Genius
The time will comeWhen these stupendous piles you deem immortal,Worn out with age, shall moulder on their bases,And down, down, low to endless ruin verging,O'erwhelm'd by dust, be seen and known no more!--Ages ago, in dark oblivion's lapHad they been shrouded, but the atmosphereIn these parch'd climates, hostile to decay,Is pregnant with no rain, that by its moistureMight waste their bulk in such excess of time,And prove them merely mortal.'Twas on this plain the ancient Memphis stood,Her walls encircled these tall pyramids--But where is Pharoah's palace, where the domesOf Egypt's haughty lords?--all, all are gone,And like the phantom snows of a May morningLeft not a vestige to discover them!
Words in this poem
- stupendous a.
- Astonishing; wonderful; amazing; especially, astonishing in magnitude or elevation; as, a stupendous pile. [L. stupendus astonishing, p. future pass. of stupere to be astonished at. Cf. Stupid.]
- deem v. t.
- To decide; to judge; to sentence; to condemn. [OE. demen to judge, condemn, AS. d, fr. d doom; akin to OFries. d, OS. ad, D. doemen, OHG. tuommen, Icel. dæma, Sw. dömma, Dan. dömme, Goth. d. See Doom, n., an]
- 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,]
- moulder n.
- One who, or that which, molds or forms into shape; specifically (Founding), one skilled in the art of making molds for castings.
- haughty a.
- High; lofty; bold. [OE. hautein, F. hautain, fr. haut high, OF. also halt, fr. L. altus. See Altitude.]
- discover v. i.
- To discover or show one's self.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Genius is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Philip Freneau, Poet of the American Revolution. Volume 1 (of 3), Project Gutenberg ebook #38475; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Philip Freneau, Genius, in Poems (1786–1815), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #38475, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/freneau-poems/genius-2.html, id L12703.
Form and metre
Genius is 17 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.8 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 35% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 AB--------B-----A comeA · immortalB · bases · verging · more · lap · atmosphere · decay · moisture · time · mortalB · stood · pyramids · domes · gone · morning · themA
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The time will come | 4 | ···· |
| When these stupendous piles you deem immortal, | 11 | ··˘/˘···˘/˘ |
| Worn out with age, shall moulder on their bases, | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| And down, down, low to endless ruin verging, | 11 | ·····/˘/˘/˘ |
| O'erwhelm'd by dust, be seen and known no more!-- | 10 | ·········· |
| Ages ago, in dark oblivion's lap | 10 | /˘˘/··˘/˘· |
| Had they been shrouded, but the atmosphere | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| In these parch'd climates, hostile to decay, | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Is pregnant with no rain, that by its moisture | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| Might waste their bulk in such excess of time, | 10 | ······/··· |
| And prove them merely mortal. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| 'Twas on this plain the ancient Memphis stood, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Her walls encircled these tall pyramids-- | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘˘ |
| But where is Pharoah's palace, where the domes | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Of Egypt's haughty lords?--all, all are gone, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| And like the phantom snows of a May morning | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Left not a vestige to discover them! | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
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.