Threnodia Augustalis: Veni Creator Spiritus, Paraphrased
CREATOR SPIRIT, by whose aidThe world's foundations first were laid,Come, visit every pious mind;Come, pour thy joys on human kind;From sin and sorrow set us free,And make thy temples worthy thee.
O source of uncreated light,The Father's promised Paraclete!Thrice holy fount, thrice holy fire,Our hearts with heavenly love inspire;Come, and thy sacred unction bringTo sanctify us, while we sing!
Plenteous of grace, descend from high,Rich in thy sevenfold energy!Thou strength of his Almighty hand,Whose power does heaven and earth command:Proceeding Spirit, our defence,Who dost the gifts of tongues dispense,And crown'st thy gift with eloquence!
Refine and purge our earthly parts;But, oh, inflame and fire our hearts!Our frailties help, our vice control,Submit the senses to the soul;And when rebellious they are grown,Then lay thy hand, and hold them down!
Chase from our minds the infernal foe,And peace, the fruit of love, bestow;And, lest our feet should step astray,Protect and guide us in the way.
Make us eternal truths receive,And practise all that we believe:Give us thyself, that we may seeThe Father, and the Son, by thee.
Immortal honour, endless fame,Attend the Almighty Father's nameThe Saviour Son be glorified,Who for lost man's redemption died:And equal adoration be,Eternal Paraclete, to thee!
Words in this poem
- paraclete n.
- An advocate; one called to aid or support; hence, the Consoler, Comforter, or Intercessor; -- a term applied to the Holy Spirit.
- unction n.
- The act of anointing, smearing, or rubbing with an unguent, oil, or ointment, especially for medical purposes, or as a symbol of consecration; as, mercurial unction. [OE. unccioun, uncioun, OF. oncion, onction, F. onction, fr. L. unctio, fr. ungere, unctum, to anoint. See Unguent.]
- sanctify v. t.
- To make sacred or holy; to set apart to a holy or religious use; to consecrate by appropriate rites; to hallow. [F. sanctifier, L. sanctificare; sanctus holy + - ficare (in comp.) to make. See Saint, and -fy.]
- sevenfold a.
- Repeated seven times; having seven thicknesses; increased to seven times the size or amount.
- defence n.
- The act of defending, or the state of being defended; protection, as from violence or danger. [F. défense, OF. defense, fem., defens, masc., fr. L. defensa (cf. Fence.]
- dispense v. i.
- To compensate; to make up; to make amends.
- rebellious a.
- Engaged in rebellion; disposed to rebel of the nature of rebels or of rebellion; resisting government or lawful authority by force.
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- 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
Threnodia Augustalis: Veni Creator Spiritus, Paraphrased is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of John Dryden, Volume 1 With Life, Critical Dissertation, and Explanatory Notes, Project Gutenberg ebook #11488; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Dryden, Threnodia Augustalis: Veni Creator Spiritus, Paraphrased, in Absalom and Achitophel, and Other Poems (1660–1700), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #11488, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dryden-poems/threnodia-augustalis-veni-creator-spiritus-paraphrased.html, id L17469.
Form and metre
Threnodia Augustalis: Veni Creator Spiritus, Paraphrased is 39 lines in 7 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is AABBCC, complete in 4 of its 7 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See 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 AABBCC aidA · laidA · mindB · kindB · freeC · theeC
- 2 AABBCC lightA · paracleteA · fireB · inspireB · bringC · singC
- 3 --AABBB high · energy · handA · commandA · defenceB · dispenseB · eloquenceB
- 4 AABBCC partsA · heartsA · controlB · soulB · grownC · downC
- 5 AABB foeA · bestowA · astrayB · wayB
- 6 AABB receiveA · believeA · seeB · theeB
- 7 AABBCC fameA · nameA · glorifiedB · diedB · beC · theeC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| CREATOR SPIRIT, by whose aid | 8 | ˘/˘/˘··· |
| The world's foundations first were laid, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Come, visit every pious mind; | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Come, pour thy joys on human kind; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| From sin and sorrow set us free, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And make thy temples worthy thee. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| O source of uncreated light, | 7 | ······· |
| The Father's promised Paraclete! | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘˘ |
| Thrice holy fount, thrice holy fire, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Our hearts with heavenly love inspire; | 8 | /··/˘·˘/ |
| Come, and thy sacred unction bring | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| To sanctify us, while we sing! | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Plenteous of grace, descend from high, | 9 | /˘˘··˘/·· |
| Rich in thy sevenfold energy! | 9 | ···/˘·/˘˘ |
| Thou strength of his Almighty hand, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Whose power does heaven and earth command: | 8 | ·/·/··˘/ |
| Proceeding Spirit, our defence, | 8 | ˘/˘//˘˘/ |
| Who dost the gifts of tongues dispense, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And crown'st thy gift with eloquence! | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Refine and purge our earthly parts; | 8 | ˘/··//˘· |
| But, oh, inflame and fire our hearts! | 8 | ··˘/·//· |
| Our frailties help, our vice control, | 8 | //˘·/·˘/ |
| Submit the senses to the soul; | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| And when rebellious they are grown, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Then lay thy hand, and hold them down! | 8 | ········ |
| Chase from our minds the infernal foe, | 9 | ··/··˘/˘· |
| And peace, the fruit of love, bestow; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And, lest our feet should step astray, | 8 | ··/···˘/ |
| Protect and guide us in the way. | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Make us eternal truths receive, | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| And practise all that we believe: | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Give us thyself, that we may see | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| The Father, and the Son, by thee. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Immortal honour, endless fame, | 8 | ˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| Attend the Almighty Father's name | 9 | ˘/·˘/˘/˘· |
| The Saviour Son be glorified, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Who for lost man's redemption died: | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| And equal adoration be, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Eternal Paraclete, to thee! | 8 | ˘/˘/˘˘·· |
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.