Written at a Very Early Age
I've read, my friend, of Dioclesian,And many another noble Grecian,Who wealth and palaces resigned,In cots the joys of peace to find;Maximian's meal of turnip-tops(Disgusting food to dainty chops)I've also read of, without wonder;But such a cursed egregious blunder,As that a man of wit and senseShould leave his books to hoard up pence,--Forsake the loved Aonian maidsFor all the petty tricks of trades,I never, either now, or long since,Have heard of such a peace of nonsense;That one who learning's joys hath felt,And at the Muse's altar knelt,Should leave a life of sacred leisureTo taste the accumulating pleasure;And, metamorphosed to an alley duck,Grovel in loads of kindred muck.Oh! 't is beyond my comprehension!A courtier throwing up his pension,--A lawyer working without a fee,--A parson giving charity,--A truly pious methodist preacher,--Are not, egad, so out of nature.Had nature made thee half a fool,But given thee wit to keep a school,I had not stared at thy backsliding:But when thy wit I can confide in,When well I know thy just pretenceTo solid and exalted sense;When well I know that on thy headPhilosophy her lights hath shed,I stand aghast! thy virtues sum to,I wonder what this world will come to!Yet, whence this strain? shall I repineThat thou alone dost singly shine?Shall I lament that thou alone,Of men of parts, hast prudence known?
Words in this poem
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- resigned a.
- Submissive; yielding; not disposed to resist or murmur.
- dainty n.
- Value; estimation; the gratification or pleasure taken in anything. [OE. deinie, dainte, deintie, deyntee, OF. deintié delicacy, orig., dignity, honor, fr. L. dignitas, fr. dignus worthy. See Deign, and cf. Dignity.]
- chops n.
- The jaws; also, the fleshy parts about the mouth. [See Chop a jaw.]
- cursed a.
- Deserving a curse; execrable; hateful; detestable; abominable.
- aonian a.
- Pertaining to Aonia, Boeotia, or to the Muses, who were supposed to dwell there. Aonian fount, the fountain of Aganippe, at the foot of Mount Helicon, not far from Thebes, and sacred to the Muses. [From Aonia, a part of Boeotia, in Greece.]
- grovel v. i.
- To creep on the earth, or with the face to the ground; to lie prone, or move uneasily with the body prostrate on the earth; to lie fiat on one's belly, expressive of abjectness; to crawl. [From OE. grovelinge, grufelinge, adv., on the face, prone, which was misunderstood as a p. pr.; cf. OE. gruf, groff, in the same sense; of Scand. origin, cf. Ic]
- courtier n.
- One who is in attendance at the court of a prince; one who has an appointment at court. [From Court.]
- egad interj.
- An exclamation expressing exultation or surprise, etc. [Euphemistic corruption of the oath, "by God."]
- backsliding a.
- Slipping back; falling back into sin or error; sinning.
- pretence n.
- The act of laying claim; the claim laid; assumption; pretension. [LL. praetensus, for L. praetentus, p. p. of praetendere. See Pretend, and cf. Tension.]
- 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,]
- repine v. i.
- To fail; to wane. [Pref. re- + pine to languish.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Written at a Very Early Age 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, Written at a Very Early Age, in The Poetical Works of Henry Kirke White (1803–1806), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #7149, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kirke-white-poems/written-at-a-very-early-age.html, id L10072.
Form and metre
Written at a Very Early Age is 40 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 70% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. 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 8.8 syllables. 13 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 18% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, 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 AABBCCDDEEFFEEGGHHIIJJ----KK----LL----MM dioclesianA · grecianA · resignedB · findB · topsC · chopsC · wonderD · blunderD · senseE · penceE · maidsF · tradesF · sinceE · nonsenseE · feltG · kneltG · leisureH · pleasureH · duckI · muckI · comprehensionJ · pensionJ · fee · charity · preacher · nature · foolK · schoolK · backsliding · in · pretence · sense · headL · shedL · to · to · repine · shine · aloneM · knownM
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I've read, my friend, of Dioclesian, | 8 | ········ |
| And many another noble Grecian, | 10 | ·/˘˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| Who wealth and palaces resigned, | 9 | ···/˘˘˘/˘ |
| In cots the joys of peace to find; | 8 | ········ |
| Maximian's meal of turnip-tops | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| (Disgusting food to dainty chops) | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| I've also read of, without wonder; | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| But such a cursed egregious blunder, | 10 | ····˘˘/˘/˘ |
| As that a man of wit and sense | 8 | ········ |
| Should leave his books to hoard up pence,-- | 8 | ········ |
| Forsake the loved Aonian maids | 10 | ˘/··˘˘/˘˘· |
| For all the petty tricks of trades, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I never, either now, or long since, | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| Have heard of such a peace of nonsense; | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| That one who learning's joys hath felt, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And at the Muse's altar knelt, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Should leave a life of sacred leisure | 10 | ·····/˘˘/˘ |
| To taste the accumulating pleasure; | 10 | ···˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| And, metamorphosed to an alley duck, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Grovel in loads of kindred muck. | 9 | /˘···/˘˘· |
| Oh! 't is beyond my comprehension! | 10 | ·······˘/˘ |
| A courtier throwing up his pension,-- | 10 | ·/˘˘/˘··/˘ |
| A lawyer working without a fee,-- | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| A parson giving charity,-- | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘˘ |
| A truly pious methodist preacher,-- | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘˘/˘ |
| Are not, egad, so out of nature. | 9 | ··˘/···/˘ |
| Had nature made thee half a fool, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But given thee wit to keep a school, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| I had not stared at thy backsliding: | 10 | ····˘··/·˘ |
| But when thy wit I can confide in, | 9 | ······˘/· |
| When well I know thy just pretence | 8 | ········ |
| To solid and exalted sense; | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| When well I know that on thy head | 8 | ········ |
| Philosophy her lights hath shed, | 8 | ˘/˘˘···· |
| I stand aghast! thy virtues sum to, | 9 | ··˘/·/˘·· |
| I wonder what this world will come to! | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Yet, whence this strain? shall I repine | 8 | ······˘/ |
| That thou alone dost singly shine? | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Shall I lament that thou alone, | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| Of men of parts, hast prudence known? | 8 | ·····/˘· |
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