In the Old Theatre, Fiesole
I TRACED the Circus whose gray stones inclineWhere Rome and dim Etruria interjoin,Till came a child who showed an ancient coinThat bore the image of a Constantine.
She lightly passed; nor did she once opineHow, better than all books, she had raised for meIn swift perspective Europe’s historyThrough the vast years of Cæsar’s sceptred line.
For in my distant plot of English loam’Twas but to delve, and straightway there to findCoins of like impress. As with one half blindWhom common simples cure, her act flashed homeIn that mute moment to my opened mindThe power, the pride, the reach of perished Rome.
Words in this poem
- interjoin v. t.
- To join mutually; to unite. [Pref. inter + join.]
- opine v. t.
- To have an opinion; to judge; to think; to suppose. South. [L. opinari, p.p. opinatus; akin to opinus (in comp.) thinking, and perh. to E. apt: cf. F. opiner.]
- perspective a.
- Of or pertaining to the science of vision; optical. [L. perspicere, perspectum, to look through; per + spicere, specere, to look: cf. F. perspectif; or from E. perspective, n. See Spy, n.]
- straightway adv.
- Immediately; without loss of time; without delay.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
In the Old Theatre, Fiesole 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, In the Old Theatre, Fiesole, in Poems of the Past and the Present (1901), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #3168, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hardy-past-and-present/in-the-old-theatre-fiesole.html, id L16864.
Form and metre
In the Old Theatre, Fiesole is 14 lines in 3 stanzas. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic pentameter.
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 ABBA inclineA · interjoinB · coinB · constantineA
- 2 A--A opineA · me · history · lineA
- 3 ABBABA loamA · findB · blindB · homeA · mindB · romeA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I TRACED the Circus whose gray stones incline | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Where Rome and dim Etruria interjoin, | 10 | ·········· |
| Till came a child who showed an ancient coin | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| That bore the image of a Constantine. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| She lightly passed; nor did she once opine | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| How, better than all books, she had raised for me | 11 | ·/˘········ |
| In swift perspective Europe’s history | 9 | ··˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| Through the vast years of Cæsar’s sceptred line. | 9 | ······/˘· |
| For in my distant plot of English loam | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| ’Twas but to delve, and straightway there to find | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Coins of like impress. As with one half blind | 10 | ···˘/····· |
| Whom common simples cure, her act flashed home | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| In that mute moment to my opened mind | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| The power, the pride, the reach of perished Rome. | 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.