On Dante Alighieri
From heaven his spirit came, and robed in clayThe realms of justice and of mercy trod,Then rose a living man to gaze on God,That he might make the truth as clear as day.For that pure star that brightened with his rayThe undeserving nest where I was born,The whole wide world would be a prize to scorn;None but his Maker can due guerdon pay.I speak of Dante, whose high work remainsUnknown, unhonoured by that thankless brood,Who only to just men deny their wage.Were I but he! Born for like lingering pains,Against his exile coupled with his goodI'd gladly change the world's best heritage!
No tongue can tell of him what should be told,For on blind eyes his splendour shines too strong;'Twere easier to blame those who wrought him wrong,Than sound his least praise with a mouth of gold.He to explore the place of pain was bold,Then soared to God, to teach our souls by song;The gates heaven oped to bear his feet along,Against his just desire his country rolled.Thankless I call her, and to her own painThe nurse of fell mischance; for sign take this,That ever to the best she deals more scorn:Among a thousand proofs let one remain;Though ne'er was fortune more unjust than his,His equal or his better ne'er was born.
Words in this poem
- guerdon n.
- A reward; requital; recompense; -- used in both a good and a bad sense. [OF. guerdon, guerredon, LL. widerdonum (influenced by L. donum gift, cf. Donation ), fr. OHG. widarl; widar again, against (G. wider wieder) + lon reward, G. lo]
- thankless a.
- Not acknowledging favors; not expressing thankfulness; unthankful; ungrateful.
- wage v. i.
- To bind one's self; to engage.
- gladly adv.
- Preferably; by choice. [From Glad, a.]
- heritage a.
- That which is inherited, or passes from heir to heir; inheritance. [OE. heritage, eritage, OF. heritage, eritage, F. héritage, fr. hériter to inherit, LL. heriditare. See Hereditable.]
- splendour n.
- Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
- explore v. t.
- To seek for or after; to strive to attain by search; to look wisely and carefully for. [L. explorare to explore; ex out+plorare to cry out aloud,prob. orig., to cause to flow; perh. akin to E. flow: cf. F. explorer.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On Dante Alighieri is in the public domain. This text is taken from Sonnets, Project Gutenberg ebook #10314, the John Addington Symonds 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: Michelangelo Buonarroti, On Dante Alighieri, in Sonnets (1878), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #10314, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/michelangelo-sonnets/on-dante-alighieri.html, id L15144.
Form and metre
On Dante Alighieri is 28 lines in 2 stanzas of 14 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 18% 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 ABBAACCAD-ED-E clayA · trodB · godB · dayA · rayA · bornC · scornC · payA · remainsD · brood · wageE · painsD · good · heritageE
- 2 ABBAABBAC-DC-D toldA · strongB · wrongB · goldA · boldA · songB · alongB · rolledA · painC · this · scornD · remainC · his · bornD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| From heaven his spirit came, and robed in clay | 10 | ·/·/˘····· |
| The realms of justice and of mercy trod, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Then rose a living man to gaze on God, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| That he might make the truth as clear as day. | 10 | ·········· |
| For that pure star that brightened with his ray | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The undeserving nest where I was born, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| The whole wide world would be a prize to scorn; | 10 | ·········· |
| None but his Maker can due guerdon pay. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| I speak of Dante, whose high work remains | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Unknown, unhonoured by that thankless brood, | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| Who only to just men deny their wage. | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| Were I but he! Born for like lingering pains, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Against his exile coupled with his good | 10 | ···/·/˘··· |
| I'd gladly change the world's best heritage! | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| No tongue can tell of him what should be told, | 10 | ·········· |
| For on blind eyes his splendour shines too strong; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| 'Twere easier to blame those who wrought him wrong, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Than sound his least praise with a mouth of gold. | 10 | ·········· |
| He to explore the place of pain was bold, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Then soared to God, to teach our souls by song; | 10 | ······/··· |
| The gates heaven oped to bear his feet along, | 10 | ··/·····˘/ |
| Against his just desire his country rolled. | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| Thankless I call her, and to her own pain | 10 | /˘········ |
| The nurse of fell mischance; for sign take this, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| That ever to the best she deals more scorn: | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Among a thousand proofs let one remain; | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Though ne'er was fortune more unjust than his, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| His equal or his better ne'er was born. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
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.