To Silvia
Silvia, rememberest thouYet that sweet time of thine abode on earth,When beauty graced thy browAnd fired thine eyes, so radiant and so gay;And thou, so joyous, yet of pensive mood,Didst pass on youth's fair way?
The chambers calm and still,The sunny paths around,Did to thy song resound,When thou, upon thy handiwork intent,Wast seated, full of joyAt the fair future where thy hopes were bound.It was the fragrant month of flowery May,And thus went by thy day.
I leaving oft behindThe labours and the vigils of my mind,That did my life consume,And of my being far the best entomb,Bade from the casement of my father's houseMine ears give heed unto thy silver song,And to thy rapid handThat swept with skill the spinning thread along.I watched the sky serene,The radiant ways and flowers,And here the sea, the mountain there, expand.No mortal tongue can tellWhat made my bosom swell.
What thoughts divinely sweet,What hopes, O Silvia! and what souls were ours!In what guise did we meetOur destiny and life?When I remember such aspiring flown,Fierce pain invades my soul,Which nothing can console,And my misfortune I again bemoan.O Nature, void of ruth,Why not give some returnFor those fair promises? Why full of fraudThy wretched offspring spurn?
Thou ere the herbs by winter were destroyed,Led to the grave by an unknown disease,Didst perish, tender blossom: thy life's flowerWas not by thee enjoyed;Nor heard, thy heart to please,The admiration of thy raven hairOr of the enamoured glances of thine eyes;Nor thy companions in the festive hourSpoke of love's joys and sighs.
Ere long my hope as wellWas dead and gone. By cruel Fate's decreeWas youthfulness deniedUnto my years. Ah me!How art thou past for aye,Thou dear companion of my earlier day,My hope so much bewailed!Is this the world? Are theseThe joys, the loves, the labours and the deedsWhereof so often we together spoke?Is this the doom to which mankind proceeds?When truth before thee layRevealed, thou sankest; and thy dying handPointed to death, a figure of cold gloom,And to a distant tomb.
Words in this poem 17
- abode n.
- Act of waiting; delay. [OE. abad, abood, fr. abiden to abide. See Abide. For the change of vowel, cf. abode, imp. of abide.]
- graced a.
- Endowed with grace; beautiful; full of graces; honorable.
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- sunny a.
- Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; hence, shining; bright; brilliant; radiant.
- handiwork n.
- Work done by the hands; hence, any work done personally. [OE. handiwerc, AS. handgeweorc; hand hand + geweorc work; prefix ge- + weorc. See Work.]
- wast
- The second person singular of the verb be, in the indicative mood, imperfect tense; -- now used only in solemn or poetical style.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- bade
- A form of the pat tense of Bid.
- casement n.
- A window sash opening on hinges affixed to the upright side of the frame into which it is fitted. (Poetically) A window. [Shortened fr. encasement. See Incase 1st Case, and cf. Incasement.]
- aspiring a.
- That aspires; as, an Aspiring mind.
- flown a.
- Flushed, inflated.
- bemoan v. t.
- To express deep grief for by moaning; to express sorrow for; to lament; to bewail; to pity or sympathize with. [OE. bimenen, AS. bem; pref. be- + m to moan. See Moan.]
- ruth n.
- Sorrow for the misery of another; pity; tenderness. [From Rue, v.: cf. Icel. hryggedh, hrygedh.]
- spurn v. t.
- To drive back or away, as with the foot; to kick. [OE. spurnen to kick against, to stumble over, AS. spurnan to kick, offend; akin to spura spur, OS. & OHG. spurnan to kick, Icel. spyrna, L. spernere to despise,]
- admiration n.
- Wonder; astonishment. [F., fr. L. admiratio. See Admire.]
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- whereof adv.
- Of which; of whom; formerly, also, with which; -- used relatively.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To Silvia is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Leopardi, Project Gutenberg ebook #53020, the Frederick Townsend translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Giacomo Leopardi, To Silvia, in The Poems of Leopardi (1887), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #53020, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/leopardi-poems/to-silvia.html, id L15301.
