Sonnet to My Mother: Written at the Age of Twelve
To thee, maternal guardian of my youth,I pour the genuine numbers free from art--The lays inspired by gratitude and truth;For thou wilt prize the effusion of the heart.Oh! be it mine, with sweet and pious care,To calm thy bosom in the hour of grief;With soothing tenderness to chase the tear,With fond endearments to impart relief:Be mine thy warm affection to repayWith duteous love in thy declining hours;My filial hand shall strew unfading flowers,Perennial roses, to adorn thy way:Still may thy grateful children round thee smile--Their pleasing care affliction shall beguile.
Words in this poem
- maternal a.
- Of or pertaining to a mother; becoming to a mother; motherly; as, maternal love; maternal tenderness. [F. maternel, L. maternus, fr. mater mother. See Mother.]
- duteous a.
- Fulfilling duty; dutiful; having the sentiments due to a superior, or to one to whom respect or service is owed; obedient; as, a duteous son or daughter. [From Duty.]
- filial a.
- Of or pertaining to a son or daughter; becoming to a child in relation to his parents; as, filial obedience. [L. filialis, fr. filius son, filia daughter; akin to e. female, feminine. Cf. Fitz.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet to My Mother: Written at the Age of Twelve 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, Sonnet to My Mother: Written at the Age of Twelve, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/sonnet-to-my-mother-written-at-the-age-of-twelve.html, id L13414.
Form and metre
Sonnet to My Mother: Written at the Age of Twelve is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABABCDCDEFFEGG. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 7% 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 ABABCDCDEFFEGG youthA · artB · truthA · heartB · careC · griefD · tearC · reliefD · repayE · hoursF · flowersF · wayE · smileG · beguileG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| To thee, maternal guardian of my youth, | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| I pour the genuine numbers free from art-- | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| The lays inspired by gratitude and truth; | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| For thou wilt prize the effusion of the heart. | 11 | ·····˘/˘··· |
| Oh! be it mine, with sweet and pious care, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| To calm thy bosom in the hour of grief; | 10 | ···/˘··/·· |
| With soothing tenderness to chase the tear, | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘···· |
| With fond endearments to impart relief: | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘/ |
| Be mine thy warm affection to repay | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| With duteous love in thy declining hours; | 11 | ·/˘˘···˘/˘/ |
| My filial hand shall strew unfading flowers, | 10 | ·/˘······/ |
| Perennial roses, to adorn thy way: | 10 | ˘/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| Still may thy grateful children round thee smile-- | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Their pleasing care affliction shall beguile. | 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.