To My Eldest Brother (With the British Army in Portugal.)
How many a day, in various hues array’d,Bright with gay sunshine, or eclipsed with shade,How many an hour, on silent wing is past,O my loved Brother! since we saw thee last!Since then has childhood ripen’d into youth,And fancy’s dreams have fled from sober truth;Her splendid fabrics melting into air,As sage experience waved the wand of care!Yet still thine absence wakes the tender sigh,And the tear trembles in affection’s eye!When shall we meet again?--with glowing rayHeart-soothing hope illumes some future day;Checks the sad thought, beguiles the starting tear,And sings benignly still--that day is near!She, with bright eye, and soul-bewitching voice,Wins us to smile, inspires us to rejoice;Tells that the hour approaches, to restoreOur cherish’d wanderer to his home once more;Where sacred ties his manly worth endear,To faith still true, affection still sincere!Then the past woes, the future’s dubious lot,In that blest meeting shall be all forgot!And joy’s full radiance gild that sun-bright hour,Though all around th’ impending storm should lower.
Now distant far, amidst the intrepid host,Albion’s firm sons, on Lusitania’s coast,(That gallant band, in countless dangers tried,Where glory’s pole-star beams their constant guide,)Say, do thy thoughts, my Brother, fondly strayTo Cambria’s vales and mountains far away?Does fancy oft in busy day-dreams roam,And paint the greeting that awaits at home?Does memory’s pencil oft, in mellowing hue,Dear social scenes, departed joys renew;In softer tints delighting to retraceEach tender image and each well-known face?Yes, wanderer! yes! thy spirit flies to thoseWhose love, unalter’d, warm and faithful glows.
Oh! could that love, through life’s eventful hours,Illume thy scenes and strew thy path with flowers!Perennial joy should harmonise thy breast,No struggle rend thee, and no cares molest!But though our tenderness can but bestowThe wish, the hope, the prayer, averting woe,Still shall it live, with pure, unclouded flame,In storms, in sunshine, far and near--the same!Still dwell enthroned within th’ unvarying heart,And, firm and vital, but with life depart!
Words in this poem 18
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- childhood n.
- The state of being a child; the time in which persons are children; the condition or time from infancy to puberty. [AS. cildhad; cild child + -had. See Child, and hood.]
- 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,]
- benignly adv.
- In a benign manner.
- endear v. t.
- To make dear or beloved.
- dubious a.
- Doubtful or not settled in opinion; being in doubt; wavering or fluctuating; undetermined. [L. dubius, dubiosus, fr. duo two. See Two, and cf. Doubt.]
- amidst 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]
- albion n.
- An ancient name of England, still retained in poetry. [Prob. from the same root as Gael. alp a height or hill. "It may have been bestowed on the land lying behind the white cliffs visible from the coast of Gaul. Alb]
- countless a.
- Incapable of being counted; not ascertainable; innumerable.
- fondly adv.
- Foolishly. Verstegan (1673).
- cambria n.
- The ancient Latin name of Wales. It is used by modern poets.
- retrace v. t.
- To trace back, as a line. [Pref. re- + trace: cf. F. retracer. Cf. Retract.]
- eventful a.
- Full of, or rich in, events or incidents; as, an eventful journey; an eventful period of history; an eventful period of life.
- illume v. t.
- To throw or spread light upon; to make light or bright; to illuminate; to illumine. [Cf. F. illuminer. See Illuminate.]
- harmonise v. i.
- To agree in action, adaptation, or effect on the mind; to agree in sense or purport; as, the parts of a mechanism harmonize. [Cf. F. harmoniser.]
- molest v. t.
- To trouble; to disturb; to render uneasy; to interfere with; to vex. [F. molester, L. molestare, fr. molestus troublesome, fr. moles a heavy mass, load, burden. See 3d Mole.]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To My Eldest Brother (With the British Army in Portugal.) 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, To My Eldest Brother (With the British Army in Portugal.), in Poems (1808–1835), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66785, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/hemans-poems/to-my-eldest-brother-with-the-british-army-in-portugal.html, id L13421.
