A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day, 1687
From harmony, from heavenly harmony,This universal frame began:When nature underneath a heapOf jarring atoms lay,And could not heave her head,The tuneful voice was heard from high,‘Arise, ye more than dead!’Then cold, and hot, and moist, and dry,In order to their stations leap,And Music’s power obey.From harmony, from heavenly harmony,This universal frame began:From harmony to harmonyThrough all the compass of the notes it ran,The diapason closing full in Man.
What passion cannot Music raise and quell?When Jubal struck the chorded shell,His listening brethren stood around,And, wondering, on their faces fellTo worship that celestial sound:Less than a God they thought there could not dwellWithin the hollow of that shell,That spoke so sweetly, and so well.What passion cannot Music raise and quell?
The trumpet’s loud clangourExcites us to arms,With shrill notes of anger,And mortal alarms.The double double double beatOf the thundering drumCries Hark! the foes come;Charge, charge, ’tis too late to retreat!
The soft complaining flute,In dying notes, discoversThe woes of hopeless lovers,Whose dirge is whisper’d by the warbling lute.
Sharp violins proclaimTheir jealous pangs and desperation,Fury, frantic indignation,Depth of pains, and height of passion.For the fair, disdainful dame.
But O, what art can teach,What human voice can reach,The sacred organ’s praise?Notes inspiring holy love,Notes that wing their heavenly waysTo mend the choirs above.
Orpheus could lead the savage race;And trees unrooted left their place,Sequacious of the lyre;But bright Cecilia rais’d the wonder higher:When to her organ vocal breath was given,An angel heard, and straight appear’dMistaking Earth for Heaven.
GRAND CHORUS.
As from the power of sacred laysThe spheres began to move,And sung the great Creator’s praiseTo all the Blest above;So when the last and dreadful hourThis crumbling pageant shall devour,The trumpet shall be heard on high,The dead shall live, the living die,And Music shall untune the sky!
Words in this poem 18
- jarring a.
- Shaking; disturbing; discordant. [See Jar.]
- tuneful a.
- Harmonious; melodious; musical; as, tuneful notes.
- diapason n.
- The octave, or interval which includes all the tones of the diatonic scale. [L., fr. Gr. i. e., diapason. Cf. Panacea.]
- quell v. t.
- To take the life of; to kill. [OE. quellen to kill, AS. cwellan, causative of cwelan to die; akin to OHG. quellen to torment, Icel. kvelja. See Quail to cower.]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- 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.]
- clangour n.
- A sharp, harsh, ringing sound. [L., fr. clangere. See Clang, v. t.]
- thundering a.
- Emitting thunder.
- dirge n.
- A piece of music of a mournful character, to accompany funeral rites; a funeral hymn. [Contraction of Lat. dirige, direct thou (imperative of dirigere), the first word of a funeral hymn (Lat. transl. of Psalm v. 8) beginning, "Dirige, Domine, in c]
- desperation n.
- The act of despairing or becoming desperate; a giving up of hope. [L. desperatio: cf. OF. desperation.]
- dame n.
- A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a womam in authority; especially, a lady. [F. dame, LL. domna, fr. L. domina mistress, lady, fem. of dominus master, ruler, lord; akin to domare to tame, subdue. See Tame, and cf. Dam mother, Dan, Danger]
- orpheus n.
- The famous mythic Thracian poet, son of the Muse Calliope, and husband of Eurydice. He is reputed to have had power to entrance beasts and inanimate objects by the music of his lyre.
- sequacious a.
- Inclined to follow a leader; following; attendant. [L. sequax, -acis, fr. suquit to follow. See Sue to follow.]
- mistaking n.
- An error; a mistake.
- dreadful a.
- Full of dread or terror; fearful.
- pageant n.
- A theatrical exhibition; a spectacle. [OE. pagent, pagen, originally, a movable scaffold or stage, hence, what was exhibited on it, fr. LL. pagina, akin to pangere to fasten; cf. L. pagina page, leaf]
- 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,]
- untune v. t.
- To make incapable of harmony, or of harmonious action; to put out of tune. [1st pref. un- + tune.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day, 1687 is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250-1900, Project Gutenberg ebook #66619; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Dryden, A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day, 1687, in Poems (1631–1700), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/obev-john-dryden/a-song-for-st-cecilias-day-1687.html, id L16119.
