On the Same
Stay, curyous traveller, and pass not bye,Until this fetive pile astounde thine eye.Whole rocks on rocks with yron joynd surveie,And okes with okes entremed disponed lie.This mightie pile, that keeps the wyndes at baie,Fyre-levyn and the mokie storme defie,That shootes aloofe into the reaulmes of daie,Shall be the record of the Buylders fame for aie.
Thou seest this maystrie of a human hand,The pride of Brystowe and the Westerne lande,Yet is the Buylders vertues much moe greete,Greeter than can bie Rowlies pen be scande.Thou seest the saynctes and kynges in stonen state,That seemd with breath and human soule dispande,As payrde to us enseem these men of slate,Such is greete Canynge's mynde when payrd to God elate.
Well maiest thou be astound, but view it well;Go not from hence before thou see thy fill,And learn the Builder's vertues and his name;Of this tall spyre in every countye telle,And with thy tale the lazing rych men shame;Showe howe the glorious Canynge did excelle;How hee good man a friend for kynges became,And gloryous paved at once the way to heaven and fame.
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- greeter n.
- One who weeps or mourns.
- 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]
- astound a.
- Stunned; astounded; astonished. [OE. astouned, astound, astoned, p. p. of astone. See Astone.]
- 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.]
- excelle v. t.
- To go beyond or surpass in good qualities or laudable deeds; to outdo or outgo, in a good sense. [L. excellere, excelsum; ex out + a root found in culmen height, top; cf. F. exceller. See Culminate, Column.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On the Same is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Rowley Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #13037; 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 Chatterton, On the Same, in The Rowley Poems (1777), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13037, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/chatterton-rowley/on-the-same.html, id L12165.
Form and metre
On the Same is 24 lines in 3 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.3 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
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 AA-AB-BB byeA · eyeA · surveie · lieA · baieB · defie · daieB · aieB
- 2 AA-ABABB handA · landeA · greete · scandeA · stateB · dispandeA · slateB · elateB
- 3 A-BABABB wellA · fill · nameB · telleA · shameB · excelleA · becameB · fameB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Stay, curyous traveller, and pass not bye, | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Until this fetive pile astounde thine eye. | 10 | ·········· |
| Whole rocks on rocks with yron joynd surveie, | 10 | ·········· |
| And okes with okes entremed disponed lie. | 10 | ······˘··· |
| This mightie pile, that keeps the wyndes at baie, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Fyre-levyn and the mokie storme defie, | 10 | ·········· |
| That shootes aloofe into the reaulmes of daie, | 10 | ·········· |
| Shall be the record of the Buylders fame for aie. | 12 | ···˘/······· |
| Thou seest this maystrie of a human hand, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The pride of Brystowe and the Westerne lande, | 10 | ·········· |
| Yet is the Buylders vertues much moe greete, | 9 | ········· |
| Greeter than can bie Rowlies pen be scande. | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| Thou seest the saynctes and kynges in stonen state, | 11 | ··········· |
| That seemd with breath and human soule dispande, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| As payrde to us enseem these men of slate, | 10 | ·········· |
| Such is greete Canynge's mynde when payrd to God elate. | 13 | ···········˘/ |
| Well maiest thou be astound, but view it well; | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Go not from hence before thou see thy fill, | 10 | ·········· |
| And learn the Builder's vertues and his name; | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Of this tall spyre in every countye telle, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And with thy tale the lazing rych men shame; | 10 | ·········· |
| Showe howe the glorious Canynge did excelle; | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| How hee good man a friend for kynges became, | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| And gloryous paved at once the way to heaven and fame. | 12 | ·········/·· |
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