At the Table of a Friend
Not since when on me a childHeaven's gracious radiance smiledHast thou, O Sun, such splendour pouredAs on my friend's Livornian board.
Never, O God of Feasts, was sentA solace so benevolentAs wisely glowed within the winesWe drank beneath the Apennines.
O Sun, O Bromius, grant that wholeIn loving heart and virtuous soulWe to the quiet shades descend(Where Horace is)—I and my friend.
Thy fortune smile upon the youngLike flowers around our banquet flung;Peace to the mothers give, and fameTo valiant youth and love's sweet flame!
Words in this poem
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- splendour n.
- Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
- solace n.
- Comfort in grief; alleviation of grief or anxiety; also, that which relieves in distress; that which cheers or consoles; relief. [OF. solas, ssoulaz, L. solacium, solatium, fr. solari to comfort, console. Cf. Console, v. t.]
- drank n.
- Wild oats, or darnel grass. See Drake a plant. [Cf. 3d Drake.]
- virtuous a.
- Possessing or exhibiting virtue. Specifically: -- (a) Exhibiting manly courage and strength; valorous; valiant; brave. [OE. vertuous, OF. vertuos, vertuous, F. vertueux, fr. L. Virtuous. See Virtue, and cf. Virtuoso.]
- valiant a.
- Vigorous in body; strong; powerful; as, a valiant fencer. [OE. valiant, F. vaillant, OF. vaillant, valant, originally p. pr. of OF. & F. valoir to be worth, L. valere to be strong. See Wield, and cf. Avail, Convalesce, ]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
At the Table of a Friend is in the public domain. This text is taken from By Frank Sewall (London: Osgood, McIlvaine & Co., 1893), Project Gutenberg ebook #56711, the Frank Sewall 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: Giosuè Carducci, At the Table of a Friend, in Poems of Giosuè Carducci (1893), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56711, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/carducci-poems/at-the-table-of-a-friend.html, id L26541.
Form and metre
At the Table of a Friend is 16 lines in 4 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABB. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other poems in iambic 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 AABB childA · smiledA · pouredB · boardB
- 2 AABB sentA · benevolentA · winesB · apenninesB
- 3 AABB wholeA · soulA · descendB · friendB
- 4 AABB youngA · flungA · fameB · flameB
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Not since when on me a child | 7 | ······· |
| Heaven's gracious radiance smiled | 8 | /˘/˘/˘˘· |
| Hast thou, O Sun, such splendour poured | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| As on my friend's Livornian board. | 8 | ········ |
| Never, O God of Feasts, was sent | 8 | /˘······ |
| A solace so benevolent | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| As wisely glowed within the wines | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| We drank beneath the Apennines. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| O Sun, O Bromius, grant that whole | 8 | ········ |
| In loving heart and virtuous soul | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| We to the quiet shades descend | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| (Where Horace is)—I and my friend. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Thy fortune smile upon the young | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Like flowers around our banquet flung; | 8 | ·/··//˘· |
| Peace to the mothers give, and fame | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To valiant youth and love's sweet flame! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
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.