Form and metre
A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day, 1687 is 64 lines in 9 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.7 syllables. 15 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 ABCDEFEFCDABABB harmonyA · beganB · heapC · layD · headE · highF · deadE · dryF · leapC · obeyD · harmonyA · beganB · harmonyA · ranB · manB
- 2 AABABAAAA quellA · shellA · aroundB · fellA · soundB · dwellA · shellA · wellA · quellA
- 3 -A-ABCCB clangour · armsA · anger · alarmsA · beatB · drumC · comeC · retreatB
- 4 ABBA fluteA · discoversB · loversB · luteA
- 5 ABB-A proclaimA · desperationB · indignationB · passion · dameA
- 6 AABCBC teachA · reachA · praiseB · loveC · waysB · aboveC
- 7 AA----- raceA · placeA · lyre · higher · given · appear'd · heaven
- 9 ABABCCDDD laysA · moveB · praiseA · aboveB · hourC · devourC · highD · dieD · skyD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| From harmony, from heavenly harmony, | 11 | ·/˘˘·/˘˘/˘˘ |
| This universal frame began: | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| When nature underneath a heap | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| Of jarring atoms lay, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| And could not heave her head, | 6 | ······ |
| The tuneful voice was heard from high, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| ‘Arise, ye more than dead!’ | 6 | ˘/···· |
| Then cold, and hot, and moist, and dry, | 8 | ········ |
| In order to their stations leap, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And Music’s power obey. | 7 | ·/˘/˘˘/ |
| From harmony, from heavenly harmony, | 11 | ·/˘˘·/˘˘/˘˘ |
| This universal frame began: | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| From harmony to harmony | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘˘ |
| Through all the compass of the notes it ran, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| The diapason closing full in Man. | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| What passion cannot Music raise and quell? | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| When Jubal struck the chorded shell, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| His listening brethren stood around, | 9 | ·/˘˘/˘··· |
| And, wondering, on their faces fell | 9 | ·/˘˘··/˘· |
| To worship that celestial sound: | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Less than a God they thought there could not dwell | 10 | ·········· |
| Within the hollow of that shell, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| That spoke so sweetly, and so well. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| What passion cannot Music raise and quell? | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| The trumpet’s loud clangour | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Excites us to arms, | 5 | ˘/··· |
| With shrill notes of anger, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| And mortal alarms. | 5 | ·/˘˘/ |
| The double double double beat | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Of the thundering drum | 6 | ··/˘˘· |
| Cries Hark! the foes come; | 5 | ····· |
| Charge, charge, ’tis too late to retreat! | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The soft complaining flute, | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| In dying notes, discovers | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| The woes of hopeless lovers, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Whose dirge is whisper’d by the warbling lute. | 11 | ···/˘··/˘˘· |
| Sharp violins proclaim | 6 | ·˘˘/˘/ |
| Their jealous pangs and desperation, | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| Fury, frantic indignation, | 8 | /˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| Depth of pains, and height of passion. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| For the fair, disdainful dame. | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| But O, what art can teach, | 6 | ······ |
| What human voice can reach, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The sacred organ’s praise? | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Notes inspiring holy love, | 7 | ·˘/˘/˘· |
| Notes that wing their heavenly ways | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| To mend the choirs above. | 6 | ······ |
| Orpheus could lead the savage race; | 9 | /˘˘···/˘· |
| And trees unrooted left their place, | 8 | ········ |
| Sequacious of the lyre; | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| But bright Cecilia rais’d the wonder higher: | 11 | ··˘/˘··/˘/˘ |
| When to her organ vocal breath was given, | 11 | ···/˘/˘··/˘ |
| An angel heard, and straight appear’d | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Mistaking Earth for Heaven. | 7 | ˘/˘··/˘ |
| GRAND CHORUS. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| As from the power of sacred lays | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| The spheres began to move, | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| And sung the great Creator’s praise | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| To all the Blest above; | 6 | ······ |
| So when the last and dreadful hour | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| This crumbling pageant shall devour, | 10 | ·/˘˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| The trumpet shall be heard on high, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The dead shall live, the living die, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And Music shall untune the sky! | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
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.