Catullian Hendecasyllables
Hear, my beloved, an old Milesian story!--High, and embosom'd in congregated laurels,Glimmer'd a temple upon a breezy headland;In the dim distance amid the skiey billowsRose a fair island; the god of flocks had blest it.From the far shores of the bleat-resounding islandOft by the moonlight a little boat came floating,Came to the sea-cave beneath the breezy headland,Where amid myrtles a pathway stole in mazesUp to the groves of the high embosom'd temple.There in a thicket of dedicated roses,Oft did a priestess, as lovely as a vision,Pouring her soul to the son of Cytherea,Pray him to hover around the slight canoe-boat,And with invisible pilotage to guide itOver the dusk wave, until the nightly sailorShivering with ecstasy sank upon her bosom.
I mix in life, and labour to seem free,With common persons pleased and common things,While every thought and action tends to thee,And every impulse from thy influence springs.
Words in this poem
- milesian a.
- Of or pertaining to Miletus, a city of Asia Minor, or to its inhabitants.
- breezy a.
- Characterized by, or having, breezes; airy.
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- pathway n.
- A footpath; a beaten track; any path or course. Also used figuratively.
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
- priestess n.
- A woman who officiated in sacred rites among pagans. Abp.
- hover n.
- A cover; a shelter; a protection. Carew. C. Kingsley. [Etymol. doubtful.]
- pilotage n.
- The pilot's skill or knowledge, as of coasts, rocks, bars, and channels. Sir W. Raleigh. [Cf. F. pilotage.]
- nightly a.
- Of or pertaining to the night, or to every night; happening or done by night, or every night; as, nightly shades; he kept nightly vigils.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Catullian Hendecasyllables is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems of Coleridge, Project Gutenberg ebook #8208; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Catullian Hendecasyllables, in Poems of Coleridge (1796–1817), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8208, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/coleridge-poems/catullian-hendecasyllables.html, id L00385.
Form and metre
Catullian Hendecasyllables is 21 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is trochaic hexameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 72%). 87% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 11.3 syllables. 14 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 24% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic hexameter.
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-BA-A------B-- story · laurels · headlandA · billows · itB · islandA · floating · headlandA · mazes · temple · roses · vision · cytherea · boat · itB · sailor · bosom
- 2 ABAB freeA · thingsB · theeA · springsB
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 trochaic hexameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Hear, my beloved, an old Milesian story!-- | 12 | ··˘/˘··˘/˘/˘ |
| High, and embosom'd in congregated laurels, | 12 | ······/˘·˘/˘ |
| Glimmer'd a temple upon a breezy headland; | 12 | ···/˘···/˘/˘ |
| In the dim distance amid the skiey billows | 12 | ···/˘˘/·/˘/˘ |
| Rose a fair island; the god of flocks had blest it. | 12 | ···/˘······· |
| From the far shores of the bleat-resounding island | 12 | ·······˘/˘/˘ |
| Oft by the moonlight a little boat came floating, | 12 | ···/··/˘··/˘ |
| Came to the sea-cave beneath the breezy headland, | 12 | ········/˘/˘ |
| Where amid myrtles a pathway stole in mazes | 12 | ·˘//˘·/···/˘ |
| Up to the groves of the high embosom'd temple. | 12 | ··········/˘ |
| There in a thicket of dedicated roses, | 12 | ···/˘·/˘˘˘/˘ |
| Oft did a priestess, as lovely as a vision, | 12 | ···/˘·/˘··/˘ |
| Pouring her soul to the son of Cytherea, | 12 | /˘·······˘/˘ |
| Pray him to hover around the slight canoe-boat, | 12 | ···/˘····˘/· |
| And with invisible pilotage to guide it | 12 | ··˘/˘˘/˘˘··· |
| Over the dusk wave, until the nightly sailor | 12 | ········/˘/˘ |
| Shivering with ecstasy sank upon her bosom. | 13 | /˘˘·/˘˘····/˘ |
| I mix in life, and labour to seem free, | 10 | ·····/···· |
| With common persons pleased and common things, | 11 | ·/˘/˘·˘·/˘· |
| While every thought and action tends to thee, | 11 | ·/˘˘··/˘··· |
| And every impulse from thy influence springs. | 12 | ·/˘˘/˘··/˘˘· |
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