Laurel · Thomas Hardy · Poems of the Past and the Present

Genoa and the Mediterranean (March, 1887)

Thomas Hardy (1840–1928) · 1901

iambic pentameter · 43 lines · from Poems of the Past and the Present

O EPIC-FAMED, god-haunted Central Sea,Heave careless of the deep wrong done to theeWhen from Torino’s track I saw thy face first flash on me.

And multimarbled Genova the Proud,Gleam all unconscious how, wide-lipped, up-browed,I first beheld thee clad—not as the Beauty but the Dowd.

Out from a deep-delved way my vision litOn housebacks pink, green, ochreous—where a slitShoreward ’twixt row and row revealed the classic blue through it.

And thereacross waved fishwives’ high-hung smocks,Chrome kerchiefs, scarlet hose, darned underfrocks;Since when too oft my dreams of thee, O Queen, that frippery mocks:

Whereat I grieve, Superba! . . . AfterhoursWithin Palazzo Doria’s orange bowersWent far to mend these marrings of thy soul-subliming powers.

But, Queen, such squalid undress none should see,Those dream-endangering eyewounds no more beWhere lovers first behold thy form in pilgrimage to thee.

(The neighbourhood of Leghorn: March, 1887)

SOMEWHERE afield here something liesIn Earth’s oblivious eyeless trustThat moved a poet to prophecies—A pinch of unseen, unguarded dust

The dust of the lark that Shelley heard,And made immortal through times to be;—Though it only lived like another bird,And knew not its immortality.

Lived its meek life; then, one day, fell—A little ball of feather and bone;And how it perished, when piped farewell,And where it wastes, are alike unknown.

Maybe it rests in the loam I view,Maybe it throbs in a myrtle’s green,Maybe it sleeps in the coming hueOf a grape on the slopes of yon inland scene.

Go find it, faeries, go and findThat tiny pinch of priceless dust,And bring a casket silver-lined,And framed of gold that gems encrust;

And we will lay it safe therein,And consecrate it to endless time;For it inspired a bard to winEcstatic heights in thought and rhyme.

Words in this poem 21

haunted a.: Inhabited by, or subject to the visits of, apparitions; frequented by a ghost.
clad v.: To clothe. Holland.
ochreous a.: Of or pertaining to ocher; containing or resembling ocher; as, ocherous matter; ocherous soil. [Cf. F. ocreux.]
shoreward adv.: Toward the shore.
classic a.: Of or relating to the first class or rank, especially in literature or art. [L. classicus relating to the classes of the Roman people, and especially to the frist class; hence, of the first rank, superior, from classis class: cf. F. clas]
frippery n.: Coast-off clothes. B. Jonson. [F. friperie, fr. fruper. See Fripper.]
whereat adv.: At which; upon which; whereupon; -- used relatively.
went n.: Course; way; path; journey; direction.
squalid a.: Dirty through neglect; foul; filthy; extremely dirty. [L. squalidus, fr. squalere to be foul or filthy.]
pilgrimage n.: The journey of a pilgrim; a long journey; especially, a journey to a shrine or other sacred place. Fig., the journey of human life. [OE. pilgrimage, pelgrinage; cf. F. pèlerinage.]
leghorn n.: A straw plaiting used for bonnets and hats, made from the straw of a particular kind of wheat, grown for the purpose in Tuscany, Italy; -- so called from Leghorn, the place of exportation.
somewhere adv.: In some place unknown or not specified; in one place or another.
afield adv.: To, in, or on the field. [Pref. a- + field.]
oblivious a.: Promoting oblivion; causing forgetfulness. [L.obliviosus: cf.F. oblivieux.]
eyeless a.: Without eyes; blind.
unseen a.: Not seen or discovered.
piped a.: Formed with a pipe; having pipe or pipes; tubular.
maybe adv.: Perhaps; possibly; peradventure. [For it may be.]
priceless a.: Too valuable to admit of being appraised; of inestimable worth; invaluable.
casket v. t.: To put into, or preserve in, a casket.
encrust v. t.: To incrust. See Incrust.

