1129. The Pillar of Fame
Fame's pillar here, at last, we set,Outduring marble, brass, or jet.Charm'd and enchanted soAs to withstand the blowOf o v e r t h r o w;Nor shall the seas,Or o u t r a g e sOf storms o'erbearWhat we uprear.Tho' kingdoms fall,This pillar never shallDecline or waste at all;But stand for ever by his ownFirm and well-fix'd foundation.
To his book's end this last line he'd have placed:Jocund his muse was, but his life was chaste.
Words in this poem
- enchanted a.
- Under the power of enchantment; possessed or exercised by enchanters; as, an enchanted castle.
- 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,]
- uprear v. t.
- To raise; to erect.
- jocund
- Merry; cheerful; gay; airy; lively; sportive. [L. jocundus, jucundus, orig., helpful, fr. juvare to help. See Aid.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
1129. The Pillar of Fame is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Hesperides & Noble Numbers: Vol. 1 and 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #22421; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Herrick, 1129. The Pillar of Fame, in Hesperides (1648), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22421, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herrick-hesperides/1129-the-pillar-of-fame.html, id L06010.
Form and metre
1129. The Pillar of Fame is 16 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 50% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter. 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.9 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 38% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, 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---CCD-DEE setA · jetA · soB · blowB · w · seas · s · o'erbearC · uprearC · fallD · shall · allD · ownE · foundationE
- 2 AA placedA · chasteA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Fame's pillar here, at last, we set, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Outduring marble, brass, or jet. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Charm'd and enchanted so | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| As to withstand the blow | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Of o v e r t h r o w; | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Nor shall the seas, | 4 | ···· |
| Or o u t r a g e s | 9 | ········· |
| Of storms o'erbear | 4 | ···· |
| What we uprear. | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Tho' kingdoms fall, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| This pillar never shall | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Decline or waste at all; | 6 | ˘/···· |
| But stand for ever by his own | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Firm and well-fix'd foundation. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| To his book's end this last line he'd have placed: | 10 | ·········· |
| Jocund his muse was, but his life was chaste. | 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.