Sonnet to Henry Kirke White, on his Poems Lately Published
Ah! once again the long left wires among,Truants the Muse to weave her requiem song;With sterner lore now busied, erst the layCheer'd my dark morn of manhood, wont to strayO'er fancy's fields in quest of musky flower;To me nor fragrant less, though barr'd from viewAnd courtship of the world: hail'd was the hourThat gave me, dripping fresh with nature's dew,Poor Henry's budding beauties--to a climeHapless transplanted, whose exotic rayForced their young vigour into transient day,And drain'd the stalk that rear'd them! and shall timeTrample these orphan blossoms?--No! they breatheStill lovelier charms--for Southey culls the wreath!
Words in this poem
- requiem n.
- A mass said or sung for the repose of a departed soul. [Acc. of L. requies rest, the first words of the Mass being "Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine," give eternal rest to them, O lord; pref. re- re + quies quiet. S]
- sterner n.
- A director. Dr. R. Clerke. [See 3d Stern.]
- 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.]
- courtship n.
- The act of paying court, with the intent to solicit a favor.
- dripping n.
- A falling in drops, or the sound so made.
- clime n.
- A climate; a tract or region of the earth. See Climate. [L. clima. See Climate.]
- hapless a.
- Without hap or luck; luckless; unfortunate; unlucky; unhappy; as, hapless youth; hapless maid.
- vigour v. t.
- To invigorate. Feltham.
- 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,]
- culls n.
- Refuse timber, from which the best part has been culled out. [From Cull,, v. t.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet to Henry Kirke White, on his Poems Lately Published 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, Sonnet to Henry Kirke White, on his Poems Lately Published, in The Poetical Works of Henry Kirke White (1803–1806), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7149, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kirke-white-poems/sonnet-to-henry-kirke-white-on-his-poems-lately-published.html, id L18572.
Form and metre
Sonnet to Henry Kirke White, on his Poems Lately Published is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, 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 10.2 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 57% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 --AABCBCDAAD-- among · song · layA · strayA · flowerB · viewC · hourB · dewC · climeD · rayA · dayA · timeD · breathe · wreath
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ah! once again the long left wires among, | 10 | ··˘/···/·· |
| Truants the Muse to weave her requiem song; | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| With sterner lore now busied, erst the lay | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Cheer'd my dark morn of manhood, wont to stray | 10 | ·····/···· |
| O'er fancy's fields in quest of musky flower; | 11 | ·/˘····/˘/˘ |
| To me nor fragrant less, though barr'd from view | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And courtship of the world: hail'd was the hour | 11 | ·/·······/˘ |
| That gave me, dripping fresh with nature's dew, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Poor Henry's budding beauties--to a clime | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| Hapless transplanted, whose exotic ray | 10 | /˘˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Forced their young vigour into transient day, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And drain'd the stalk that rear'd them! and shall time | 10 | ·········· |
| Trample these orphan blossoms?--No! they breathe | 10 | /˘·/˘/˘··· |
| Still lovelier charms--for Southey culls the wreath! | 11 | ··········· |
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.