Form and metre
To My Eldest Brother (With the British Army in Portugal.) is 48 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 92% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 12% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 AABBCCDDEEFFDGHHIIGGJJ-- array'dA · shadeA · pastB · lastB · youthC · truthC · airD · careD · sighE · eyeE · rayF · dayF · tearD · nearG · voiceH · rejoiceH · restoreI · moreI · endearG · sincereG · lotJ · forgotJ · hour · lower
- 2 AABBCCDDEEFFGG hostA · coastA · triedB · guideB · strayC · awayC · roamD · homeD · hueE · renewE · retraceF · faceF · thoseG · glowsG
- 3 AABBCCDDEE hoursA · flowersA · breastB · molestB · bestowC · woeC · flameD · sameD · heartE · departE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| How many a day, in various hues array’d, | 10 | ·/···/˘·˘/ |
| Bright with gay sunshine, or eclipsed with shade, | 10 | ···/··˘/·· |
| How many an hour, on silent wing is past, | 10 | ·/·/·/˘··· |
| O my loved Brother! since we saw thee last! | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Since then has childhood ripen’d into youth, | 10 | ···/·/˘··· |
| And fancy’s dreams have fled from sober truth; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Her splendid fabrics melting into air, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| As sage experience waved the wand of care! | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Yet still thine absence wakes the tender sigh, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And the tear trembles in affection’s eye! | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| When shall we meet again?--with glowing ray | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| Heart-soothing hope illumes some future day; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Checks the sad thought, beguiles the starting tear, | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| And sings benignly still--that day is near! | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| She, with bright eye, and soul-bewitching voice, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Wins us to smile, inspires us to rejoice; | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| Tells that the hour approaches, to restore | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Our cherish’d wanderer to his home once more; | 10 | //˘/˘····· |
| Where sacred ties his manly worth endear, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| To faith still true, affection still sincere! | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| Then the past woes, the future’s dubious lot, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| In that blest meeting shall be all forgot! | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| And joy’s full radiance gild that sun-bright hour, | 10 | ···/˘····/ |
| Though all around th’ impending storm should lower. | 11 | ····˘/˘··/˘ |
| Now distant far, amidst the intrepid host, | 11 | ·/˘·˘/·˘/˘· |
| Albion’s firm sons, on Lusitania’s coast, | 10 | /˘····˘/˘· |
| (That gallant band, in countless dangers tried, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Where glory’s pole-star beams their constant guide,) | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Say, do thy thoughts, my Brother, fondly stray | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| To Cambria’s vales and mountains far away? | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Does fancy oft in busy day-dreams roam, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| And paint the greeting that awaits at home? | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| Does memory’s pencil oft, in mellowing hue, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Dear social scenes, departed joys renew; | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘·˘/ |
| In softer tints delighting to retrace | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘·˘/ |
| Each tender image and each well-known face? | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Yes, wanderer! yes! thy spirit flies to those | 10 | ·/˘˘··/··· |
| Whose love, unalter’d, warm and faithful glows. | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Oh! could that love, through life’s eventful hours, | 11 | ······˘/˘/˘ |
| Illume thy scenes and strew thy path with flowers! | 11 | ˘/·······/˘ |
| Perennial joy should harmonise thy breast, | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘··· |
| No struggle rend thee, and no cares molest! | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| But though our tenderness can but bestow | 10 | ··//˘˘··˘/ |
| The wish, the hope, the prayer, averting woe, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Still shall it live, with pure, unclouded flame, | 10 | ·········· |
| In storms, in sunshine, far and near--the same! | 10 | ···/······ |
| Still dwell enthroned within th’ unvarying heart, | 10 | ·········· |
| And, firm and vital, but with life depart! | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
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