Orpheus
The music of the Sirens foundUlysses weak, though cords were strong;But happier Orpheus stood unbound,And shamed it with a sweeter song.His mode be mine. Of Heav’n I ask,May I, with heart-persuading might,Pursue the Poet’s sacred taskOf superseding faith by sight,Till ev’n the witless Gadarene,Preferring Christ to swine, shall knowThat life is sweetest when it’s clean.To prouder folly let me showEarth by divine light made divine;And let the saints, who hear my word,Say, ‘Lo, the clouds begin to shineAbout the coming of the Lord!’
Words in this poem
- 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.
- witless a.
- Destitute of wit or understanding; wanting thought; hence, indiscreet; not under the guidance of judgment.
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Orpheus is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Angel in the House, Project Gutenberg ebook #4099; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Coventry Patmore, Orpheus, in The Angel in the House (1854–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #4099, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/patmore-angel/orpheus.html, id L12275.
Form and metre
Orpheus is 16 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 31% 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 ABABCDCDEFEFG-G- foundA · strongB · unboundA · songB · askC · mightD · taskC · sightD · gadareneE · knowF · cleanE · showF · divineG · word · shineG · lord
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The music of the Sirens found | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Ulysses weak, though cords were strong; | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| But happier Orpheus stood unbound, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| And shamed it with a sweeter song. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| His mode be mine. Of Heav’n I ask, | 8 | ········ |
| May I, with heart-persuading might, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Pursue the Poet’s sacred task | 8 | ˘/·/˘/˘· |
| Of superseding faith by sight, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Till ev’n the witless Gadarene, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Preferring Christ to swine, shall know | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| That life is sweetest when it’s clean. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To prouder folly let me show | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Earth by divine light made divine; | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| And let the saints, who hear my word, | 8 | ········ |
| Say, ‘Lo, the clouds begin to shine | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| About the coming of the Lord!’ | 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.