Introductory Verses
Oh! blest art thou whose steps may roveThrough the green paths of vale and grove,Or, leaving all their charms below,Climb the wild mountain’s airy brow;
And gaze afar o’er cultured plains,And cities with their stately fanes,And forests, that beneath thee lie,And ocean mingling with the sky.
For man can show thee naught so fairAs Nature’s varied marvels there;And if thy pure and artless breastCan feel their grandeur, thou art blest!
For thee the stream in beauty flows,For thee the gale of summer blows;And, in deep glen and wood-walk free,Voices of joy still breathe for thee.
But happier far, if then thy soulCan soar to Him who made the whole.If to thine eye the simplest flowerPortray His bounty and His power!
If, in whate’er is bright or grand,Thy mind can trace His viewless hand;If Nature’s music bid thee raiseThy song of gratitude and praise;
If heaven and earth, with beauty fraught,Lead to His throne thy raptured thought;If there thou lovest His love to read--Then, wanderer! thou art blest indeed.
Words in this poem
- vale n.
- A tract of low ground, or of land between hills; a valley. [OE. val, F. val, L. vallis; perhaps akin to Gr. Avalanche, Vail to lower, Valley.]
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
- cultured a.
- Under culture; cultivated.
- bounty n.
- Goodness, kindness; virtue; worth. [OE. bounte goodness, kindness, F. bonté, fr. L. bonitas, fr. bonus good, for older duonus; cf. Skr. duvas honor, respect.]
- viewless a.
- Not perceivable by the eye; invisible; unseen.
- fraught n.
- A freight; a cargo. [OE.fraight, fraght; akin to Dan. fragt, Sw. frakt, D. vracht, G. fracht, cf. OHG. fr merit, reward; perh. from corresponding to E. for + The root of E. own. Cf.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Introductory Verses is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Felicia Hemans, Project Gutenberg ebook #66785; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Felicia Hemans, Introductory Verses, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/introductory-verses.html, id L19608.
Form and metre
Introductory Verses is 28 lines in 7 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABB, complete in 6 of its 7 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
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 AA-- roveA · groveA · below · brow
- 2 AABB plainsA · fanesA · lieB · skyB
- 3 AABB fairA · thereA · breastB · blestB
- 4 AABB flowsA · blowsA · freeB · theeB
- 5 AABB soulA · wholeA · flowerB · powerB
- 6 AABB grandA · handA · raiseB · praiseB
- 7 AABB fraughtA · thoughtA · readB · indeedB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Oh! blest art thou whose steps may rove | 8 | ········ |
| Through the green paths of vale and grove, | 8 | ········ |
| Or, leaving all their charms below, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Climb the wild mountain’s airy brow; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And gaze afar o’er cultured plains, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| And cities with their stately fanes, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And forests, that beneath thee lie, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And ocean mingling with the sky. | 8 | ·//˘˘··· |
| For man can show thee naught so fair | 8 | ········ |
| As Nature’s varied marvels there; | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| And if thy pure and artless breast | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Can feel their grandeur, thou art blest! | 8 | ···˘/··· |
| For thee the stream in beauty flows, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| For thee the gale of summer blows; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And, in deep glen and wood-walk free, | 8 | ········ |
| Voices of joy still breathe for thee. | 8 | /˘······ |
| But happier far, if then thy soul | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Can soar to Him who made the whole. | 8 | ········ |
| If to thine eye the simplest flower | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Portray His bounty and His power! | 9 | ˘/·/˘··/˘ |
| If, in whate’er is bright or grand, | 9 | ··˘˘/···· |
| Thy mind can trace His viewless hand; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| If Nature’s music bid thee raise | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Thy song of gratitude and praise; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| If heaven and earth, with beauty fraught, | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| Lead to His throne thy raptured thought; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| If there thou lovest His love to read-- | 9 | ········· |
| Then, wanderer! thou art blest indeed. | 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.