Horace in Love Again
Dear Pettius, once I reeled off rhymeSatiric, sad and tender,But now my quillHas lost its skillAnd I am dying in my primeThrough love of female gender!Nay, do not laughNor deign to chaffYour friend with taunts of LydeAnd other damesWho've been my flames--This time it's bona-fide!
I maunder sadly to and fro--I who was once so jolly!My old time chumsGyrate their thumbsAnd taunt me, as I sighing go,With what they term my folly.I told you once,Lake a garrulous dunce,Of my all consuming passion,And I rolled my eyesIn tragedy wiseAnd raved in lovesick fashion.
And when I'd aired my woes profoundYou volunteered this warning:"Horace, go lightOn the bowl to-night--Ten hours of sleep will bring you roundAll right to-morrow morning!"Now ten hours sleepMay do a heapFor callow hearts a-patter,But I tell you, sir,This affair du coeurOf mine is a serious matter!
Words in this poem
- satiric a.
- Of or pertaining to satire; of the nature of satire; as, a satiric style. [L. satiricus: cf. F. satirique.]
- deign v. t.
- To esteem worthy; to consider worth notice; -- opposed to disdain. [OE. deinen, deignen, OF. degner, deigner, daigner, F. daigner, fr. L. dignari to deem worthy, deign, fr. dignus worthy; akin to decere to be fitting. See Decent]
- sadly adv.
- Wearily; heavily; firmly.
- gyrate a.
- Winding or coiled round; curved into a circle; taking a circular course. [L. gyratus made in a circular form, p. p. of gyrare.]
- garrulous a.
- Talking much, especially about commonplace or trivial things; talkative; loquacious. [L. garrulus, fr. garrire to chatter, talk; cf. Gr. Call.]
- callow a.
- Destitute of feathers; naked; unfledged. [OE. calewe, calu, bald, AS. calu; akin to D. kaal, OHG. chalo, G. Kuhl; cf. L. calvus.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Horace in Love Again 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 in Love Again, in Hoosier Lyrics (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36150, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/field-poems/horace-in-love-again.html, id L11601.
Form and metre
Horace in Love Again is 36 lines in 3 stanzas of 12 lines each. 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.0 syllables. 10 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 50% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABCCABDDEFFE rhymeA · tenderB · quillC · skillC · primeA · genderB · laughD · chaffD · lydeE · damesF · flamesF · fideE
- 2 ABCCAB--DEED froA · jollyB · chumsC · thumbsC · goA · follyB · once · dunce · passionD · eyesE · wiseE · fashionD
- 3 ABCCABDDE--E profoundA · warningB · lightC · nightC · roundA · morningB · sleepD · heapD · patterE · sir · coeur · matterE
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Dear Pettius, once I reeled off rhyme | 8 | ········ |
| Satiric, sad and tender, | 7 | ˘/˘··/˘ |
| But now my quill | 4 | ···· |
| Has lost its skill | 4 | ···· |
| And I am dying in my prime | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Through love of female gender! | 7 | ···/·/˘ |
| Nay, do not laugh | 4 | ···· |
| Nor deign to chaff | 4 | ···· |
| Your friend with taunts of Lyde | 6 | ······ |
| And other dames | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Who've been my flames-- | 4 | ···· |
| This time it's bona-fide! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| I maunder sadly to and fro-- | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| I who was once so jolly! | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| My old time chums | 4 | ···· |
| Gyrate their thumbs | 4 | /··· |
| And taunt me, as I sighing go, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| With what they term my folly. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| I told you once, | 4 | ···· |
| Lake a garrulous dunce, | 6 | ··/˘˘· |
| Of my all consuming passion, | 8 | ···˘/˘/˘ |
| And I rolled my eyes | 5 | ····· |
| In tragedy wise | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| And raved in lovesick fashion. | 8 | ··˘·/˘/˘ |
| And when I'd aired my woes profound | 8 | ······˘/ |
| You volunteered this warning: | 8 | ··˘/˘·/˘ |
| "Horace, go light | 4 | /˘·· |
| On the bowl to-night-- | 5 | ····· |
| Ten hours of sleep will bring you round | 8 | ·/······ |
| All right to-morrow morning!" | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Now ten hours sleep | 5 | ··/˘· |
| May do a heap | 4 | ···· |
| For callow hearts a-patter, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| But I tell you, sir, | 5 | ····· |
| This affair du coeur | 5 | ·˘/·· |
| Of mine is a serious matter! | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
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.