Macgregor
I look behind each step I onward trace,Scarce able to support my wearied frame,Ah, wretched me! I pantingly exclaim,And from her atmosphere new strength embrace;I think on her I leave--my heart's best grace--My lengthen'd journey--life's capricious flame--I pause in withering fear, with purpose tame,Whilst down my cheek tears quick each other chase.My doubting heart thus questions in my grief:"Whence comes it that existence thou canst knowWhen from thy spirit thou dost dwell entire?"Love, holy Love, my heart then answers brief:"Such privilege I do on all bestowWho feed my flame with nought of earthly fire!"
Words in this poem
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- pantingly adv.
- With palpitation or rapid breathing.
- withering a.
- Tending to wither; causing to shrink or fade.
- 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]
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-5.html, id L14487.
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 91%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 14% 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 traceA · frameB · exclaimB · embraceA · graceA · flameB · tameB · chaseA · griefC · knowD · entireC · briefD · bestowC · fireD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I look behind each step I onward trace, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Scarce able to support my wearied frame, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| Ah, wretched me! I pantingly exclaim, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘˘/ |
| And from her atmosphere new strength embrace; | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| I think on her I leave--my heart's best grace-- | 10 | ·········· |
| My lengthen'd journey--life's capricious flame-- | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| I pause in withering fear, with purpose tame, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Whilst down my cheek tears quick each other chase. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| My doubting heart thus questions in my grief: | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| "Whence comes it that existence thou canst know | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| When from thy spirit thou dost dwell entire?" | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| Love, holy Love, my heart then answers brief: | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| "Such privilege I do on all bestow | 9 | ·/˘····˘/ |
| Who feed my flame with nought of earthly fire!" | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
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.