An Ode
Farewell, for clearer ken design'd,The dim-discover'd tracts of mind;Truths which, from action's paths retired,My silent search in vain required!No more my sail that deep explores;No more I search those magic shores;What regions part the world of soul,Or whence thy streams, Opinion, roll:If e'er I round such fairy field,Some power impart the spear and shield,At which the wizard Passions fly;By which the giant Follies die!
Farewell the porch whose roof is seenArch'd with the enlivening olive's green:Where Science, prank'd in tissued vest,By Reason, Pride, and Fancy drest,Comes, like a bride, so trim array'd,To wed with Doubt in Plato's shade!
Youth of the quick uncheated sight,Thy walks, Observance, more invite!O thou who lovest that ampler range,Where life's wide prospects round thee change,And, with her mingling sons allied,Throw'st the prattling page aside,To me, in converse sweet, impartTo read in man the native heart;To learn, where Science sure is found,From Nature as she lives around;And, gazing oft her mirror true,By turns each shifting image view!Till meddling Art's officious loreReverse the lessons taught before;Alluring from a safer rule,To dream in her enchanted school:Thou, Heaven, whate'er of great we boast,Hast blest this social science most.
Retiring hence to thoughtful cell,As Fancy breathes her potent spell,Not vain she finds the charmful task,In pageant quaint, in motley mask;Behold, before her musing eyes,The countless Manners round her rise;While, ever varying as they pass,To some Contempt applies her glass:With these the white-robed maids combine;And those the laughing satyrs join!But who is he whom now she views,In robe of wild contending hues?Thou by the Passions nursed, I greetThe comic sock that binds thy feet!O Humour, thou whose name is knownTo Britain's favour'd isle alone:Me too amidst thy band admit;There where the young-eyed healthful Wit,(Whose jewels in his crispéd hairAre placed each other's beams to share;Whom no delights from thee divide)In laughter loosed, attends thy side.
By old Miletus, who so longHas ceased his love-inwoven song;By all you taught the Tuscan maids,In changed Italia's modern shades;By him whose knight's distinguish'd nameRefined a nation's lust of fame;Whose tales e'en now, with echoes sweet,Castilia's Moorish hills repeat;Or him whom Seine's blue nymphs deplore,In watchet weeds on Gallia's shore;Who drew the sad Sicilian maid,By virtues in her sire betray'd.
O Nature boon, from whom proceedEach forceful thought, each prompted deed;If but from thee I hope to feel,On all my heart imprint thy seal!Let some retreating cynic findThose oft-turn'd scrolls I leave behind:The Sports and I this hour agree,To rove thy scene-full world with thee!
Words in this poem 21
- clearer n.
- One who, or that which, clears.
- tissued a.
- Clothed in, or adorned with, tissue; also, variegated; as, tissued flowers.
- vest n.
- An article of clothing covering the person; an outer garment; a vestment; a dress; a vesture; a robe. [L. vestis a garment, vesture; akin to Goth. wasti, and E. wear: cf. F. veste. See Wear to carry on the person, and cf. Divest, Invest, Travesty.]
- enchanted a.
- Under the power of enchantment; possessed or exercised by enchanters; as, an enchanted castle.
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- charmful a.
- Abounding with charms.
- pageant n.
- A theatrical exhibition; a spectacle. [OE. pagent, pagen, originally, a movable scaffold or stage, hence, what was exhibited on it, fr. LL. pagina, akin to pangere to fasten; cf. L. pagina page, leaf]
- quaint a.
- Prudent; wise; hence, crafty; artful; wily. [OE. queint, queynte, coint, prudent, wise, cunning, pretty, odd, OF. cointe cultivated, amiable, agreeable, neat, fr. L. cognitus known, p. p. of cognoscere to ]
- countless a.
- Incapable of being counted; not ascertainable; innumerable.
- sock n.
- A plowshare. Edin. Encyc. [F. soc, LL. soccus, perhaps of Celtic origin.]
- humour n.
- Moisture, especially, the moisture or fluid of animal bodies, as the chyle, lymph, etc.; as, the humors of the eye, etc. [OE. humour, OF. humor, umor, F. humeur, L. humor, umor, moisture, fluid, fr. humere, umere, to be moist. See Humid.]
- isle v. t.
- To cause to become an island, or like an island; to surround or encompass; to island.
- amidst 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]
- lust v. i.
- To list; to like. [AS. lystan. See Lust, n., and cf. List to choose.]
- deplore v. t.
- To feel or to express deep and poignant grief for; to bewail; to lament; to mourn; to sorrow over. [L. deplorare; de- + plorare to cry out, wail, lament; prob. akin to pluere to rain, and to E. flow: cf. F. déplorer. Cf. Flow.]
- watchet a.
- Pale or light blue. [Probably from F. vaciet bilberry, whortleberry; cf. L. vaccinium blueberry, whortleberry.]
- sicilian a.
- Of or pertaining to Sicily or its inhabitants. Sicilian vespers, the great massacre of the French in Sicily, in the year 1282, on the evening of Easter Monday, at the hour of vespers.
- sire n.
- A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.]
- boon n.
- A prayer or petition. [OE. bone, boin, a petition, fr. Icel. b; akin to Sw. & Dan. b, AS. b, and perh. to E. ban; but influenced by F. bon good, fr. L. bonus. Ban, Bounty.]
- forceful a.
- Full of or processing force; exerting force; mighty.
- cynic a.
- Having the qualities of a surly dog; snarling; captious; currish. [L. cynicus of the sect of Cynics, fr. Gr. Hound.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
An Ode is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of William Collins; With a Memoir, Project Gutenberg ebook #29879; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Collins, An Ode, in Poetical Works (1746), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #29879, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/collins-poems/an-ode.html, id L13353.
