Genius
At Alexandria rises Pompey's pillar,Whose birth is but of yesterday, compar'dWith those prodigious fabricks that you seeO'er yonder distant plain--upon whose breastOld Nile hath never roll'd his swelling streams,The only plain so privileg'd in Egypt.These pyramids may well excite your wonder,They are of most remote antiquity,Almost co-eval with those cloud-crown'd hillsThat westward from them rise--'twas the same ageThat saw old Babel's tower aspiring high,When first the sage Egyptian architectsThese ancient turrets to the heavens rais'd;--But Babel's tower is gone, and these remain!
Talk not of Rome!--before they lopt a bushFrom the seven hills where Rome, earth's empress, stood,These pyramids were old--their birth day isBeyond tradition's reach, or history.
Words in this poem
- prodigious a.
- Of the nature of a prodigy; marvelous; wonderful; portentous. [L. prodigiosus, fr. prodigium a prodigy; cf. F. prodigieux. See Prodigy.]
- yonder adv.
- At a distance, but within view. [OE. yonder, ýonder; cf. OD. ginder, Goth. jaindr there. Yond, adv.]
- aspiring a.
- That aspires; as, an Aspiring mind.
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.html, id L12701.
Form and metre
Genius is 18 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 44% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter, other poems in blank verse.
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| At Alexandria rises Pompey's pillar, | 11 | ··˘/˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| Whose birth is but of yesterday, compar'd | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| With those prodigious fabricks that you see | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| O'er yonder distant plain--upon whose breast | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Old Nile hath never roll'd his swelling streams, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| The only plain so privileg'd in Egypt. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·/˘ |
| These pyramids may well excite your wonder, | 11 | ·/˘˘··˘/·/˘ |
| They are of most remote antiquity, | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘˘ |
| Almost co-eval with those cloud-crown'd hills | 10 | /··/˘····· |
| That westward from them rise--'twas the same age | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| That saw old Babel's tower aspiring high, | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| When first the sage Egyptian architects | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘· |
| These ancient turrets to the heavens rais'd;-- | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| But Babel's tower is gone, and these remain! | 10 | ·/˘/····˘/ |
| Talk not of Rome!--before they lopt a bush | 10 | ·········· |
| From the seven hills where Rome, earth's empress, stood, | 10 | ··/····/˘· |
| These pyramids were old--their birth day is | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| Beyond tradition's reach, or history. | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘˘ |
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