Leave-Taking
That witching paleness, which with cloud of loveVeil'd her sweet smile, majestically bright,So thrill'd my heart, that from the bosom's nightMidway to meet it on her face it strove.Then learnt I how, 'mid realms of joy above,The blest behold the blest: in such pure lightI scann'd her tender thought, to others' sightViewless!--but my fond glances would not rove.Each angel grace, each lowly courtesy,E'er traced in dame by Love's soft power inspired,Would seem but foils to those which prompt my lay:Upon the ground was cast her gentle eye,And still methought, though silent, she inquired,"What bears my faithful friend so soon, so far away?"
There was a touching paleness on her face,Which chased her smiles, but such sweet union madeOf pensive majesty and heavenly grace,As if a passing cloud had veil'd her with its shade;Then knew I how the blessed ones aboveGaze on each other in their perfect bliss,For never yet was look of mortal loveSo pure, so tender, so serene as this.The softest glance fond woman ever sentTo him she loved, would cold and rayless beCompared to this, which she divinely bentEarthward, with angel sympathy, on me,That seem'd with speechless tenderness to say,"Who takes from me my faithful friend away?"
Words in this poem
- witching a.
- That witches or enchants; suited to enchantment or witchcraft; bewitching.
- midway n.
- The middle of the way or distance; a middle way or course.
- viewless a.
- Not perceivable by the eye; invisible; unseen.
- 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]
- rayless a.
- Destitute of rays; hence, dark; not illuminated; blind; as, a rayless sky; rayless eyes.
- earthward adv.
- Toward the earth; -- opposed to heavenward or skyward.
- speechless a.
- Destitute or deprived of the faculty of speech.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Leave-Taking 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, Leave-Taking, in The Sonnets, Triumphs and Other Poems (1859), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #17650, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/petrarch-sonnets/leave-taking.html, id L18599.
Form and metre
Leave-Taking is 28 lines in 2 stanzas of 14 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABBAABBACDCDCD, the Italian sonnet. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 36% 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 · brightB · nightB · stroveA · aboveA · lightB · sightB · roveA · courtesyC · inspiredD · layC · eyeD · inquiredC · awayD
- 2 ABBAABBACDCDCD faceA · madeB · graceB · shadeA · aboveA · blissB · loveB · thisA · sentC · beD · bentC · meD · sayC · awayD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| That witching paleness, which with cloud of love | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Veil'd her sweet smile, majestically bright, | 10 | ····˘/˘˘˘· |
| So thrill'd my heart, that from the bosom's night | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Midway to meet it on her face it strove. | 10 | /········· |
| Then learnt I how, 'mid realms of joy above, | 10 | ·········· |
| The blest behold the blest: in such pure light | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| I scann'd her tender thought, to others' sight | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Viewless!--but my fond glances would not rove. | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| Each angel grace, each lowly courtesy, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| E'er traced in dame by Love's soft power inspired, | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| Would seem but foils to those which prompt my lay: | 10 | ·········· |
| Upon the ground was cast her gentle eye, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And still methought, though silent, she inquired, | 11 | ··˘/·/˘·˘/˘ |
| "What bears my faithful friend so soon, so far away?" | 12 | ···/˘·····˘/ |
| There was a touching paleness on her face, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Which chased her smiles, but such sweet union made | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Of pensive majesty and heavenly grace, | 10 | ·/˘/˘·/˘˘· |
| As if a passing cloud had veil'd her with its shade; | 12 | ···/˘······· |
| Then knew I how the blessed ones above | 10 | ······˘··· |
| Gaze on each other in their perfect bliss, | 10 | ···/˘··/·· |
| For never yet was look of mortal love | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| So pure, so tender, so serene as this. | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| The softest glance fond woman ever sent | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| To him she loved, would cold and rayless be | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Compared to this, which she divinely bent | 10 | ˘/····˘/˘· |
| Earthward, with angel sympathy, on me, | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘·· |
| That seem'd with speechless tenderness to say, | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘·· |
| "Who takes from me my faithful friend away?" | 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.