Nelsoni Mors
Yet once again, my Harp, yet once againOne ditty more, and on the mountain ashI will again suspend thee. I have feltThe warm tear frequent on my cheek, since last,At eventide, when all the winds were hush'd,I woke to thee the melancholy song.Since then with Thoughtfulness, a maid severe,I've journey'd, and have learn'd to shape the freaksOf frolic fancy to the line of truth;Not unrepining, for my froward heartStills turns to thee, mine Harp, and to the flowOf spring-gales past--the woods and storied hauntsOf my not songless boyhood.--Yet once more,Not fearless, I will wake thy tremulous tones,My long-neglected Harp. He must not sink;The good, the brave--he must not, shall not sinkWithout the meed of some melodious tear.
Though from the Muse's chalice I may pourNo precious dews of Aganippe's well,Or Castaly,--though from the morning cloudI fetch no hues to scatter on his hearse:Yet will I wreathe a garland for his brows,Of simple flowers, such as the hedge-rows scentOf Britain, my loved country; and with tearsMost eloquent, yet silent, I will batheThy honour'd corse, my Nelson, tears as warmAnd honest as the ebbing blood that flow'dFast from thy honest heart. Thou, Pity, too,If ever I have loved, with faltering step,To follow thee in the cold and starless night,To the top-crag of some rain-beaten cliff;And, as I heard the deep gun bursting loudAmid the pauses of the storm, have pour'dWild strains, and mournful, to the hurrying winds,The dying soul's viaticum; if oftAmid the carnage of the field I've sateWith thee upon the moonlight throne, and sungTo cheer the fainting soldier's dying soul,With mercy and forgiveness--visitantOf Heaven--sit thou upon my harp,And give it feeling, which were else too coldFor argument so great, for theme so high.
How dimly on that morn the sun arose,'Kerchief'd in mists, and tearful, when--
Words in this poem 19
- ditty n.
- A saying or utterance; especially, one that is short and frequently repeated; a theme. [OE. dite, OF. ditié, fr. L. dictatum, p. p. neut. of dictare to say often, dictate, compose. See Dictate, v. t.]
- eventide n.
- The time of evening; evening. [AS. æfentid. See Tide.]
- storied a.
- Told in a story. [From Story.]
- songless a.
- Destitute of the power of song; without song; as, songless birds; songless woods.
- boyhood n.
- The state of being a boy; the time during which one is a boy. [Boy + -hood.]
- 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,]
- meed v. t.
- To reward; to repay. Waytt.
- chalice n.
- A cup or bowl; especially, the cup used in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. [OR. chalis, calice, OF. chalice, calice, F. calice, fr. L. calix, akin to Gr. helmet. Cf. Calice, Calyx.]
- corse n.
- A living body or its bulk. [OF. cors, F. corps. See Corpse.]
- faltering a.
- Hesitating; trembling.
- starless a.
- Being without stars; having no stars visible; as, a starless night.
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- viaticum n.
- An allowance for traveling expenses made to those who were sent into the provinces to exercise any office or perform any service. [L., from viaticus, a. See Viatic.]
- carnage n.
- Flesh of slain animals or men. [F. carnage, LL. carnaticum tribute of animals, flesh of animals, fr. L. caro, carnis, flesh. See Carnal.]
- sate v. t.
- To satisfy the desire or appetite of; to satiate; to glut; to surfeit. [Probably shortened fr. satiate: cf. L. satus full. See Satiate.]
- visitant n.
- One who visits; a guest; a visitor. [L. visitans, -antis; p. pr.: cf. F. visitant.]
- dimly adv.
- In a dim or obscure manner; not brightly or clearly; with imperfect sight.
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- tearful a.
- Abounding with tears; weeping; shedding tears; as, tearful eyes.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Nelsoni Mors 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, Nelsoni Mors, in The Poetical Works of Henry Kirke White (1803–1806), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7149, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kirke-white-poems/nelsoni-mors.html, id L10064.
Form and metre
Nelsoni Mors is 44 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 50% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter, other poems in blank verse.
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 ------A-------BBA again · ash · felt · last · hush'd · song · severeA · freaks · truth · heart · flow · haunts · more · tones · sinkB · sinkB · tearA
- 2 --A-----------A---------- pour · well · cloudA · hearse · brows · scent · tears · bathe · warm · flow'd · too · step · night · cliff · loudA · pour'd · winds · oft · sate · sung · soul · visitant · harp · cold · high
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Yet once again, my Harp, yet once again | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| One ditty more, and on the mountain ash | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| I will again suspend thee. I have felt | 10 | ··˘/˘/···· |
| The warm tear frequent on my cheek, since last, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| At eventide, when all the winds were hush'd, | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| I woke to thee the melancholy song. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘· |
| Since then with Thoughtfulness, a maid severe, | 10 | ···/˘˘··˘/ |
| I've journey'd, and have learn'd to shape the freaks | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Of frolic fancy to the line of truth; | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Not unrepining, for my froward heart | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Stills turns to thee, mine Harp, and to the flow | 10 | ·········· |
| Of spring-gales past--the woods and storied haunts | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Of my not songless boyhood.--Yet once more, | 10 | ···/˘/···· |
| Not fearless, I will wake thy tremulous tones, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| My long-neglected Harp. He must not sink; | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| The good, the brave--he must not, shall not sink | 10 | ·········· |
| Without the meed of some melodious tear. | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Though from the Muse's chalice I may pour | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| No precious dews of Aganippe's well, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Or Castaly,--though from the morning cloud | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I fetch no hues to scatter on his hearse: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Yet will I wreathe a garland for his brows, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Of simple flowers, such as the hedge-rows scent | 10 | ·/˘/······ |
| Of Britain, my loved country; and with tears | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Most eloquent, yet silent, I will bathe | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘··· |
| Thy honour'd corse, my Nelson, tears as warm | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And honest as the ebbing blood that flow'd | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Fast from thy honest heart. Thou, Pity, too, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| If ever I have loved, with faltering step, | 10 | ·/····/˘˘· |
| To follow thee in the cold and starless night, | 11 | ·/˘·····/˘· |
| To the top-crag of some rain-beaten cliff; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And, as I heard the deep gun bursting loud | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Amid the pauses of the storm, have pour'd | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| Wild strains, and mournful, to the hurrying winds, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| The dying soul's viaticum; if oft | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘·· |
| Amid the carnage of the field I've sate | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| With thee upon the moonlight throne, and sung | 10 | ·····/···· |
| To cheer the fainting soldier's dying soul, | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| With mercy and forgiveness--visitant | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘/˘˘ |
| Of Heaven--sit thou upon my harp, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| And give it feeling, which were else too cold | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| For argument so great, for theme so high. | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| How dimly on that morn the sun arose, | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| 'Kerchief'd in mists, and tearful, when-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
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