By William Holloway, Author of the "Peasant's Fate"
Darling of science and the muse,How shall a son of song refuseTo shed a tear for thee?To us, so soon, for ever lost,What hopes, what prospects have been cross'dBy Heaven's supreme decree?
How could a parent, love-beguiled,In life's fair prime resign a childSo duteous, good, and kind?The warblers of the soothing strainMust string the elegiac lyre in vainTo soothe the wounded mind!
Yet, Fancy, hovering round the tomb,Half envies, while she mourns thy doom,Dear poet, saint, and sage!Who into one short span, at best,The wisdom of an age compress'd,A patriarch's lengthen'd age!
To him a genius sanctified,And purged from literary pride,A sacred boon was given:Chaste as the psalmist's harp, his lyreCelestial raptures could inspire,And lift the soul to Heaven.
'Twas not the laurel earth bestows,'Twas not the praise from man that flows,With classic toil he sought:He sought the crown that martyrs wear,When rescued from a world of care;Their spirit too he caught.
Here come, ye thoughtless, vain, and gay,Who idly range in Folly's way,And learn the worth of time:Learn ye, whose days have run to waste,How to redeem this pearl at last,Atoning for your crime.
This flower, that droop'd in one cold climeTransplanted from the soil of timeTo immortality,In full perfection there shall bloom;And those who now lament his doomMust bow to God's decree.
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- duteous a.
- Fulfilling duty; dutiful; having the sentiments due to a superior, or to one to whom respect or service is owed; obedient; as, a duteous son or daughter. [From Duty.]
- soothe v. t.
- To assent to as true. Testament of Love. [Originally, to assent to as true; OE. so to verify, AS. ges to prove the truth of, to bear witness. See Sooth, a.]
- sanctified a.
- Made holy; also, made to have the air of sanctity; sanctimonious.
- boon n.
- A prayer or petition. [OE. bone, boin, a petition, fr. Icel. b; akin to Sw. & Dan. b, AS. b, and perh. to E. ban; but influenced by F. bon good, fr. L. bonus. Ban, Bounty.]
- classic a.
- Of or relating to the first class or rank, especially in literature or art. [L. classicus relating to the classes of the Roman people, and especially to the frist class; hence, of the first rank, superior, from classis class: cf. F. clas]
- clime n.
- A climate; a tract or region of the earth. See Climate. [L. clima. See Climate.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
By William Holloway, Author of the "Peasant's Fate" is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Henry Kirk White : With a Memoir by Sir Harris Nicolas, Project Gutenberg ebook #7149; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Henry Kirke White, By William Holloway, Author of the "Peasant's Fate", in The Poetical Works of Henry Kirke White (1803–1806), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7149, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kirke-white-poems/by-william-holloway-author-of-the-peasant-s-fate.html, id L10154.
Form and metre
By William Holloway, Author of the "Peasant's Fate" is 42 lines in 7 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABCCB, complete in 4 of its 7 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.6 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 21% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 AABCCB museA · refuseA · theeB · lostC · cross'dC · decreeB
- 2 AABCCB beguiledA · childA · kindB · strainC · vainC · mindB
- 3 AABCCB tombA · doomA · sageB · bestC · compress'dC · ageB
- 4 AA-BB- sanctifiedA · prideA · given · lyreB · inspireB · heaven
- 5 AABCCB bestowsA · flowsA · soughtB · wearC · careC · caughtB
- 6 AAB--B gayA · wayA · timeB · waste · last · crimeB
- 7 AA-BB- climeA · timeA · immortality · bloomB · doomB · decree
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Darling of science and the muse, | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| How shall a son of song refuse | 8 | ······˘/ |
| To shed a tear for thee? | 6 | ······ |
| To us, so soon, for ever lost, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| What hopes, what prospects have been cross'd | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| By Heaven's supreme decree? | 7 | ·/˘˘/˘/ |
| How could a parent, love-beguiled, | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| In life's fair prime resign a child | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| So duteous, good, and kind? | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| The warblers of the soothing strain | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Must string the elegiac lyre in vain | 10 | ···˘/˘˘··· |
| To soothe the wounded mind! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Yet, Fancy, hovering round the tomb, | 9 | ·/˘/˘˘··· |
| Half envies, while she mourns thy doom, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Dear poet, saint, and sage! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Who into one short span, at best, | 8 | ········ |
| The wisdom of an age compress'd, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| A patriarch's lengthen'd age! | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| To him a genius sanctified, | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| And purged from literary pride, | 9 | ··˘·/˘·˘· |
| A sacred boon was given: | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Chaste as the psalmist's harp, his lyre | 8 | ········ |
| Celestial raptures could inspire, | 8 | ˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| And lift the soul to Heaven. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| 'Twas not the laurel earth bestows, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| 'Twas not the praise from man that flows, | 8 | ········ |
| With classic toil he sought: | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| He sought the crown that martyrs wear, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| When rescued from a world of care; | 9 | ·/˘˘····· |
| Their spirit too he caught. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Here come, ye thoughtless, vain, and gay, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Who idly range in Folly's way, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And learn the worth of time: | 6 | ······ |
| Learn ye, whose days have run to waste, | 8 | ········ |
| How to redeem this pearl at last, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Atoning for your crime. | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| This flower, that droop'd in one cold clime | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Transplanted from the soil of time | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| To immortality, | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| In full perfection there shall bloom; | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| And those who now lament his doom | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Must bow to God's decree. | 6 | ····˘/ |
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.