Stanza
"Cassada shrubs abound, whose poison root,Supplies the want of snow-white Northern flour;This grated fine, and steep'd in water fair,Forsakes each particle of noxious power."
"He pants a land of freedom and repose,Where cruel slavery never sought to reign,O quit thee them, my muse, and tell me why."
"But now the winds are past, the storm subsides,All nature smiles again serenely gay,The beauteous groves renew'd--how shall I leaveMy green retreat at Butler's verdant bay."
"Fain would I view my native climes again,But murder marks the cruel Briton there--Contented here I rest, in spite of pain,And quaff the enlivening juice in spite of care."
"The misty night sits heavy on the sea,Yon lagging sail drags slowly o'er the main,Night and its kindred glooms are nought to me."
"Then shepherd haste, and leave behind thee farThe bloody plains and iron glooms above,Quit thy cold northern star, and here enjoy,Beneath the smiling skies this land of love."
"The native here, in golden plenty blest,Bids from the soil the verdant harvests spring;Feasts in the abundant dome, the joyous guest;Time short,--life easy,--pleasure on the wing."
Words in this poem
- grated a.
- Furnished with a grate or grating; as, grated windows. [From 2d Grate.]
- serenely adv.
- In a serene manner; clearly.
- beauteous a.
- Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
- 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,]
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- quaff v. t.
- To drink with relish; to drink copiously of; to swallow in large draughts. [For quach, fr. Gael. & Ir. cuach a drinking cup; cf. L. caucus a drinking vessel. Cf. Quaigh.]
- lagging n.
- The clothing (esp., an outer, wooden covering), as of a steam cylinder, applied to prevent the radiation of heat; a covering of lags; -- called also deading and cleading.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Stanza 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, Stanza, in Poems (1786–1815), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #38475, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/freneau-poems/stanza.html, id L12744.
Form and metre
Stanza is 26 lines in 7 stanzas. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAB, in 2 of the 7 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 8% 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 -A-A root · flourA · fair · powerA
- 3 -A-A subsides · gayA · leave · bayA
- 4 ABAB againA · thereB · painA · careB
- 5 A-A seaA · main · meA
- 6 -A-A far · aboveA · enjoy · loveA
- 7 ABAB blestA · springB · guestA · wingB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| "Cassada shrubs abound, whose poison root, | 10 | ˘/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| Supplies the want of snow-white Northern flour; | 11 | ˘/·····/˘/˘ |
| This grated fine, and steep'd in water fair, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Forsakes each particle of noxious power." | 11 | ˘/·/˘˘·/˘/˘ |
| "He pants a land of freedom and repose, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Where cruel slavery never sought to reign, | 10 | ·//˘˘/˘··· |
| O quit thee them, my muse, and tell me why." | 10 | ·········· |
| "But now the winds are past, the storm subsides, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| All nature smiles again serenely gay, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘/˘· |
| The beauteous groves renew'd--how shall I leave | 11 | ·/˘˘·˘/···· |
| My green retreat at Butler's verdant bay." | 10 | ··˘/·/˘/˘· |
| "Fain would I view my native climes again, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| But murder marks the cruel Briton there-- | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Contented here I rest, in spite of pain, | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| And quaff the enlivening juice in spite of care." | 11 | ···˘/˘····· |
| "The misty night sits heavy on the sea, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Yon lagging sail drags slowly o'er the main, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Night and its kindred glooms are nought to me." | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| "Then shepherd haste, and leave behind thee far | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| The bloody plains and iron glooms above, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Quit thy cold northern star, and here enjoy, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Beneath the smiling skies this land of love." | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| "The native here, in golden plenty blest, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Bids from the soil the verdant harvests spring; | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Feasts in the abundant dome, the joyous guest; | 11 | ···˘/˘··/˘· |
| Time short,--life easy,--pleasure on the wing." | 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.