To the Earl of Carlisle, K. G II. 2
But human vows, how frail they be!Fame brought Carlisle unto his view,And all amazed, he thought to seeThe Augustan age anew.Fill'd with wild rapture, up he rose,No more he ponders on the woesWhich erst he felt that forward goes,Regrets he'd sunk in impotence,And hails the ideal day of virtuous eminence.
Words in this poem
- augustan a.
- Of or pertaining to Augustus Cæsar or to his times. [L. Augustanus, fr. Augustus. See August, n.]
- impotence n.
- The quality or condition of being impotent; want of strength or power, animal, intellectual, or moral; weakness; feebleness; inability; imbecility. [L. impotenia inability, poverty, want of moderation. See Impotent.]
- virtuous a.
- Possessing or exhibiting virtue. Specifically: -- (a) Exhibiting manly courage and strength; valorous; valiant; brave. [OE. vertuous, OF. vertuos, vertuous, F. vertueux, fr. L. Virtuous. See Virtue, and cf. Virtuoso.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To the Earl of Carlisle, K. G II. 2 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, To the Earl of Carlisle, K. G II. 2, in The Poetical Works of Henry Kirke White (1803–1806), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7149, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kirke-white-poems/to-the-earl-of-carlisle-k-g-ii-2.html, id L10094.
Form and metre
To the Earl of Carlisle, K. G II. 2 is 9 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 81%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.3 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 22% 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 ABABCCC-- beA · viewB · seeA · anewB · roseC · woesC · goesC · impotence · eminence
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 |
|---|---|---|
| But human vows, how frail they be! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Fame brought Carlisle unto his view, | 8 | ··/····· |
| And all amazed, he thought to see | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| The Augustan age anew. | 7 | ·˘/˘·˘/ |
| Fill'd with wild rapture, up he rose, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| No more he ponders on the woes | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Which erst he felt that forward goes, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Regrets he'd sunk in impotence, | 8 | ˘/···/˘˘ |
| And hails the ideal day of virtuous eminence. | 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.