Variations
How have I trembled, when, at Tancred's side,Like him I stalk'd, and all his passions felt;When charm'd by Ismen, through the forest wide,Bark'd in each plant a talking spirit dwelt!
Hence, sure to charm, his early numbers flow,Though strong, yet sweet----Though faithful, sweet; though strong, of simple kind.Hence, with each theme, he bids the bosom glow,While his warm lays an easy passage find,Pour'd through each inmost nerve, and lull the harmonious ear.
Words in this poem
- inmost a.
- Deepest within; farthest from the surface or external part; innermost. [OE. innemest, AS. innemest, a double superlative form fr. inne within, fr. in in. The modern form is due to confusion with most. See In, and cf. Aftermost, Fore]
- lull v. t.
- To cause to rest by soothing influences; to compose; to calm; to soothe; to quiet. [Akin to OD. lullen to sing to sleep, G. lullen, Dan. lulle, Sw. lulla; all of imitative origin. Cf. Loll, Lollard.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Variations 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, Variations, in Poetical Works (1746), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #29879, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/collins-poems/variations-3.html, id L13357.
Form and metre
Variations is 10 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.7 syllables.
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 ABAB sideA · feltB · wideA · dweltB
- 2 A-BAB- flowA · sweet · kindB · glowA · findB · ear
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 |
|---|---|---|
| How have I trembled, when, at Tancred's side, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Like him I stalk'd, and all his passions felt; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| When charm'd by Ismen, through the forest wide, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Bark'd in each plant a talking spirit dwelt! | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Hence, sure to charm, his early numbers flow, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Though strong, yet sweet---- | 4 | ···· |
| Though faithful, sweet; though strong, of simple kind. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Hence, with each theme, he bids the bosom glow, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| While his warm lays an easy passage find, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Pour'd through each inmost nerve, and lull the harmonious ear. | 13 | ···/˘····˘/˘· |
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.