Macgregor
That ever-honour'd, yet too bitter day,Her image hath so graven in my breast,That only memory can return it dress'dIn living charms, no genius could portray:Her air such graceful sadness did display,Her plaintive, soft laments my ear so bless'd,I ask'd if mortal, or a heavenly guest,Did thus the threatening clouds in smiles array.Her locks were gold, her cheeks were breathing snow,Her brows with ebon arch'd--bright stars her eyes,Wherein Love nestled, thence his dart to aim:Her teeth were pearls--the rose's softest glowDwelt on that mouth, whence woke to speech grief's sighsHer tears were crystal--and her breath was flame.
Words in this poem
- graven p. p.
- Carved. Graven image, an idol; an object of worship carved from wood, stone, etc.
- sadness n.
- Heaviness; firmness.
- ebon a.
- Consisting of ebony.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Macgregor 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, Macgregor, in The Sonnets, Triumphs and Other Poems (1859), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #17650, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/petrarch-sonnets/macgregor-15.html, id L14685.
Form and metre
Macgregor 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 90%). 100% 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 dayA · breastB · dress'dB · portrayA · displayA · bless'dB · guestB · arrayA · snowC · eyesD · aimC · glowD · sighsC · flameD
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 ever-honour'd, yet too bitter day, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Her image hath so graven in my breast, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| That only memory can return it dress'd | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| In living charms, no genius could portray: | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Her air such graceful sadness did display, | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Her plaintive, soft laments my ear so bless'd, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| I ask'd if mortal, or a heavenly guest, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Did thus the threatening clouds in smiles array. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Her locks were gold, her cheeks were breathing snow, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Her brows with ebon arch'd--bright stars her eyes, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Wherein Love nestled, thence his dart to aim: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Her teeth were pearls--the rose's softest glow | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Dwelt on that mouth, whence woke to speech grief's sighs | 10 | ·········· |
| Her tears were crystal--and her breath was flame. | 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.