Anacreon, Ode IX
Lovely courier of the sky,Whence and whither dost thou fly?Scatt'ring, as thy pinions play,Liquid fragrance all the way:Is it business? is it love?Tell me, tell me, gentle dove.Soft Anacreon's vows I bear,Vows to Myrtale the fair;Grac'd with all that charms the heart,Blushing nature, smiling art.Venus, courted by an ode,On the bard her dove bestow'd:Vested with a master's right,Now Anacreon rules my flight;His the letters that you see,Weighty charge, consign'd to me:Think not yet my service hard,Joyless task without reward;Smiling at my master's gates,Freedom my return awaits;But the lib'ral grant in vainTempts me to be wild again.Can a prudent dove declineBlissful bondage such as mine?Over hills and fields to roam,Fortune's guest without a home;Under leaves to hide one's headSlightly shelter'd, coarsely fed:Now my better lot bestowsSweet repast and soft repose;Now the gen'rous bowl I sip,As it leaves Anacreon's lip:Void of care, and free from dread,From his fingers snatch his bread;Then, with luscious plenty gay,Round his chamber dance and play;Or from wine, as courage springs,O'er his face extend my wings;And when feast and frolick tire,Drop asleep upon his lyre.This is all, be quick and go,More than all thou canst not know;Let me now my pinions ply,I have chatter'd like a pie.
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.]
- joyless a.
- Not having joy; not causing joy; unenjoyable.
- blissful a.
- Full of, characterized by, or causing, joy and felicity; happy in the highest degree.
- luscious a.
- Sweet; delicious; very grateful to the taste; toothsome; excessively sweet or rich. [Prob. for lustious, fr. lusty, or perh. a corruption of luxurious. Cf. Lush, Lusty.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Anacreon, Ode IX is in the public domain. This text is taken from Dr. Johnson's Works: Life, Poems, and Tales, Volume 1 (The Works of Samuel Johnson in Nine Volumes, 1825), Project Gutenberg ebook #10835; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Samuel Johnson, Anacreon, Ode IX, in Poems (1825), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #10835, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/johnson-poems/anacreon-ode-ix.html, id L27155.
Form and metre
Anacreon, Ode IX is 44 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 86% of the lines. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 95%).
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in trochaic 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH--II--JJKKLLMMNNOOPPQQ--RRSS skyA · flyA · playB · wayB · loveC · doveC · bearD · fairD · heartE · artE · odeF · bestow'dF · rightG · flightG · seeH · meH · hard · reward · gatesI · awaitsI · vain · again · declineJ · mineJ · roamK · homeK · headL · fedL · bestowsM · reposeM · sipN · lipN · dreadO · breadO · gayP · playP · springsQ · wingsQ · tire · lyre · goR · knowR · plyS · pieS
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Lovely courier of the sky, | 8 | /˘/˘˘··· |
| Whence and whither dost thou fly? | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Scatt'ring, as thy pinions play, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Liquid fragrance all the way: | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| Is it business? is it love? | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Tell me, tell me, gentle dove. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Soft Anacreon's vows I bear, | 7 | ······· |
| Vows to Myrtale the fair; | 7 | ······· |
| Grac'd with all that charms the heart, | 7 | ······· |
| Blushing nature, smiling art. | 7 | /˘/˘/˘· |
| Venus, courted by an ode, | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| On the bard her dove bestow'd: | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Vested with a master's right, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Now Anacreon rules my flight; | 7 | ······· |
| His the letters that you see, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Weighty charge, consign'd to me: | 7 | /˘·˘/·· |
| Think not yet my service hard, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Joyless task without reward; | 7 | /˘···˘/ |
| Smiling at my master's gates, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Freedom my return awaits; | 7 | /˘·˘/˘/ |
| But the lib'ral grant in vain | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Tempts me to be wild again. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Can a prudent dove decline | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Blissful bondage such as mine? | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| Over hills and fields to roam, | 7 | ······· |
| Fortune's guest without a home; | 7 | /˘····· |
| Under leaves to hide one's head | 7 | ······· |
| Slightly shelter'd, coarsely fed: | 7 | /˘/˘/˘· |
| Now my better lot bestows | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Sweet repast and soft repose; | 7 | ·˘/··˘/ |
| Now the gen'rous bowl I sip, | 7 | ······· |
| As it leaves Anacreon's lip: | 7 | ······· |
| Void of care, and free from dread, | 7 | ······· |
| From his fingers snatch his bread; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Then, with luscious plenty gay, | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Round his chamber dance and play; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Or from wine, as courage springs, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| O'er his face extend my wings; | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| And when feast and frolick tire, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Drop asleep upon his lyre. | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| This is all, be quick and go, | 7 | ······· |
| More than all thou canst not know; | 7 | ······· |
| Let me now my pinions ply, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| I have chatter'd like a pie. | 7 | ······· |
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