Pindemonte: On the Hebe of Canova
Whither, celestial maid, so fast away?What lures thee from the banquet of the skies?How canst thou leave thy native realms of dayFor this low sphere, this vale of clouds and sighs?O thou, Canova! soaring high aboveItalian art--with Grecian magic vying!We knew thy marble glow’d with life and love,But who had seen thee image footsteps flying?Here to each eye the wind seems gently playingWith the light vest, its wavy folds arrayingIn many a line of undulating grace;While Nature, ne’er her mighty laws suspending,Stands, before marble thus with motion blending,One moment lost in thought, its hidden cause to trace.
Words in this poem
- whither adv.
- To what place; -- used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou [OE. whider. AS. hwider; akin to E. where, who; cf. Goth. hvadre whither. See Who, and cf. Hither, Thither.]
- 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.]
- vying
- a. & n. from Vie.
- vest n.
- An article of clothing covering the person; an outer garment; a vestment; a dress; a vesture; a robe. [L. vestis a garment, vesture; akin to Goth. wasti, and E. wear: cf. F. veste. See Wear to carry on the person, and cf. Divest, Invest, Travesty.]
- blending n.
- The act of mingling.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Pindemonte: On the Hebe of Canova 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, Pindemonte: On the Hebe of Canova, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/pindemonte-on-the-hebe-of-canova.html, id L13467.
Form and metre
Pindemonte: On the Hebe of Canova is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABABCDCDEEFGGF. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 95%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.6 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% 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 ABABCDCDEEFGGF awayA · skiesB · dayA · sighsB · aboveC · vyingD · loveC · flyingD · playingE · arrayingE · graceF · suspendingG · blendingG · traceF
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Whither, celestial maid, so fast away? | 10 | /˘˘/˘···˘/ |
| What lures thee from the banquet of the skies? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| How canst thou leave thy native realms of day | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| For this low sphere, this vale of clouds and sighs? | 10 | ·········· |
| O thou, Canova! soaring high above | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| Italian art--with Grecian magic vying! | 11 | ˘/˘··/˘/˘/˘ |
| We knew thy marble glow’d with life and love, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| But who had seen thee image footsteps flying? | 11 | ·····/˘/·/˘ |
| Here to each eye the wind seems gently playing | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| With the light vest, its wavy folds arraying | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| In many a line of undulating grace; | 10 | ·/···/˘·˘· |
| While Nature, ne’er her mighty laws suspending, | 11 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Stands, before marble thus with motion blending, | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| One moment lost in thought, its hidden cause to trace. | 12 | ·/˘····/˘··· |
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.