To the Rainbow
Triumphal arch, that fill’st the skyWhen storms prepare to part,I ask not proud PhilosophyTo teach me what thou art—
Still seem as to my childhood’s sight,A midway station givenFor happy spirits to alightBetwixt the earth and heaven.
Can all that Optics teach, unfoldThy form to please me so,As when I dreamt of gems and goldHid in thy radiant bow?
When Science from Creation’s faceEnchantment’s veil withdraws,What lovely visions yield their placeTo cold material laws!
And yet, fair bow, no fabling dreams,But words of the Most High,Have told why first thy robe of beamsWas woven in the sky.
When o’er the green undeluged earthHeaven’s covenant thou didst shine,How came the world’s grey fathers forthTo watch thy sacred sign.
And when its yellow lustre smiledO’er mountains yet untrod,Each mother held aloft her childTo bless the bow of God.
Methinks, thy jubilee to keep,The first made anthem rangOn earth delivered from the deep,And the first poet sang.
Nor ever shall the Muse’s eyeUnraptured greet thy beam:Theme of primeval prophecy,Be still the poet’s theme!
The earth to thee her incense yields,The lark thy welcome sings,When glittering in the freshened fieldsThe snowy mushroom springs.
How glorious is thy girdle castO’er mountain, tower, and town,Or mirrored in the ocean vast,A thousand fathoms down!
As fresh in yon horizon dark,As young thy beauties seem,As when the eagle from the arkFirst sported in thy beam
For, faithful to its sacred page,Heaven still rebuilds thy span,Nor lets the type grow pale with ageThat first spoke peace to man.
Words in this poem
- triumphal n.
- A token of victory.
- childhood n.
- The state of being a child; the time in which persons are children; the condition or time from infancy to puberty. [AS. cildhad; cild child + -had. See Child, and hood.]
- midway n.
- The middle of the way or distance; a middle way or course.
- betwixt prep.
- In the space which separates; between. [OE. betwix, bitwix, rarely bitwixt, AS. betweox, betweohs, betweoh, betwih; pref. be- by + a form fr. AS. twa two. See Between.]
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- lustre n.
- A period of five years; a lustrum. [L. lustrum: cf. F. lustre.]
- methinks v.
- It seems to me; I think. See Me. [AS. þyncan to seem, me þynceedh, me þuhte, OE. me thinketh, me thoughte; akin to G. dünken to seem, denken to think, and E. think. See Me, and Think.]
- anthem v. t.
- To celebrate with anthems.
- 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,]
- snowy a.
- White like snow.
- 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.]
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To the Rainbow 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, To the Rainbow, in The Pleasures of Hope, and Other Poems (1824), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #59788, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/campbell-poems/to-the-rainbow.html, id L24406.
Form and metre
To the Rainbow is 52 lines in 13 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 9 of its 13 stanzas. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
See other poems in common measure.
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 sky · partA · philosophy · artA
- 2 A-A- sightA · given · alightA · heaven
- 3 ABAB unfoldA · soB · goldA · bowB
- 4 ABAB faceA · withdrawsB · placeA · lawsB
- 5 ABAB dreamsA · highB · beamsA · skyB
- 6 -A-A earth · shineA · forth · signA
- 7 ABAB smiledA · untrodB · childA · godB
- 8 ABAB keepA · rangB · deepA · sangB
- 9 -A-A eye · beamA · prophecy · themeA
- 10 ABAB yieldsA · singsB · fieldsA · springsB
- 11 ABAB castA · townB · vastA · downB
- 12 ABAB darkA · seemB · arkA · beamB
- 13 ABAB pageA · spanB · ageA · manB
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Triumphal arch, that fill’st the sky | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| When storms prepare to part, | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| I ask not proud Philosophy | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| To teach me what thou art— | 6 | ······ |
| Still seem as to my childhood’s sight, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| A midway station given | 7 | ·/·/˘/˘ |
| For happy spirits to alight | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Betwixt the earth and heaven. | 7 | ˘/···/˘ |
| Can all that Optics teach, unfold | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Thy form to please me so, | 6 | ······ |
| As when I dreamt of gems and gold | 8 | ········ |
| Hid in thy radiant bow? | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| When Science from Creation’s face | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Enchantment’s veil withdraws, | 6 | ˘/˘·˘/ |
| What lovely visions yield their place | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| To cold material laws! | 7 | ··˘/˘˘· |
| And yet, fair bow, no fabling dreams, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But words of the Most High, | 6 | ······ |
| Have told why first thy robe of beams | 8 | ········ |
| Was woven in the sky. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| When o’er the green undeluged earth | 8 | ········ |
| Heaven’s covenant thou didst shine, | 8 | /˘/˘˘··· |
| How came the world’s grey fathers forth | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To watch thy sacred sign. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And when its yellow lustre smiled | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| O’er mountains yet untrod, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Each mother held aloft her child | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| To bless the bow of God. | 6 | ······ |
| Methinks, thy jubilee to keep, | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| The first made anthem rang | 6 | ···/˘· |
| On earth delivered from the deep, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| And the first poet sang. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Nor ever shall the Muse’s eye | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Unraptured greet thy beam: | 6 | ······ |
| Theme of primeval prophecy, | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘˘ |
| Be still the poet’s theme! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The earth to thee her incense yields, | 8 | ·····˘/· |
| The lark thy welcome sings, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| When glittering in the freshened fields | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The snowy mushroom springs. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| How glorious is thy girdle cast | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| O’er mountain, tower, and town, | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| Or mirrored in the ocean vast, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| A thousand fathoms down! | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| As fresh in yon horizon dark, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| As young thy beauties seem, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| As when the eagle from the ark | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| First sported in thy beam | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| For, faithful to its sacred page, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Heaven still rebuilds thy span, | 7 | /˘·˘/·· |
| Nor lets the type grow pale with age | 8 | ········ |
| That first spoke peace to man. | 6 | ······ |
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.