Canto V
There is a city, upbuilt on the quays of the turbulent Arno,Under Fiesole's heights,--thither are we to return?There is a city that fringes the curve of the inflowing waters,Under the perilous hill fringes the beautiful bay,--Parthenope, do they call thee?--the Siren, Neapolis, seatedUnder Vesevus's hill,--are we receding to thee?--Sicily, Greece, will invite, and the Orient;--or are we turn toEngland, which may after all be for its children the best?
So you are really free, and living in quiet at Florence;That is delightful news; you travelled slowly and safely;Mr. Claude got you out; took rooms at Florence before you;Wrote from Milan to say so; had left directly for Milan,Hoping to find us soon;--if he could, he would, you are certain.--Dear Miss Roper, your letter has made me exceedingly happy.You are quite sure, you say, he asked you about our intentions;You had not heard as yet of Lucerne, but told him of Como.--Well, perhaps he will come; however, I will not expect it.Though you say you are sure,--if he can, he will, you are certain.O my dear, many thanks from your ever affectionate Mary.
Words in this poem
- parthenope n.
- One of the Sirens, who threw herself into the sea, in despair at not being able to beguile Ulysses by her songs.
- wrote v. i.
- To root with the snout. See 1st Root. [OE. wroten. See 1st Root.]
- roper n.
- A maker of ropes. P. Plowman.
- expect v. t.
- To wait for; to await. [L. expectatum, to look out for, await, expect; ex + out spectare to look at. See Spectacle.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Canto V is in the public domain. This text is taken from Amours De Voyage, Project Gutenberg ebook #1393; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Arthur Hugh Clough, Canto V, in Amours de Voyage (1858), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1393, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/clough-amours/canto-v.html, id L01606.
Form and metre
Canto V is 19 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is dactylic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 72%). 71% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 15.0 syllables. 11 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 10% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in dactylic 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.
- 2 ---AA----A- florence · safely · you · milanA · certainA · happy · intentions · como · it · certainA · mary
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 dactylic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| There is a city, upbuilt on the quays of the turbulent Arno, | 17 | ···/˘·······/˘˘/˘ |
| Under Fiesole's heights,--thither are we to return? | 12 | ·····/˘···˘/ |
| There is a city that fringes the curve of the inflowing waters, | 17 | ···/˘·/˘····/·˘/˘ |
| Under the perilous hill fringes the beautiful bay,-- | 14 | ···/˘˘·/˘·/˘˘· |
| Parthenope, do they call thee?--the Siren, Neapolis, seated | 15 | ········/˘···/˘ |
| Under Vesevus's hill,--are we receding to thee?-- | 13 | ········˘/˘·· |
| Sicily, Greece, will invite, and the Orient;--or are we turn to | 17 | /˘˘··˘/··/˘······ |
| England, which may after all be for its children the best? | 14 | /˘········/˘·· |
| So you are really free, and living in quiet at Florence; | 15 | ···/˘··/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| That is delightful news; you travelled slowly and safely; | 14 | ··˘/˘··/˘/˘·/˘ |
| Mr. Claude got you out; took rooms at Florence before you; | 14 | /˘·······/˘··· |
| Wrote from Milan to say so; had left directly for Milan, | 15 | ··˘/·····˘/˘·˘/ |
| Hoping to find us soon;--if he could, he would, you are certain.-- | 15 | /˘···········/˘ |
| Dear Miss Roper, your letter has made me exceedingly happy. | 16 | ··/˘·/˘···˘/˘˘/˘ |
| You are quite sure, you say, he asked you about our intentions; | 16 | ···········/˘˘/˘ |
| You had not heard as yet of Lucerne, but told him of Como.-- | 15 | ·······/˘····/˘ |
| Well, perhaps he will come; however, I will not expect it. | 15 | ·˘/····/˘···˘/· |
| Though you say you are sure,--if he can, he will, you are certain. | 15 | ·············/˘ |
| O my dear, many thanks from your ever affectionate Mary. | 16 | ···/˘···/˘˘/˘˘/˘ |
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.