Prologue Spoken by Mr. Garrick before the Masque of Comus, 1750
Ye patriot crowds, who burn for England's fame,Ye nymphs, whose bosoms beat at Milton's name;Whose gen'rous zeal, unbought by flatt'ring rhymes,Shames the mean pensions of Augustan times;Immortal patrons of succeeding days,Attend this prelude of perpetual praise;Let wit, condemn'd the feeble war to wageWith close malevolence, or publick rage;Let study, worn with virtue's fruitless lore,Behold this theatre, and grieve no more.This night, distinguish'd by your smiles, shall tell,That never Britain can in vain excel;The slighted arts futurity shall trust,And rising ages hasten to be just.At length, our mighty bard's victorious laysFill the loud voice of universal praise;And baffled spite, with hopeless anguish dumb,Yields to renown the centuries to come;With ardent haste each candidate of fame,Ambitious, catches at his tow'ring name;He sees, and pitying sees, vain wealth bestowThose pageant honours, which he scorn'd below;While crowds aloft the laureate bust behold,Or trace his form on circulating gold.Unknown, unheeded, long his offspring lay,And want hung threat'ning o'er her slow decay,What, though she shine with no Miltonian fire,No fav'ring muse her morning dreams inspire;Yet softer claims the melting heart engage,Her youth laborious, and her blameless age;Her's the mild merits of domestick life,The patient sufferer, and the faithful wife.Thus, grac'd with humble virtue's native charms,Her grandsire leaves her in Britannia's arms;Secure with peace, with competence, to dwell,While tutelary nations guard her cell.Yours is the charge, ye fair, ye wise, ye brave!'Tis yours to crown desert--beyond the grave.
Words in this poem 15
- augustan a.
- Of or pertaining to Augustus Cæsar or to his times. [L. Augustanus, fr. Augustus. See August, n.]
- wage v. i.
- To bind one's self; to engage.
- fruitless a.
- Lacking, or not bearing, fruit; barren; destitute of offspring; as, a fruitless tree or shrub; a fruitless marriage.
- theatre n.
- An edifice in which dramatic performances or spectacles are exhibited for the amusement of spectators; anciently uncovered, except the stage, but in modern times roofed. [F. thé\'83tre, L. theatrum, Gr. dhya to meditate, think. Cf. Theory.]
- 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,]
- futurity n.
- State of being that is yet to come; future state.
- pitying a.
- Expressing pity; as, a pitying eye, glance, or word.
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- pageant n.
- A theatrical exhibition; a spectacle. [OE. pagent, pagen, originally, a movable scaffold or stage, hence, what was exhibited on it, fr. LL. pagina, akin to pangere to fasten; cf. L. pagina page, leaf]
- laureate a.
- Crowned, or decked, with laurel. [L. laureatus, fr. laurea laurel tree, fr. laureus of laurel, fr. laurus laurel: cf. F. lauréat. Cf. Laurel.]
- miltonian a.
- Miltonic. Lowell.
- sufferer n.
- One who suffers; one who endures or undergoes suffering; one who sustains inconvenience or loss; as, sufferers by poverty or sickness; men are sufferers by fire or by losses at sea.
- grandsire n.
- Specifically, a grandfather; more generally, any ancestor. [OF. grantsire. See Grand, and Sire.]
- competence n.
- The state of being competent; fitness; ability; adequacy; power. [Cf. F. compétence, from L. competentia agreement.]
- 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]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Prologue Spoken by Mr. Garrick before the Masque of Comus, 1750 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, Prologue Spoken by Mr. Garrick before the Masque of Comus, 1750, in Poems (1825), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #10835, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/johnson-poems/prologue-spoken-by-mr-garrick-before-the-masque-of-comus.html, id L27131.
Form and metre
Prologue Spoken by Mr. Garrick before the Masque of Comus, 1750 is 38 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 95% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMM--NNOOPPQQRR fameA · nameA · rhymesB · timesB · daysC · praiseC · wageD · rageD · loreE · moreE · tellF · excelF · trustG · justG · laysH · praiseH · dumbI · comeI · fameJ · nameJ · bestowK · belowK · beholdL · goldL · layM · decayM · fire · inspire · engageN · ageN · lifeO · wifeO · charmsP · armsP · dwellQ · cellQ · braveR · graveR
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ye patriot crowds, who burn for England's fame, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Ye nymphs, whose bosoms beat at Milton's name; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Whose gen'rous zeal, unbought by flatt'ring rhymes, | 10 | ·········· |
| Shames the mean pensions of Augustan times; | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Immortal patrons of succeeding days, | 10 | ˘/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Attend this prelude of perpetual praise; | 10 | ˘/·/··˘/˘· |
| Let wit, condemn'd the feeble war to wage | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| With close malevolence, or publick rage; | 10 | ··˘/˘˘···· |
| Let study, worn with virtue's fruitless lore, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Behold this theatre, and grieve no more. | 10 | ˘/·/˘˘···· |
| This night, distinguish'd by your smiles, shall tell, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| That never Britain can in vain excel; | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| The slighted arts futurity shall trust, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘·· |
| And rising ages hasten to be just. | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| At length, our mighty bard's victorious lays | 10 | ··//˘·˘/˘· |
| Fill the loud voice of universal praise; | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| And baffled spite, with hopeless anguish dumb, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Yields to renown the centuries to come; | 10 | ··˘/·/˘˘·· |
| With ardent haste each candidate of fame, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘·· |
| Ambitious, catches at his tow'ring name; | 10 | ˘/˘/˘····· |
| He sees, and pitying sees, vain wealth bestow | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Those pageant honours, which he scorn'd below; | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| While crowds aloft the laureate bust behold, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| Or trace his form on circulating gold. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘· |
| Unknown, unheeded, long his offspring lay, | 10 | ˘/˘/˘··/·· |
| And want hung threat'ning o'er her slow decay, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| What, though she shine with no Miltonian fire, | 11 | ······˘/˘˘/ |
| No fav'ring muse her morning dreams inspire; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Yet softer claims the melting heart engage, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Her youth laborious, and her blameless age; | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Her's the mild merits of domestick life, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| The patient sufferer, and the faithful wife. | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Thus, grac'd with humble virtue's native charms, | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Her grandsire leaves her in Britannia's arms; | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| Secure with peace, with competence, to dwell, | 10 | ˘/···/˘˘·· |
| While tutelary nations guard her cell. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Yours is the charge, ye fair, ye wise, ye brave! | 10 | ·········· |
| 'Tis yours to crown desert--beyond the grave. | 10 | ····/˘···· |
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