Form and metre
An Ode is 78 lines in 6 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.3 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 13% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, 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 AABBCCDDEEFF design'dA · mindA · retiredB · requiredB · exploresC · shoresC · soulD · rollD · fieldE · shieldE · flyF · dieF
- 2 AABBCC seenA · greenA · vestB · drestB · array'dC · shadeC
- 3 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHII sightA · inviteA · rangeB · changeB · alliedC · asideC · impartD · heartD · foundE · aroundE · trueF · viewF · loreG · beforeG · ruleH · schoolH · boastI · mostI
- 4 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKK cellA · spellA · taskB · maskB · eyesC · riseC · passD · glassD · combineE · joinE · viewsF · huesF · greetG · feetG · knownH · aloneH · admitI · witI · hairJ · shareJ · divideK · sideK
- 5 AABBCCDDEEFF longA · songA · maidsB · shadesB · nameC · fameC · sweetD · repeatD · deploreE · shoreE · maidF · betray'dF
- 6 AABBCCDD proceedA · deedA · feelB · sealB · findC · behindC · agreeD · theeD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Farewell, for clearer ken design'd, | 8 | ·/·/˘·˘/ |
| The dim-discover'd tracts of mind; | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Truths which, from action's paths retired, | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| My silent search in vain required! | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘˘ |
| No more my sail that deep explores; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| No more I search those magic shores; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| What regions part the world of soul, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Or whence thy streams, Opinion, roll: | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| If e'er I round such fairy field, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Some power impart the spear and shield, | 9 | ·/˘˘/···· |
| At which the wizard Passions fly; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| By which the giant Follies die! | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Farewell the porch whose roof is seen | 8 | ·/······ |
| Arch'd with the enlivening olive's green: | 10 | ···˘/˘˘/˘· |
| Where Science, prank'd in tissued vest, | 9 | ·/˘··/·˘· |
| By Reason, Pride, and Fancy drest, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Comes, like a bride, so trim array'd, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| To wed with Doubt in Plato's shade! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Youth of the quick uncheated sight, | 8 | ········ |
| Thy walks, Observance, more invite! | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| O thou who lovest that ampler range, | 9 | ········· |
| Where life's wide prospects round thee change, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And, with her mingling sons allied, | 9 | ···/˘˘·/· |
| Throw'st the prattling page aside, | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| To me, in converse sweet, impart | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| To read in man the native heart; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To learn, where Science sure is found, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| From Nature as she lives around; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And, gazing oft her mirror true, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| By turns each shifting image view! | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Till meddling Art's officious lore | 9 | ·/˘˘·˘/˘· |
| Reverse the lessons taught before; | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| Alluring from a safer rule, | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| To dream in her enchanted school: | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Thou, Heaven, whate'er of great we boast, | 10 | ·/˘˘˘/···· |
| Hast blest this social science most. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Retiring hence to thoughtful cell, | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| As Fancy breathes her potent spell, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Not vain she finds the charmful task, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In pageant quaint, in motley mask; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Behold, before her musing eyes, | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| The countless Manners round her rise; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| While, ever varying as they pass, | 9 | ·/˘/˘˘··· |
| To some Contempt applies her glass: | 8 | ··˘/˘/·· |
| With these the white-robed maids combine; | 9 | ·····˘·˘/ |
| And those the laughing satyrs join! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But who is he whom now she views, | 8 | ········ |
| In robe of wild contending hues? | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Thou by the Passions nursed, I greet | 9 | ···/˘·˘·· |
| The comic sock that binds thy feet! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| O Humour, thou whose name is known | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To Britain's favour'd isle alone: | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Me too amidst thy band admit; | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| There where the young-eyed healthful Wit, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| (Whose jewels in his crispéd hair | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Are placed each other's beams to share; | 9 | ··˘·/˘··· |
| Whom no delights from thee divide) | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| In laughter loosed, attends thy side. | 9 | ·/˘·˘˘/·· |
| By old Miletus, who so long | 8 | ········ |
| Has ceased his love-inwoven song; | 9 | ··˘······ |
| By all you taught the Tuscan maids, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In changed Italia's modern shades; | 10 | ··˘˘/˘˘/˘· |
| By him whose knight's distinguish'd name | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Refined a nation's lust of fame; | 9 | ˘/˘·/˘··· |
| Whose tales e'en now, with echoes sweet, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Castilia's Moorish hills repeat; | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Or him whom Seine's blue nymphs deplore, | 9 | ···/˘··˘/ |
| In watchet weeds on Gallia's shore; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Who drew the sad Sicilian maid, | 9 | ····˘/˘˘· |
| By virtues in her sire betray'd. | 9 | ·/˘··/˘˘/ |
| O Nature boon, from whom proceed | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Each forceful thought, each prompted deed; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| If but from thee I hope to feel, | 8 | ········ |
| On all my heart imprint thy seal! | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Let some retreating cynic find | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| Those oft-turn'd scrolls I leave behind: | 8 | ········ |
| The Sports and I this hour agree, | 9 | ·····/˘˘/ |
| To rove thy scene-full world with thee! | 8 | ········ |
Notes from the edition 3
Notes to the Poetical Works of William Collins, ed. W. C. Bronson (Project Gutenberg #29879).
- Stanza 5, line 1 Alluding to the Milesian tales, some of the earliest romances. C.
- Stanza 5, line 5 Cervantes. C.
- Stanza 5, line 9 Monsieur Le Sage, author of the incomparable Adventures of Gil Blas de Santillane, who died in Paris in the year 1745. C.
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