Spring: An Ode
Stern winter now, by spring repress'd,Forbears the long-continued strife;And nature, on her naked breast,Delights to catch the gales of life.Now o'er the rural kingdom rovesSoft pleasure with the laughing train,Love warbles in the vocal groves,And vegetation plants the plain.Unhappy! whom to beds of pain,Arthritick tyranny consigns;Whom smiling nature courts in vain,Though rapture sings, and beauty shines.Yet though my limbs disease invades,Her wings imagination tries,And bears me to the peaceful shades,Where--s humble turrets rise;Here stop, my soul, thy rapid flight,Nor from the pleasing groves depart,Where first great nature charm'd my sight,Where wisdom first inform'd my heart.Here let me through the vales pursueA guide--a father--and a friend,Once more great nature's works renew,Once more on wisdom's voice attend.From false caresses, causeless strife,Wild hope, vain fear, alike remov'd,Here let me learn the use of life,When best enjoy'd--when most improv'd.Teach me, thou venerable bower,Cool meditation's quiet seat,The gen'rous scorn of venal power,The silent grandeur of retreat.When pride, by guilt, to greatness climbs,Or raging factions rush to war,Here let me learn to shun the crimes,I can't prevent, and will not share.But, lest I fall by subtler foes,Bright wisdom, teach me Curio's art,The swelling passions to compose,And quell the rebels of the heart.
Words in this poem
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- 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,]
- causeless a.
- 1. Self-originating; uncreated.
- quell v. t.
- To take the life of; to kill. [OE. quellen to kill, AS. cwellan, causative of cwelan to die; akin to OHG. quellen to torment, Icel. kvelja. See Quail to cower.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Spring: An Ode 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, Spring: An Ode, in Poems (1825), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #10835, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/johnson-poems/spring-an-ode.html, id L27134.
Form and metre
Spring: An Ode is 40 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%).
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 ABABCDCDDEDEFGFGHIHIJKJKLMLMNONOP-P-QRQR repress'dA · strifeB · breastA · lifeB · rovesC · trainD · grovesC · plainD · painD · consignsE · vainD · shinesE · invadesF · triesG · shadesF · riseG · flightH · departI · sightH · heartI · pursueJ · friendK · renewJ · attendK · strifeL · remov'dM · lifeL · improv'dM · bowerN · seatO · powerN · retreatO · climbsP · war · crimesP · share · foesQ · artR · composeQ · heartR
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Stern winter now, by spring repress'd, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Forbears the long-continued strife; | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| And nature, on her naked breast, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Delights to catch the gales of life. | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Now o'er the rural kingdom roves | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Soft pleasure with the laughing train, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Love warbles in the vocal groves, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And vegetation plants the plain. | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Unhappy! whom to beds of pain, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| Arthritick tyranny consigns; | 8 | ···/˘˘˘/ |
| Whom smiling nature courts in vain, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Though rapture sings, and beauty shines. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Yet though my limbs disease invades, | 8 | ····˘/˘/ |
| Her wings imagination tries, | 8 | ··˘·˘/˘· |
| And bears me to the peaceful shades, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Where--s humble turrets rise; | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Here stop, my soul, thy rapid flight, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Nor from the pleasing groves depart, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Where first great nature charm'd my sight, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Where wisdom first inform'd my heart. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| Here let me through the vales pursue | 8 | ······˘/ |
| A guide--a father--and a friend, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Once more great nature's works renew, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Once more on wisdom's voice attend. | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| From false caresses, causeless strife, | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| Wild hope, vain fear, alike remov'd, | 8 | ····˘/˘/ |
| Here let me learn the use of life, | 8 | ········ |
| When best enjoy'd--when most improv'd. | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| Teach me, thou venerable bower, | 9 | ···/˘˘˘/˘ |
| Cool meditation's quiet seat, | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| The gen'rous scorn of venal power, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| The silent grandeur of retreat. | 8 | ·/˘˘/·˘/ |
| When pride, by guilt, to greatness climbs, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Or raging factions rush to war, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Here let me learn to shun the crimes, | 8 | ········ |
| I can't prevent, and will not share. | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| But, lest I fall by subtler foes, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Bright wisdom, teach me Curio's art, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The swelling passions to compose, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| And quell the rebels of the heart. | 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.