The Stars
No cloud obscures the summer sky,The moon in brightness walks on high;And, set in azure, every starShines, a pure gem of heaven, afar!
Child of the earth! oh, lift thy glanceTo yon bright firmament’s expanse;The glories of its realm explore,And gaze, and wonder, and adore!
Doth it not speak to every senseThe marvels of Omnipotence?Seest thou not there the Almighty nameInscribed in characters of flame?
Count o’er these lamps of quenchless light,That sparkle through the shades of night:Behold them! can a mortal boastTo number that celestial host?
Mark well each little star, whose raysIn distant splendour meet thy gaze:Each is a world, by Him sustain’dWho from eternity hath reign’d.
Each, kindled not for earth alone,Hath circling planets of its own,And beings, whose existence springsFrom Him, the all-powerful King of kings.
Haply, those glorious beings knowNo stain of guilt, or tear of woe;But, raising still the adoring voice,For ever in their God rejoice.
What then art thou, O child of clay!Amid creation’s grandeur, say?E’en as an insect on the breeze,E’en as a dew-drop, lost in seas!
Yet fear thou not! The sovereign handWhich spread the ocean and the land,And hung the rolling spheres in air,Hath, e’en for thee, a Father’s care!
Be thou at peace! The all-seeing Eye,Pervading earth, and air, and sky--The searching glance which none may flee,Is still in mercy turn’d on thee.
Words in this poem
- 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.]
- firmament n.
- Fixed foundation; established basis. [L. firmamentum, fr. firmare to make firm: cf. F. firmament. See Firm, v. & a.]
- explore v. t.
- To seek for or after; to strive to attain by search; to look wisely and carefully for. [L. explorare to explore; ex out+plorare to cry out aloud,prob. orig., to cause to flow; perh. akin to E. flow: cf. F. explorer.]
- adore v. t.
- To worship with profound reverence; to pay divine honors to; to honor as deity or as divine. [OE. aouren, anouren, adoren, OF. aorer, adorer, F. adorer, fr. L. adorare; ad + orare to speak, pray, os, oris, mouth. In OE. confused with honor, the French pr]
- omnipotence n.
- The state of being omnipotent; almighty power; hence, one who is omnipotent; the Deity. [L. omnipotentia: cf.F. omnipotence.]
- quenchless a.
- Incapable of being quenched; inextinguishable; as, quenchless fire or fury.
- splendour n.
- Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
- haply adv.
- By hap, chance, luck, or accident; perhaps; it may be.
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Stars 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, The Stars, in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/the-stars.html, id L19612.
Form and metre
The Stars is 40 lines in 10 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABB. 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 AABB skyA · highA · starB · afarB
- 2 AABB glanceA · expanseA · exploreB · adoreB
- 3 AABB senseA · omnipotenceA · nameB · flameB
- 4 AABB lightA · nightA · boastB · hostB
- 5 AABB raysA · gazeA · sustain'dB · reign'dB
- 6 AABB aloneA · ownA · springsB · kingsB
- 7 AABB knowA · woeA · voiceB · rejoiceB
- 8 AABB clayA · sayA · breezeB · seasB
- 9 AABB handA · landA · airB · careB
- 10 AABB eyeA · skyA · fleeB · theeB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| No cloud obscures the summer sky, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| The moon in brightness walks on high; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And, set in azure, every star | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Shines, a pure gem of heaven, afar! | 8 | ·····/˘/ |
| Child of the earth! oh, lift thy glance | 8 | ········ |
| To yon bright firmament’s expanse; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The glories of its realm explore, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| And gaze, and wonder, and adore! | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Doth it not speak to every sense | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The marvels of Omnipotence? | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| Seest thou not there the Almighty name | 9 | ·····˘/˘· |
| Inscribed in characters of flame? | 8 | ˘/·/˘˘·· |
| Count o’er these lamps of quenchless light, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That sparkle through the shades of night: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Behold them! can a mortal boast | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| To number that celestial host? | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Mark well each little star, whose rays | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| In distant splendour meet thy gaze: | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Each is a world, by Him sustain’d | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Who from eternity hath reign’d. | 8 | ··˘/˘˘·· |
| Each, kindled not for earth alone, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Hath circling planets of its own, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And beings, whose existence springs | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| From Him, the all-powerful King of kings. | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Haply, those glorious beings know | 8 | /˘·/˘/˘· |
| No stain of guilt, or tear of woe; | 8 | ········ |
| But, raising still the adoring voice, | 9 | ·/˘··˘/˘· |
| For ever in their God rejoice. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| What then art thou, O child of clay! | 8 | ········ |
| Amid creation’s grandeur, say? | 8 | ˘/˘/˘˘/· |
| E’en as an insect on the breeze, | 8 | ···/···· |
| E’en as a dew-drop, lost in seas! | 8 | ········ |
| Yet fear thou not! The sovereign hand | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Which spread the ocean and the land, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And hung the rolling spheres in air, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Hath, e’en for thee, a Father’s care! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Be thou at peace! The all-seeing Eye, | 8 | ······/· |
| Pervading earth, and air, and sky-- | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| The searching glance which none may flee, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Is still in mercy turn’d on thee. | 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.