Lines: Written in the Memoirs of Elizabeth Smith
O thou! whose pure, exalted mind,Lives in this record, fair and bright;O thou! whose blameless life combinedSoft female charms, and grace refined,With science and with light!Celestial maid! whose spirit soar’dBeyond this vale of tears--Whose clear, enlighten’d eye exploredThe lore of years!
Daughter of Heaven! if here, e’en here,The wing of towering thought was thine;If, on this dim and mundane sphere,Fair truth illumed thy bright career,With morning-star divine;How must thy bless’d ethereal soulNow kindle in her noontide ray,And hail, unfetter’d by control,The Fount of Day!
E’en now, perhaps, thy seraph eyes,Undimm’d by doubt, nor veil’d by fear,Behold a chain of wonders rise--Gaze on the noon-beam of the skies,Transcendant, pure, and clear!E’en now, the fair, the good, the true,From mortal sight conceal’d,Bless in one blaze thy raptured view,In light reveal’d!
If here the lore of distant time,And learning’s flowers, were all thine own;How must thy mind ascend sublime,Matured in heaven’s empyreal clime,To light’s unclouded throne!Perhaps e’en now thy kindling glanceEach orb of living fire explores,Darts o’er creation’s wide expanse,Admires--adores!
Oh! if that lightning-eye surveysThis dark and sublunary plain;How must the wreath of human praiseFade, wither, vanish, in thy gaze,So dim, so pale, so vain!How, like a faint and shadowy dream,Must quiver learning’s brightest ray;While on thine eyes, with lucid stream,The sun of glory pours his beam,Perfection’s day!
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.]
- towering a.
- Very high; elevated; rising aloft; as, a towering height.
- mundane a.
- Of or pertaining to the world; worldly; earthly; terrestrial; as, the mundane sphere. [L. mundanus, fr. mundus the world, an implement, toilet adornments, or dress; cf. mundus, a., clean, neat, Skr. mansds to adorn, dress, mansdsa adornment. Cf. M]
- career n.
- A race course: the ground run over. [F. carrière race course, high road, street, fr. L. carrus wagon. See Car.]
- noontide n.
- The time of noon; midday. [From noon + tide time; cf. AS. n the ninth hour.]
- empyreal a.
- Formed of pure fire or light; refined beyond aërial substance; pertaining to the highest and purest region of heaven. [L. empyrius, empyreus, fiery, Gr. In, and Fire.]
- clime n.
- A climate; a tract or region of the earth. See Climate. [L. clima. See Climate.]
- sublunary n.
- Any worldly thing.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Lines: Written in the Memoirs of Elizabeth Smith 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, Lines: Written in the Memoirs of Elizabeth Smith, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/lines-written-in-the-memoirs-of-elizabeth-smith.html, id L13422.
Form and metre
Lines: Written in the Memoirs of Elizabeth Smith is 46 lines in 5 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABAABCDCD, complete in 4 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.6 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 15% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABAABCDCD mindA · brightB · combinedA · refinedA · lightB · soar'dC · tearsD · exploredC · yearsD
- 2 ABAABCDCD hereA · thineB · sphereA · careerA · divineB · soulC · rayD · controlC · dayD
- 3 ABAABCDCD eyesA · fearB · riseA · skiesA · clearB · trueC · conceal'dD · viewC · reveal'dD
- 4 ABAABCDCD timeA · ownB · sublimeA · climeA · throneB · glanceC · exploresD · expanseC · adoresD
- 5 ABAABCDCCD surveysA · plainB · praiseA · gazeA · vainB · dreamC · rayD · streamC · beamC · dayD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| O thou! whose pure, exalted mind, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Lives in this record, fair and bright; | 8 | ···˘/··· |
| O thou! whose blameless life combined | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| Soft female charms, and grace refined, | 9 | ·/····˘/˘ |
| With science and with light! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Celestial maid! whose spirit soar’d | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| Beyond this vale of tears-- | 6 | ······ |
| Whose clear, enlighten’d eye explored | 9 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| The lore of years! | 4 | ···· |
| Daughter of Heaven! if here, e’en here, | 9 | /˘·/˘···· |
| The wing of towering thought was thine; | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| If, on this dim and mundane sphere, | 8 | ·····˘/· |
| Fair truth illumed thy bright career, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| With morning-star divine; | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| How must thy bless’d ethereal soul | 9 | ····˘/˘˘· |
| Now kindle in her noontide ray, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And hail, unfetter’d by control, | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| The Fount of Day! | 4 | ···· |
| E’en now, perhaps, thy seraph eyes, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Undimm’d by doubt, nor veil’d by fear, | 8 | ········ |
| Behold a chain of wonders rise-- | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| Gaze on the noon-beam of the skies, | 8 | ········ |
| Transcendant, pure, and clear! | 6 | ······ |
| E’en now, the fair, the good, the true, | 8 | ········ |
| From mortal sight conceal’d, | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| Bless in one blaze thy raptured view, | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| In light reveal’d! | 4 | ··˘/ |
| If here the lore of distant time, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And learning’s flowers, were all thine own; | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| How must thy mind ascend sublime, | 8 | ····˘/˘/ |
| Matured in heaven’s empyreal clime, | 10 | ˘/·/˘˘/˘˘· |
| To light’s unclouded throne! | 6 | ······ |
| Perhaps e’en now thy kindling glance | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| Each orb of living fire explores, | 9 | ···/˘/˘˘/ |
| Darts o’er creation’s wide expanse, | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| Admires--adores! | 4 | ˘/˘/ |
| Oh! if that lightning-eye surveys | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| This dark and sublunary plain; | 8 | ···/˘˘˘· |
| How must the wreath of human praise | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Fade, wither, vanish, in thy gaze, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| So dim, so pale, so vain! | 6 | ······ |
| How, like a faint and shadowy dream, | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| Must quiver learning’s brightest ray; | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| While on thine eyes, with lucid stream, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The sun of glory pours his beam, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Perfection’s day! | 4 | ˘/˘· |
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