The "Ars Poetica" of Horace—I
Should painters attach to a fair human headThe thick, turgid neck of a stallion,Or depict a spruce lass with the tail of a bass--I am sure you would guy the rapscallion!
Believe me, dear Pisos, that such a freakIs the crude and preposterous poemWhich merely abounds in a torrent of soundsWith no depth of reason below 'em.
'Tis all very well to give license to art--The wisdom of license defend I;But the line should be drawn at the fripperish sprawnOf a mere cacoethes scribendi.
It is too much the fashion to strain at effects--Yes, that's what's the matter with Hannah!Our popular taste by the tyros debasedPaints each barnyard a grove of Diana!
Should a patron require you to paint a marine,Would you work in some trees with their barks on?When his strict orders are for a Japanese jar,Would you give him a pitcher like Clarkson?
Now this is my moral: Compose what you may,And fame will be ever far distant,Unless you combine with a simple designA treatment in toto consistent.
Words in this poem
- stallion n.
- A male horse not castrated; a male horse kept for breeding. [OE. stalon, OF. estalon, F. étalon, fr. OHG. stal a stable. See Stall, n.]
- lass n.
- A youth woman; a girl; a sweetheart. [OE. lasse; prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. llodes girl, fem. of llawd lad. (Lad a youth.]
- rapscallion n.
- A rascal; a good-for-nothing fellow. Howitt. [See Rascallion.]
- preposterous a.
- Having that first which ought to be last; inverted in order. [L. praeposterus; prae before + posterus coming after, latter. See Posterior.]
- cacoethes n.
- A bad custom or habit; an insatiable desire; as, cacoëthes scribendi,
- barnyard n.
- A yard belonging to a barn.
- diana n.
- The daughter of Jupiter and Latona; a virgin goddess who presided over hunting, chastity, and marriage; -- identified with the Greek goddess Artemis. [L. Diana.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The "Ars Poetica" of Horace—I 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, The "Ars Poetica" of Horace—I, in Hoosier Lyrics (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36150, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/field-poems/the-ars-poetica-of-horace-i.html, id L11618.
Form and metre
The "Ars Poetica" of Horace—I is 24 lines in 6 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is anapaestic common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 76% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in anapaestic common measure.
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 head · stallionA · bass · rapscallionA
- 2 -A-A freak · poemA · sounds · emA
- 4 -A-A effects · hannahA · debased · dianaA
- 5 AA-A marineA · onA · jar · clarksonA
- 6 -A-A may · distantA · design · consistentA
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 anapaestic common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Should painters attach to a fair human head | 11 | ·/˘˘/···/˘· |
| The thick, turgid neck of a stallion, | 9 | ··/˘···/˘ |
| Or depict a spruce lass with the tail of a bass-- | 12 | ·˘/········· |
| I am sure you would guy the rapscallion! | 10 | ·······˘/˘ |
| Believe me, dear Pisos, that such a freak | 10 | ˘/········ |
| Is the crude and preposterous poem | 8 | ····˘/˘/ |
| Which merely abounds in a torrent of sounds | 11 | ·/˘˘/··/˘·· |
| With no depth of reason below 'em. | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| 'Tis all very well to give license to art-- | 11 | ··/˘···/˘·· |
| The wisdom of license defend I; | 9 | ·/˘·/˘˘/· |
| But the line should be drawn at the fripperish sprawn | 12 | ············ |
| Of a mere cacoethes scribendi. | 8 | ········ |
| It is too much the fashion to strain at effects-- | 12 | ·····/˘···˘/ |
| Yes, that's what's the matter with Hannah! | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| Our popular taste by the tyros debased | 10 | //˘·····˘/ |
| Paints each barnyard a grove of Diana! | 10 | ··/····˘/˘ |
| Should a patron require you to paint a marine, | 12 | ··/˘·/····˘/ |
| Would you work in some trees with their barks on? | 10 | ·········· |
| When his strict orders are for a Japanese jar, | 12 | ···/˘····˘/· |
| Would you give him a pitcher like Clarkson? | 10 | ·····/˘·/˘ |
| Now this is my moral: Compose what you may, | 11 | ····/˘˘/··· |
| And fame will be ever far distant, | 9 | ····/˘·/˘ |
| Unless you combine with a simple design | 11 | ···/˘··/˘˘/ |
| A treatment in toto consistent. | 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.