Charlemont
Already, in the east, the star of loveWas flaming, and that other in the north,Which Juno's jealousy is wont to move,Its beautiful and lustrous rays shot forth;Barefooted and half clad, the housewife oldHad stirr'd her fire, and set herself to weave;Each tender heart the thoughtful time controll'dWhich evermore the lover wakes to grieve,When my fond hope, already at life's last,Came to my heart, not by the wonted way,Where sleep its seal, its dew where sorrow cast--Alas! how changed--and said, or seem'd to say,"Sight of these eyes not yet does Heaven refuse,Then wherefore should thy tost heart courage lose?"
Words in this poem
- barefooted a.
- Having the feet bare.
- clad v.
- To clothe. Holland.
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
- wonted a.
- Accustomed; customary; usual.
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Charlemont is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Sonnets, Triumphs and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #17650, the various hands 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: Petrarch, Charlemont, in The Sonnets, Triumphs and Other Poems (1859), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #17650, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/petrarch-sonnets/charlemont-2.html, id L14515.
Form and metre
Charlemont is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABBAABBACDCDCD, the pattern of the Italian sonnet. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 21% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other Italian sonnets, 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 ABBAABBACDCDCD loveA · northB · moveB · forthA · oldA · weaveB · controll'dB · grieveA · lastC · wayD · castC · sayD · refuseC · loseD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Already, in the east, the star of love | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| Was flaming, and that other in the north, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Which Juno's jealousy is wont to move, | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘···· |
| Its beautiful and lustrous rays shot forth; | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘··· |
| Barefooted and half clad, the housewife old | 10 | /·˘····/·· |
| Had stirr'd her fire, and set herself to weave; | 10 | ···/··˘/·· |
| Each tender heart the thoughtful time controll'd | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Which evermore the lover wakes to grieve, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| When my fond hope, already at life's last, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Came to my heart, not by the wonted way, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Where sleep its seal, its dew where sorrow cast-- | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Alas! how changed--and said, or seem'd to say, | 10 | ˘/········ |
| "Sight of these eyes not yet does Heaven refuse, | 10 | ·······/˘/ |
| Then wherefore should thy tost heart courage lose?" | 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.