Churchill—His Life and Writings
"Who, born for the universe, narrow'd their mind,And to party gave up what was meant for mankind."
"Which Balaam's assAs well as Balaam's self might pass,And with his master take degrees,Could he contrive to pay the fees."
"The cedar, whose top mates the highest cloud,Whilst his old father Lebanon grows proudOf such a child, and his vast body laidOut many a mile, enjoys the filial shade."
"No birds except as birds of passage flew;"
"Their saviour shunn'd, and rankled in the dark;"
Words in this poem
- filial a.
- Of or pertaining to a son or daughter; becoming to a child in relation to his parents; as, filial obedience. [L. filialis, fr. filius son, filia daughter; akin to e. female, feminine. Cf. Fitz.]
- saviour n.
- One who saves, preserves, or delivers from destruction or danger. [OE. saveour, OF. salveor, F. sauveur, fr. L. salvator to save. See Save, v.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Churchill—His Life and Writings is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poetical Works, Project Gutenberg ebook #8592; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Charles Churchill, Churchill—His Life and Writings, in The Rosciad, and Other Poems (1761–1764), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8592, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/churchill-poems/churchill-his-life-and-writings.html, id L09555.
Form and metre
Churchill—His Life and Writings is 12 lines in 5 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 83% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.1 syllables. 30% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 mindA · mankindA
- 2 AABB assA · passA · degreesB · feesB
- 3 AABB cloudA · proudA · laidB · shadeB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| "Who, born for the universe, narrow'd their mind, | 11 | ····/˘·/˘·· |
| And to party gave up what was meant for mankind." | 12 | ··/˘······// |
| "Which Balaam's ass | 4 | ···· |
| As well as Balaam's self might pass, | 8 | ········ |
| And with his master take degrees, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Could he contrive to pay the fees." | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| "The cedar, whose top mates the highest cloud, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Whilst his old father Lebanon grows proud | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘·· |
| Of such a child, and his vast body laid | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Out many a mile, enjoys the filial shade." | 10 | ·/··˘/·/˘· |
| "No birds except as birds of passage flew;" | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| "Their saviour shunn'd, and rankled in the dark;" | 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.