The "Ars Poetica" of Horace—Xviii
The Greeks had genius--'twas a giftThe Muse vouchsafed in glorious measure;The boon of Fame they made their aimAnd prized above all worldly treasure.
But we--how do we train our youth?Not in the arts that are immortal,But in the greed for gains that speedFrom him who stands at Death's dark portal.
Ah, when this slavish love of goldOnce binds the soul in greasy fetters,How prostrate lies--how droops and diesThe great, the noble cause of letters!
Words in this poem
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- boon n.
- A prayer or petition. [OE. bone, boin, a petition, fr. Icel. b; akin to Sw. & Dan. b, AS. b, and perh. to E. ban; but influenced by F. bon good, fr. L. bonus. Ban, Bounty.]
- greed n.
- An eager desire or longing; greediness; as, a greed of gain. [Akin to Goth. grdus hunger, Icel. graedhr. sq. root34. See Greedy.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The "Ars Poetica" of Horace—Xviii 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—Xviii, in Hoosier Lyrics (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36150, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/field-poems/the-ars-poetica-of-horace-xviii.html, id L11615.
Form and metre
The "Ars Poetica" of Horace—Xviii is 12 lines in 3 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.5 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 42% 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 gift · measureA · aim · treasureA
- 2 -A-A youth · immortalA · speed · portalA
- 3 -AAA gold · fettersA · diesA · lettersA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The Greeks had genius--'twas a gift | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The Muse vouchsafed in glorious measure; | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| The boon of Fame they made their aim | 8 | ········ |
| And prized above all worldly treasure. | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| But we--how do we train our youth? | 8 | ······/· |
| Not in the arts that are immortal, | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| But in the greed for gains that speed | 8 | ········ |
| From him who stands at Death's dark portal. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Ah, when this slavish love of gold | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Once binds the soul in greasy fetters, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| How prostrate lies--how droops and dies | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The great, the noble cause of letters! | 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.