The Pictures of Columbus: Picture VI
While Turkish queens, dejected, pine,Compell'd sweet freedom to resign;And taught one virtue, to obey,Lament some eastern tyrant's sway,
Queen of our hearts, bright Isabell!A happier lot to you has fell,Who makes a nation's bliss your own,And share the rich Castilian throne.
Exalted thus, beyond all fame,Assist, fair lady, that proud aimWhich would your native reign extendTo the wide world's remotest end.
From science, fed by busy thought,New wonders to my view are brought:The vast abyss beyond our shoreI deem impassable no more.
Let those that love to dream or sleepPretend no limits to the deep:I see beyond the rolling mainAbounding wealth reserv'd for Spain.
From Nature's earliest days conceal'd,Men of their own these climates yield,And scepter'd dames, no doubt, are there,Queens like yourself, but not so fair.
But what should most provoke desireAre the fine pearls that they admire,And diamonds bright and coral greenMore fit to grace a Spanish queen.
Their yellow shells, and virgin gold,And silver, for our trinkets sold,Shall well reward this toil and pain,And bid our commerce shine again.
As men were forc'd from Eden's shadeBy errors that a woman made,Permit me at a woman's costTo find the climates that we lost.
He that with you partakes command,The nation's hope, great Ferdinand,Attends, indeed, to my request,But wants no empires in the west.
Then, queen, supply the swelling sail,For eastward breathes the steady galeThat shall the meanest barque conveyTo regions richer than Cathay.
Arriv'd upon that flowery coastWhole towns of golden temples boast,While these bright objects strike our viewTheir wealth shall be reserv'd for you.
Each swarthy king shall yield his crown,And smiling lay their sceptres down,When they, not tam'd by force of arms,Shall hear the story of your charms.
Did I an empty dream pursueGreat honour still must wait on you,Who sent the lads of Spain to keepSuch vigils on the untravell'd deep,
Who fix'd the bounds of land and sea,Trac'd Nature's works through each degree,Imagin'd some unheard of shoreBut prov'd that there was nothing more.
Yet happier prospects, I maintain,Shall open on your female reign,While ages hence with rapture tellHow much they owe to Isabell!
Words in this poem
- castilian n.
- An inhabitant or native of Castile, in Spain. [Sp. castellano, from Castila, NL. Castilia, Castella. Castile, which received its name from the castles erected on the frontiers as a barrier against the Moors.]
- 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]
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- admire v. t.
- To regard with wonder or astonishment; to view with surprise; to marvel at. [F. admirer, fr. L. admirari; ad + mirari to wonder, for smirari, akin to Gr. smi, and E. smile.]
- 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,]
- barque n.
- Formerly, any small sailing vessel, as a pinnace, fishing smack, etc.; also, a rowing boat; a barge. Now applied poetically to a sailing vessel or boat of any kind. [F. barque, fr. Sp. or It. barca, fr. LL. barca for barica. See Barge.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- unheard a.
- Not heard; not perceived by the ear; as, words unheard by those present.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Pictures of Columbus: Picture VI 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, The Pictures of Columbus: Picture VI, in Columbus to Ferdinand, and other poems (1786–1815), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #38475, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/freneau-poems/the-pictures-of-columbus-picture-vi.html, id L26052.
Form and metre
The Pictures of Columbus: Picture VI is 64 lines in 16 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABB, complete in 15 of its 16 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%).
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 AABB pineA · resignA · obeyB · swayB
- 2 AABB isabellA · fellA · ownB · throneB
- 3 AABB fameA · aimA · extendB · endB
- 4 AABB thoughtA · broughtA · shoreB · moreB
- 5 AABB sleepA · deepA · mainB · spainB
- 6 AABB conceal'dA · yieldA · thereB · fairB
- 7 --AA desire · admire · greenA · queenA
- 8 AABB goldA · soldA · painB · againB
- 9 AABB shadeA · madeA · costB · lostB
- 10 AABB commandA · ferdinandA · requestB · westB
- 11 AABB sailA · galeA · conveyB · cathayB
- 12 AABB coastA · boastA · viewB · youB
- 13 AABB crownA · downA · armsB · charmsB
- 14 AABB pursueA · youA · keepB · deepB
- 15 AABB seaA · degreeA · shoreB · moreB
- 16 AABB maintainA · reignA · tellB · isabellB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| While Turkish queens, dejected, pine, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Compell'd sweet freedom to resign; | 8 | ˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| And taught one virtue, to obey, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Lament some eastern tyrant's sway, | 8 | ˘/·/˘/˘· |
| Queen of our hearts, bright Isabell! | 8 | ··/··˘˘/ |
| A happier lot to you has fell, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Who makes a nation's bliss your own, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And share the rich Castilian throne. | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Exalted thus, beyond all fame, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| Assist, fair lady, that proud aim | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| Which would your native reign extend | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| To the wide world's remotest end. | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| From science, fed by busy thought, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| New wonders to my view are brought: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The vast abyss beyond our shore | 8 | ··˘/··/· |
| I deem impassable no more. | 8 | ··˘/˘˘·· |
| Let those that love to dream or sleep | 8 | ········ |
| Pretend no limits to the deep: | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| I see beyond the rolling main | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Abounding wealth reserv'd for Spain. | 8 | ˘/˘·˘/·· |
| From Nature's earliest days conceal'd, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Men of their own these climates yield, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And scepter'd dames, no doubt, are there, | 8 | ········ |
| Queens like yourself, but not so fair. | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| But what should most provoke desire | 9 | ····˘/˘/˘ |
| Are the fine pearls that they admire, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And diamonds bright and coral green | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| More fit to grace a Spanish queen. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Their yellow shells, and virgin gold, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And silver, for our trinkets sold, | 8 | ·/˘·//˘· |
| Shall well reward this toil and pain, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| And bid our commerce shine again. | 8 | ··//˘·˘/ |
| As men were forc'd from Eden's shade | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| By errors that a woman made, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Permit me at a woman's cost | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| To find the climates that we lost. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| He that with you partakes command, | 8 | ····˘/˘/ |
| The nation's hope, great Ferdinand, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Attends, indeed, to my request, | 8 | ˘/˘/··˘/ |
| But wants no empires in the west. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Then, queen, supply the swelling sail, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| For eastward breathes the steady gale | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| That shall the meanest barque convey | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| To regions richer than Cathay. | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Arriv'd upon that flowery coast | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| Whole towns of golden temples boast, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| While these bright objects strike our view | 8 | ···˘/·/· |
| Their wealth shall be reserv'd for you. | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Each swarthy king shall yield his crown, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And smiling lay their sceptres down, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| When they, not tam'd by force of arms, | 8 | ········ |
| Shall hear the story of your charms. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Did I an empty dream pursue | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Great honour still must wait on you, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Who sent the lads of Spain to keep | 8 | ········ |
| Such vigils on the untravell'd deep, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Who fix'd the bounds of land and sea, | 8 | ········ |
| Trac'd Nature's works through each degree, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Imagin'd some unheard of shore | 8 | ˘/˘·˘/·· |
| But prov'd that there was nothing more. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Yet happier prospects, I maintain, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Shall open on your female reign, | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| While ages hence with rapture tell | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| How much they owe to Isabell! | 8 | ·····˘˘/ |
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.