Horace I, 18
O Varus minePlant thou the vineWithin this kindly soil of Tibur;Nor temporal woesNor spiritual knowsThe man who's a discreet imbiber.For who doth croakOf being brokeOr who of warfare, after drinking?With bowl atween us,Of smiling VenusAnd Bacchus shall we sing, I'm thinking.
Of symptoms fellWhich brawls impelHistoric data give us warning;The wretch who fightsWhen full of nightsIs bound to have a head next morning.I do not scornA friendly horn,But noisy toots--I can't abide 'em!Your howling batIs stale and flatTo one who knows, because he's tried 'em!
The secrets ofThe life of love(Companionship with girls and toddy)I would not dragWith drunken bragInto the ken of everybody,But in the shadeLet some coy maidWith smilax wreathe my flagon's nozzle--Then, all day long,With mirth and song,Shall I enjoy a quiet sozzle!
Words in this poem
- varus n.
- A deformity in which the foot is turned inward. See Talipes.
- discreet a.
- Possessed of discernment, especially in avoiding error or evil, and in the adaptation of means to ends; prudent; sagacious; judicious; not rash or heedless; cautious. [F. discret, L. discretus separated (whence the meaning reserved, prudent), p. p. of discernere. See Discern, and cf. Discrete.]
- imbiber n.
- One who, or that which, imbibes.
- croak v. i.
- To make a low, hoarse noise in the throat, as a frog, a raven, or a crow; hence, to make any hoarse, dismal sound. [From the primitive of AS. cracettan to croak as a raven; akin to G. kr to croak, and to E. creak, crake.]
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- atween adv.
- Between. Spenser. [See Atwain, and cf. Between.]
- 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,]
- historic a.
- Of or pertaining to history, or the record of past events; as, an historical poem; the historic page. [L. historicus, Gr. historique. See History.]
- toddy n.
- A juice drawn from various kinds of palms in the East Indies; or, a spirituous liquor procured from it by fermentation. [Formed from Hind. ta the juice of the palmyra tree, popularly, toddy, fr. ta the palmyra tree, Skr. tala.]
- sozzle v. t.
- To splash or wet carelessly; as, to sozzle the feet in water. [Freq. from soss, v.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Horace I, 18 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, Horace I, 18, in Hoosier Lyrics (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36150, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/field-poems/horace-i-18.html, id L11645.
Form and metre
Horace I, 18 is 36 lines in 3 stanzas of 12 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABCCBDDEFFE, complete in 2 of its 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic dimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 95%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 5.8 syllables. 10 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 56% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic dimeter.
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 AA-BB-CCDEED mineA · vineA · tibur · woesB · knowsB · imbiber · croakC · brokeC · drinkingD · usE · venusE · thinkingD
- 2 AABCCBDDEFFE fellA · impelA · warningB · fightsC · nightsC · morningB · scornD · hornD · emE · batF · flatF · emE
- 3 AABCCBDDEFFE ofA · loveA · toddyB · dragC · bragC · everybodyB · shadeD · maidD · nozzleE · longF · songF · sozzleE
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 dimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| O Varus mine | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Plant thou the vine | 4 | ···· |
| Within this kindly soil of Tibur; | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Nor temporal woes | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Nor spiritual knows | 4 | ·/˘· |
| The man who's a discreet imbiber. | 9 | ····˘/˘/˘ |
| For who doth croak | 4 | ···· |
| Of being broke | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Or who of warfare, after drinking? | 9 | ···/···/˘ |
| With bowl atween us, | 5 | ··˘/· |
| Of smiling Venus | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| And Bacchus shall we sing, I'm thinking. | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Of symptoms fell | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Which brawls impel | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Historic data give us warning; | 9 | ˘/˘/˘··/˘ |
| The wretch who fights | 4 | ···· |
| When full of nights | 4 | ···· |
| Is bound to have a head next morning. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| I do not scorn | 4 | ···· |
| A friendly horn, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| But noisy toots--I can't abide 'em! | 9 | ·/˘···˘/· |
| Your howling bat | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Is stale and flat | 4 | ···· |
| To one who knows, because he's tried 'em! | 9 | ········· |
| The secrets of | 4 | ·/˘· |
| The life of love | 4 | ···· |
| (Companionship with girls and toddy) | 9 | ˘/˘····/˘ |
| I would not drag | 4 | ···· |
| With drunken brag | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Into the ken of everybody, | 9 | ·····/˘·˘ |
| But in the shade | 4 | ···· |
| Let some coy maid | 4 | ···· |
| With smilax wreathe my flagon's nozzle-- | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Then, all day long, | 4 | ···· |
| With mirth and song, | 4 | ···· |
| Shall I enjoy a quiet sozzle! | 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.