stoodB · brood · standsC · woodB · handsC · landsC
- 2 -A-ABCBCC groves · spireA · loves · fireA · conspireB · aroundC · desireB · soundC · groundC
- 4 ABABB bearA · increaseB · shareA · peaceB · ceaseB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Beside the confines of the AEgean main, | 11 | ·/·˘/··˘/˘· |
| Where northward Macedonia bounds the flood, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| And views opposed the Asiatic plain, | 10 | ··˘/··˘/˘· |
| Where once the pride of lofty Ilion stood, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Like the great Father of the giant brood, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| With lowering port majestic Athos stands, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| Crowned with the verdure of eternal wood, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| As yet unspoiled by sacrilegious hands, | 10 | ··˘/··˘/˘· |
| And throws his mighty shade o'er seas and distant lands. | 12 | ···/˘····/˘· |
| And deep embosomed in his shady groves | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Full many a convent rears its glittering spire, | 10 | ·/·/˘··/˘· |
| Mid scenes where Heavenly Contemplation loves | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| To kindle in her soul her hallowed fire, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘/˘ |
| Where air and sea with rocks and woods conspire | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| To breathe a sweet religious calm around, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Weaning the thoughts from every low desire, | 11 | /˘···/˘·˘/˘ |
| And the wild waves that break with murmuring sound | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Along the rocky shore proclaim it holy ground. | 12 | ˘/·/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| Sequestered shades where Piety has given | 11 | ˘/˘··/˘˘·/˘ |
| A quiet refuge from each earthly care, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Whence the rapt spirit may ascend to Heaven! | 11 | ···/˘·˘/·/˘ |
| Oh, ye condemned the ills of life to bear! | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| As with advancing age your woes increase, | 10 | ··˘/˘···˘/ |
| What bliss amidst these solitudes to share | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| The happy foretaste of eternal Peace, | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Till Heaven in mercy bids your pain and sorrows cease. | 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.