Horace to Phyllis
Come, Phyllis, I've a cask of wineThat fairly reeks with precious juices,And in your tresses you shall twineThe loveliest flowers this vale produces.
My cottage wears a gracious smile,--The altar, decked in floral glory,Yearns for the lamb which bleats the whileAs though it pined for honors gory.
Hither our neighbors nimbly fare,--The boys agog, the maidens snickering;And savory smells possess the airAs skyward kitchen flames are flickering.
You ask what means this grand display,This festive throng, and goodly diet?Well, since you're bound to have your way,I don't mind telling, on the quiet.
'Tis April 13, as you know,--A day and month devote to Venus,Whereon was born, some years ago,My very worthy friend Maecenas.
Nay, pay no heed to Telephus,--Your friends agree he doesn't love you;The way he flirts convinces usHe really is not worthy of you!
Aurora's son, unhappy lad!You know the fate that overtook him?And Pegasus a rider had--I say he had before he shook him!
Haec docet (as you must agree):'T is meet that Phyllis should discoverA wisdom in preferring meAnd mittening every other lover.
So come, O Phyllis, last and bestOf loves with which this heart's been smitten,--Come, sing my jealous fears to rest,And let your songs be those I've written.
Words in this poem
- fairly adv.
- In a fairmanner; clearly; openly; plainly; fully; distinctly; frankly.
- 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,]
- vale n.
- A tract of low ground, or of land between hills; a valley. [OE. val, F. val, L. vallis; perhaps akin to Gr. Avalanche, Vail to lower, Valley.]
- gory a.
- Covered with gore or clotted blood. [From Gore.]
- agog a.
- In eager desire; eager; astir. [Cf. F. gogue fun, perhaps of Celtic origin.]
- skyward a.
- Toward the sky.
- goodly a.
- Pleasant; agreeable; desirable. [OE. godlich, AS. g. See Good, and Like.]
- whereon adv.
- On which; -- used relatively; as, the earth whereon we live.
- shook v. t.
- To pack, as staves, in a shook.
- discover v. i.
- To discover or show one's self.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Horace to Phyllis is in the public domain. This text is taken from A Little Book of Western Verse, Project Gutenberg ebook #9606; 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 to Phyllis, in A Little Book of Western Verse (1889), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9606, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/field-western-verse/horace-to-phyllis.html, id L24663.
Form and metre
Horace to Phyllis is 36 lines in 9 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 7 of its 9 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
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 ABAB wineA · juicesB · twineA · producesB
- 2 ABAB smileA · gloryB · whileA · goryB
- 3 ABAB fareA · snickeringB · airA · flickeringB
- 4 ABAB displayA · dietB · wayA · quietB
- 5 A-A- knowA · venus · agoA · maecenas
- 6 -A-A telephus · youA · us · youA
- 7 ABAB ladA · himB · hadA · himB
- 8 ABAB agreeA · discoverB · meA · loverB
- 9 ABAB bestA · smittenB · restA · writtenB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Come, Phyllis, I've a cask of wine | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| That fairly reeks with precious juices, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| And in your tresses you shall twine | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The loveliest flowers this vale produces. | 10 | ····/··˘/˘ |
| My cottage wears a gracious smile,-- | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The altar, decked in floral glory, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Yearns for the lamb which bleats the while | 8 | ········ |
| As though it pined for honors gory. | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Hither our neighbors nimbly fare,-- | 8 | /˘//˘/˘· |
| The boys agog, the maidens snickering; | 9 | ··˘/·/˘/˘ |
| And savory smells possess the air | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| As skyward kitchen flames are flickering. | 9 | ·//˘··/˘˘ |
| You ask what means this grand display, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| This festive throng, and goodly diet? | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Well, since you're bound to have your way, | 8 | ········ |
| I don't mind telling, on the quiet. | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| 'Tis April 13, as you know,-- | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| A day and month devote to Venus, | 9 | ····˘/·/˘ |
| Whereon was born, some years ago, | 8 | ˘/····˘/ |
| My very worthy friend Maecenas. | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| Nay, pay no heed to Telephus,-- | 8 | ········ |
| Your friends agree he doesn't love you; | 9 | ··˘/·/˘·· |
| The way he flirts convinces us | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| He really is not worthy of you! | 9 | ·/˘··/˘·· |
| Aurora's son, unhappy lad! | 8 | ˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| You know the fate that overtook him? | 9 | ······˘/· |
| And Pegasus a rider had-- | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| I say he had before he shook him! | 9 | ········· |
| Haec docet (as you must agree): | 8 | ······˘/ |
| 'T is meet that Phyllis should discover | 10 | ····/˘·˘/˘ |
| A wisdom in preferring me | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| And mittening every other lover. | 9 | ·/˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| So come, O Phyllis, last and best | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Of loves with which this heart's been smitten,-- | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Come, sing my jealous fears to rest, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And let your songs be those I've written. | 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.