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

Genoa and the Mediterranean (March, 1887) is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems of the Past and the Present, Project Gutenberg ebook #3168; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: Thomas Hardy, Genoa and the Mediterranean (March, 1887), in Poems of the Past and the Present (1901), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3168, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-past-and-present/genoa-and-the-mediterranean-march-1887.html, id L16863.

Form and metre

Genoa and the Mediterranean (March, 1887) is 43 lines in 13 stanzas. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAB, in 5 of the 13 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.8 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 28% 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 AAA sea^A · thee^A · me^A
2 AAA proud^A · browed^A · dowd^A
3 AAA lit^A · slit^A · it^A
4 AAA smocks^A · underfrocks^A · mocks^A
5 AAA afterhours^A · bowers^A · powers^A
6 AAA see^A · be^A · thee^A
8 ABAB lies^A · trust^B · prophecies^A · dust^B
9 A-A- heard^A · be · bird^A · immortality
10 ABAB fell^A · bone^B · farewell^A · unknown^B
11 ABAB view^A · green^B · hue^A · scene^B
12 ABAB find^A · dust^B · lined^A · encrust^B
13 ABAB therein^A · time^B · win^A · rhyme^B

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
O EPIC-FAMED, god-haunted Central Sea,	10	·/˘··/˘/˘·
Heave careless of the deep wrong done to thee	10	·/˘·······
When from Torino’s track I saw thy face first flash on me.	14	··˘/˘·········
And multimarbled Genova the Proud,	8	····/˘··
Gleam all unconscious how, wide-lipped, up-browed,	10	···/˘·····
I first beheld thee clad—not as the Beauty but the Dowd.	14	··˘/·····/˘···
Out from a deep-delved way my vision lit	10	·······/˘·
On housebacks pink, green, ochreous—where a slit	12	······/˘˘···
Shoreward ’twixt row and row revealed the classic blue through it.	14	/˘····˘/·/˘···
And thereacross waved fishwives’ high-hung smocks,	10	··········
Chrome kerchiefs, scarlet hose, darned underfrocks;	10	·/˘/˘·····
Since when too oft my dreams of thee, O Queen, that frippery mocks:	15	···········/˘˘·
Whereat I grieve, Superba! . . . Afterhours	10	˘/·····/·˘
Within Palazzo Doria’s orange bowers	10	··˘/˘/˘/˘/
Went far to mend these marrings of thy soul-subliming powers.	14	·····/˘···˘/˘/
But, Queen, such squalid undress none should see,	10	···/˘˘/···
Those dream-endangering eyewounds no more be	10	··˘/˘·····
Where lovers first behold thy form in pilgrimage to thee.	13	·/˘·˘/···/˘··
(The neighbourhood of Leghorn: March, 1887)	8	·····/˘·
SOMEWHERE afield here something lies	8	/·˘/·/˘·
In Earth’s oblivious eyeless trust	8	··˘/˘/˘·
That moved a poet to prophecies—	9	···/˘·/˘˘
A pinch of unseen, unguarded dust	9	···˘/˘/˘·
The dust of the lark that Shelley heard,	9	······/˘·
And made immortal through times to be;—	9	··˘/˘····
Though it only lived like another bird,	10	··/˘··˘/˘·
And knew not its immortality.	9	·····˘/˘˘
Lived its meek life; then, one day, fell—	8	········
A little ball of feather and bone;	9	·/˘··/˘··
And how it perished, when piped farewell,	9	···/˘···/
And where it wastes, are alike unknown.	9	·····˘/˘/
Maybe it rests in the loam I view,	9	/˘·······
Maybe it throbs in a myrtle’s green,	9	/˘····/˘·
Maybe it sleeps in the coming hue	9	/˘····/˘·
Of a grape on the slopes of yon inland scene.	11	········/··
Go find it, faeries, go and find	7	·······
That tiny pinch of priceless dust,	8	·/˘··/˘·
And bring a casket silver-lined,	8	···/˘/˘·
And framed of gold that gems encrust;	8	······˘/
And we will lay it safe therein,	8	········
And consecrate it to endless time;	9	·/˘···/˘·
For it inspired a bard to win	8	··˘/····
Ecstatic heights in thought and rhyme.	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.

More by Thomas Hardy

Wessex Poems and Other Verses Poems of the Past and the Present