Horace I, 27
In maudlin spite let Thracians fightAbove their bowls of liquor,But such as we, when on a spree,Should never bawl and bicker!
These angry words and clashing swordsAre quite de trop, I'm thinking;Brace up, my boys, and hush your noise,And drown your wrath in drinking.
Aha, 'tis fine--this mellow wineWith which our host would dope us!Now let us hear what pretty dearEntangles him of Opus.
I see you blush--nay, comrades, hush!Come, friend, though they despise you,Tell me the name of that fair dame--Perchance I may advise you.
O wretched youth! and is it truthYou love that fickle lady?I, doting dunce, courted her once,And she is reckoned shady!
Words in this poem
- maudlin a.
- Tearful; easily moved to tears; exciting to tears; excessively sentimental; weak and silly. [From Maudlin, a contr. of Magdalen, OE. Maudeleyne, who is drawn by painters with eyes swelled and red with weeping.]
- bawl v. i.
- To cry out with a loud, full sound; to cry with vehemence, as in calling or exultation; to shout; to vociferate. [Icel. baula to low, bellow, as a cow; akin to Sw. böla; cf. AS bellan, G. bellen to bark, E. bellow, bull.]
- bicker v. i.
- To skirmish; to exchange blows; to fight. [OE. bikeren, perh. fr. Celtic; cf. W. bicra to fight, bicker, bicre conflict, skirmish; perh. akin to E. beak.]
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
- dope n.
- Any thick liquid or pasty preparation, as of opium for medicinal purposes, of grease for a lubricant, etc.
- opus n.
- A work; specif. (Mus.), a musical composition. [L. See Opera.]
- despise v. t.
- To look down upon with disfavor or contempt; to contemn; to scorn; to disdain; to have a low opinion or contemptuous dislike of. [OF. despis-, in some forms of despire to despise, fr. L. despicere, despectum, to look down upon, despise; de- + spicere, specere, to look. See Spy, and cf. Des]
- dame n.
- A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a womam in authority; especially, a lady. [F. dame, LL. domna, fr. L. domina mistress, lady, fem. of dominus master, ruler, lord; akin to domare to tame, subdue. See Tame, and cf. Dam mother, Dan, Danger]
- doting a.
- That dotes; silly; excessively fond.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Horace I, 27 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, 27, in Hoosier Lyrics (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36150, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/field-poems/horace-i-27.html, id L11594.
Form and metre
Horace I, 27 is 20 lines in 5 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.6 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% 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 -A-A fight · liquorA · spree · bickerA
- 2 -A-A swords · thinkingA · noise · drinkingA
- 3 -A-A wine · usA · dear · opusA
- 4 -A-A hush · youA · dame · youA
- 5 -A-A truth · ladyA · once · shadyA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| In maudlin spite let Thracians fight | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Above their bowls of liquor, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| But such as we, when on a spree, | 8 | ········ |
| Should never bawl and bicker! | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| These angry words and clashing swords | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Are quite de trop, I'm thinking; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Brace up, my boys, and hush your noise, | 8 | ········ |
| And drown your wrath in drinking. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Aha, 'tis fine--this mellow wine | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| With which our host would dope us! | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Now let us hear what pretty dear | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Entangles him of Opus. | 7 | ˘/˘··/˘ |
| I see you blush--nay, comrades, hush! | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Come, friend, though they despise you, | 7 | ····˘/· |
| Tell me the name of that fair dame-- | 8 | ········ |
| Perchance I may advise you. | 7 | ˘/··˘/· |
| O wretched youth! and is it truth | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| You love that fickle lady? | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| I, doting dunce, courted her once, | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| And she is reckoned shady! | 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.