A Paraphrase, Circa 1715
Since Chloe is so monstrous fair,With such an eye and such an air,What wonder that the world complainsWhen she each am'rous suit disdains?
Close to her mother's side she clingsAnd mocks the death her folly bringsTo gentle swains that feel the smartsHer eyes inflict upon their hearts.
Whilst thus the years of youth go by,Shall Colin languish, Strephon die?Nay, cruel nymph! come, choose a mate,And choose him ere it be too late!
Words in this poem
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- colin n.
- The American quail or bobwhite. The name is also applied to other related species. See Bobwhite. [F. colin; prop. a dim. of Colas, contr. fr. Nicolas Nicholas.]
- languish v. i.
- To cause to dr Shak.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Paraphrase, Circa 1715 is in the public domain. This text is taken from Hoosier Lyrics, Project Gutenberg ebook #36150; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Eugene Field, A Paraphrase, Circa 1715, in Hoosier Lyrics (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36150, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/field-poems/a-paraphrase-circa-1715.html, id L11592.
Form and metre
A Paraphrase, Circa 1715 is 12 lines in 3 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABB. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 95%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 33% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 AABB fairA · airA · complainsB · disdainsB
- 2 AABB clingsA · bringsA · smartsB · heartsB
- 3 AABB byA · dieA · mateB · lateB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Since Chloe is so monstrous fair, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| With such an eye and such an air, | 8 | ········ |
| What wonder that the world complains | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| When she each am'rous suit disdains? | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Close to her mother's side she clings | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And mocks the death her folly brings | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To gentle swains that feel the smarts | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Her eyes inflict upon their hearts. | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Whilst thus the years of youth go by, | 8 | ········ |
| Shall Colin languish, Strephon die? | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Nay, cruel nymph! come, choose a mate, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And choose him ere it be too late! | 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.