Lines Written on Visiting a Scene in Argyleshire
At the silence of twilight’s contemplative hour,I have mused in a sorrowful mood,On the wind-shaken weeds that embosom the bower,Where the home of my forefathers stood.All ruined and wild is their roofless abode,And lonely the dark raven’s sheltering tree:And travelled by few is the grass-covered road,Where the hunter of deer and the warrior trodeTo his hills that encircle the sea.
Yet wandering, I found on my ruinous walk,By the dial-stone agèd and green,One rose of the wilderness left on its stalk,To mark where a garden had beenLike a brotherless hermit, the last of its race,All wild in the silence of nature, it drew,From each wandering sun-beam, a lonely embrace,For the night-weed and thorn overshadowed the place,Where the flower of my forefathers grew.
Sweet bud of the wilderness! emblem of allThat remains in this desolate heart!The fabric of bliss to its centre may fall,But patience shall never depart!Though the wilds of enchantment, all vernal and bright,In the days of delusion by fancy combinedWith the vanishing phantoms of love and delight,Abandon my soul, like a dream of the night,And leave but a desert behind.
Be hushed, my dark spirit! for wisdom condemnsWhen the faint and the feeble deplore;Be strong as the rock of the ocean that stemsA thousand wild waves on the shore!Through the perils of chance, and the scowl of disdain,May thy front be unaltered, thy courage elate!Yea! even the name I have worshipped in vainShall awake not the sigh of remembrance again:To bear is to conquer our fate.
Words in this poem
- embosom v. t.
- To take into, or place in, the bosom; to cherish; to foster. [Written also imbosom.]
- roofless a.
- Having no roof; as, a roofless house.
- abode n.
- Act of waiting; delay. [OE. abad, abood, fr. abiden to abide. See Abide. For the change of vowel, cf. abode, imp. of abide.]
- trode n.
- Tread; footing. [AS. trod, fr. tredan to tread. See Tread.]
- centre v. i.
- To be placed in a center; to be central.
- 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,]
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- deplore v. t.
- To feel or to express deep and poignant grief for; to bewail; to lament; to mourn; to sorrow over. [L. deplorare; de- + plorare to cry out, wail, lament; prob. akin to pluere to rain, and to E. flow: cf. F. déplorer. Cf. Flow.]
- scowl v. i.
- To wrinkle the brows, as in frowning or displeasure; to put on a frowning look; to look sour, sullen, severe, or angry. [Akin to Dan. skule; cf. Icel. skolla to skulk, LG. schulen to hide one's self, D. schuilen, G. schielen to squint, Dan. skele, Sw. skela, AS. sceolh squinting. ]
- elate a.
- Lifted up; raised; elevated. [L. elatus elevated, fig., elated, proud (the figure, perh., being borrowed from a prancing horse); e out + latus (used as p. p. of ferre to bear), for tlatus, a]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Lines Written on Visiting a Scene in Argyleshire is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Thomas Campbell, Project Gutenberg ebook #59788; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Thomas Campbell, Lines Written on Visiting a Scene in Argyleshire, in The Pleasures of Hope, and Other Poems (1824), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #59788, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/campbell-poems/lines-written-on-visiting-a-scene-in-argyleshire.html, id L24438.
Form and metre
Lines Written on Visiting a Scene in Argyleshire is 36 lines in 4 stanzas of 9 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCCD, complete in 2 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is anapaestic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 95%).
See other poems in anapaestic tetrameter.
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-A-BCBBC hourA · mood · bowerA · stood · abodeB · treeC · roadB · trodeB · seaC
- 2 A-A-BCBBC walkA · green · stalkA · been · raceB · drewC · embraceB · placeB · grewC
- 3 ABABCDCCD allA · heartB · fallA · departB · brightC · combinedD · delightC · nightC · behindD
- 4 ABABCDCCD condemnsA · deploreB · stemsA · shoreB · disdainC · elateD · vainC · againC · fateD
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 anapaestic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| At the silence of twilight’s contemplative hour, | 11 | ··/˘·/·˘/˘/ |
| I have mused in a sorrowful mood, | 10 | ···˘··/˘˘· |
| On the wind-shaken weeds that embosom the bower, | 12 | ···/˘··˘/˘·/ |
| Where the home of my forefathers stood. | 9 | ·····/·˘· |
| All ruined and wild is their roofless abode, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘˘/ |
| And lonely the dark raven’s sheltering tree: | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| And travelled by few is the grass-covered road, | 11 | ·/˘·····/˘· |
| Where the hunter of deer and the warrior trode | 11 | ··/˘····/˘· |
| To his hills that encircle the sea. | 9 | ····˘/˘·· |
| Yet wandering, I found on my ruinous walk, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| By the dial-stone agèd and green, | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| One rose of the wilderness left on its stalk, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| To mark where a garden had been | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Like a brotherless hermit, the last of its race, | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| All wild in the silence of nature, it drew, | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| From each wandering sun-beam, a lonely embrace, | 11 | ··/˘···/˘˘/ |
| For the night-weed and thorn overshadowed the place, | 12 | ·······˘/˘·· |
| Where the flower of my forefathers grew. | 10 | ··/˘··/·˘· |
| Sweet bud of the wilderness! emblem of all | 10 | ····/˘/˘·· |
| That remains in this desolate heart! | 9 | ·˘/··/˘˘· |
| The fabric of bliss to its centre may fall, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| But patience shall never depart! | 8 | ·/˘·/˘˘/ |
| Though the wilds of enchantment, all vernal and bright, | 12 | ····˘/˘·/˘·· |
| In the days of delusion by fancy combined | 12 | ····˘/˘·/˘˘/ |
| With the vanishing phantoms of love and delight, | 11 | ··/˘/˘···˘/ |
| Abandon my soul, like a dream of the night, | 11 | ˘/˘········ |
| And leave but a desert behind. | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Be hushed, my dark spirit! for wisdom condemns | 10 | ····/·/˘˘/ |
| When the faint and the feeble deplore; | 9 | ·····/˘˘/ |
| Be strong as the rock of the ocean that stems | 10 | ·······/·· |
| A thousand wild waves on the shore! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Through the perils of chance, and the scowl of disdain, | 12 | ··/˘······˘/ |
| May thy front be unaltered, thy courage elate! | 12 | ····˘/˘·/˘˘/ |
| Yea! even the name I have worshipped in vain | 10 | ·/····/˘·· |
| Shall awake not the sigh of remembrance again: | 12 | ·˘/····˘/˘˘/ |
| To bear is to conquer our fate. | 9 | ····/˘/˘· |
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