The Year 1603
The first heaven-wandering lights I see ascendUpon the seventh and ninth centenary,When in the Archer's realm three years shall beAdded, this aeon and our age to end.Thou too, Mercurius, like a scribe dost lendThine aid to promulgate that dread decree,Stored in the archives of eternity,And signed and sealed by powers no prayers can bend.O'er Europe's full meridian on thy mornIn the tenth house thy court I see thee hold:The Sun with thee consents in Capricorn.God grant that I may keep this mortal breathUntil I too that glorious day beholdWhich shall at last confound the sons of death!
Words in this poem
- centenary a.
- Relating to, or consisting of, a hundred. [L. centenarius, fr. centum a hundred.]
- 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,]
- aeon n.
- An immeasurable or infinite space of time; eternity; a long space of time; an age. [L. aeon, fr. Gr. a'iwn space or period of time, lifetime, age; akin to L. aevum. See Age.]
- scribe n.
- One who writes; a draughtsman; a writer for another; especially, an offical or public writer; an amanuensis or secretary; a notary; a copyist. [L. scriba, fr. scribere to write; cf. Gr. scarify. Cf. Ascribe, Describe, Script, Scrivener, Scrutoire.]
- promulgate v. t.
- To make known by open declaration, as laws, decrees, or tidings; to publish; as, to promulgate the secrets of a council. [L. promulgatus, p. p. of promulgare to promulgate; of unknown origin. Cf. Promulge.]
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- capricorn n.
- The tenth sign of zodiac, into which the sun enters at the winter solstice, about December 21. See Tropic. [L. capricornus; caper goat + cornu horn: cf. F. capricorne.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Year 1603 is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Sonnets of Michael Angelo Buonarroti and Tommaso Campanella, Project Gutenberg ebook #10314, the John Addington Symonds translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Tommaso Campanella, The Year 1603, in Sonnets (1878), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #10314, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/campanella-sonnets/the-year-1603.html, id L27847.
Form and metre
The Year 1603 is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%).
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 A-BAAB-ACDCEDE ascendA · centenary · beB · endA · lendA · decreeB · eternity · bendA · mornC · holdD · capricornC · breathE · beholdD · deathE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The first heaven-wandering lights I see ascend | 10 | ··//˘···˘/ |
| Upon the seventh and ninth centenary, | 11 | ···/˘··/˘·˘ |
| When in the Archer's realm three years shall be | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Added, this aeon and our age to end. | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| Thou too, Mercurius, like a scribe dost lend | 10 | ·········· |
| Thine aid to promulgate that dread decree, | 10 | ···˘/˘··˘/ |
| Stored in the archives of eternity, | 10 | ···/··˘/˘˘ |
| And signed and sealed by powers no prayers can bend. | 10 | ·····/···· |
| O'er Europe's full meridian on thy morn | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| In the tenth house thy court I see thee hold: | 10 | ·········· |
| The Sun with thee consents in Capricorn. | 10 | ····˘/·/˘˘ |
| God grant that I may keep this mortal breath | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Until I too that glorious day behold | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Which shall at last confound the sons of death! | 10 | ····˘/···· |
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.