Form and metre
To Silvia is 63 lines in 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 32% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
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-AB-B thouA · earth · browA · gayB · mood · wayB
- 2 -AA--ABB still · aroundA · resoundA · intent · joy · boundA · mayB · dayB
- 3 AABB-CDC--DEE behindA · mindA · consumeB · entombB · house · songC · handD · alongC · serene · flowers · expandD · tellE · swellE
- 4 A-A-BCCB-D-D sweetA · ours · meetA · life · flownB · soulC · consoleC · bemoanB · ruth · returnD · fraud · spurnD
- 5 ABCAB-DCD destroyedA · diseaseB · flowerC · enjoyedA · pleaseB · hair · eyesD · hourC · sighsD
- 6 -A-AAB--C-CB-DD well · decreeA · denied · meA · ayeA · dayB · bewailed · these · deedsC · spoke · proceedsC · layB · hand · gloomD · tombD
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Silvia, rememberest thou | 8 | /˘˘˘/˘˘· |
| Yet that sweet time of thine abode on earth, | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| When beauty graced thy brow | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And fired thine eyes, so radiant and so gay; | 10 | ·/···/˘··· |
| And thou, so joyous, yet of pensive mood, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Didst pass on youth's fair way? | 6 | ······ |
| The chambers calm and still, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The sunny paths around, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Did to thy song resound, | 6 | ·····/ |
| When thou, upon thy handiwork intent, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Wast seated, full of joy | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| At the fair future where thy hopes were bound. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| It was the fragrant month of flowery May, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And thus went by thy day. | 6 | ······ |
| I leaving oft behind | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The labours and the vigils of my mind, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| That did my life consume, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| And of my being far the best entomb, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Bade from the casement of my father's house | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Mine ears give heed unto thy silver song, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And to thy rapid hand | 6 | ···/˘· |
| That swept with skill the spinning thread along. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| I watched the sky serene, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| The radiant ways and flowers, | 8 | ·/˘˘··/˘ |
| And here the sea, the mountain there, expand. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| No mortal tongue can tell | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| What made my bosom swell. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| What thoughts divinely sweet, | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| What hopes, O Silvia! and what souls were ours! | 10 | ···/˘····/ |
| In what guise did we meet | 6 | ······ |
| Our destiny and life? | 7 | /˘/˘˘·· |
| When I remember such aspiring flown, | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Fierce pain invades my soul, | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Which nothing can console, | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| And my misfortune I again bemoan. | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘/ |
| O Nature, void of ruth, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Why not give some return | 6 | ····˘/ |
| For those fair promises? Why full of fraud | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Thy wretched offspring spurn? | 6 | ·/˘/·· |
| Thou ere the herbs by winter were destroyed, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Led to the grave by an unknown disease, | 10 | ······˘/˘/ |
| Didst perish, tender blossom: thy life's flower | 11 | ·/˘/˘/˘··/˘ |
| Was not by thee enjoyed; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Nor heard, thy heart to please, | 6 | ······ |
| The admiration of thy raven hair | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Or of the enamoured glances of thine eyes; | 11 | ···˘/˘/˘··· |
| Nor thy companions in the festive hour | 11 | ··˘/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Spoke of love's joys and sighs. | 6 | ······ |
| Ere long my hope as well | 6 | ······ |
| Was dead and gone. By cruel Fate's decree | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Was youthfulness denied | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Unto my years. Ah me! | 6 | ······ |
| How art thou past for aye, | 6 | ······ |
| Thou dear companion of my earlier day, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| My hope so much bewailed! | 6 | ······ |
| Is this the world? Are these | 6 | ······ |
| The joys, the loves, the labours and the deeds | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Whereof so often we together spoke? | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Is this the doom to which mankind proceeds? | 10 | ······//˘/ |
| When truth before thee lay | 6 | ······ |
| Revealed, thou sankest; and thy dying hand | 10 | ˘/·/˘··/˘· |
| Pointed to death, a figure of cold gloom, | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| And to a distant tomb. | 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.