Macgregor
Each creature on whose wakeful eyesThe bright sun pours his golden fire,By day a destined toil pursues;And, when heaven's lamps illume the skies,All to some haunt for rest retire,Till a fresh dawn that toil renews.But I, when a new morn doth rise,Chasing from earth its murky shades,While ring the forests with delight,Find no remission of my sighs;And, soon as night her mantle spreads,I weep, and wish returning lightAgain when eve bids day retreat,O'er other climes to dart its rays;Pensive those cruel stars I view,Which influence thus my amorous fate;And imprecate that beauty's blaze,Which o'er my form such wildness threw.No forest surely in its gloomsNurtures a savage so unkindAs she who bids these sorrows flow:Me, nor the dawn nor sleep o'ercomes;For, though of mortal mould, my mindFeels more than passion's mortal glow.Ere up to you, bright orbs, I fly,Or to Love's bower speed down my way,While here my mouldering limbs remain;Let me her pity once espy;Thus, rich in bliss, one little dayShall recompense whole years of pain.Be Laura mine at set of sun;Let heaven's fires only mark our loves,And the day ne'er its light renew;My fond embrace may she not shun;Nor Phoebus-like, through laurel groves,May I a nymph transform'd pursue!But I shall cast this mortal veil on earth,And stars shall gild the noon, ere such bright scenes have birth.
Words in this poem
- wakeful a.
- Not sleeping; indisposed to sleep; watchful; vigilant.
- illume v. t.
- To throw or spread light upon; to make light or bright; to illuminate; to illumine. [Cf. F. illuminer. See Illuminate.]
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- imprecate v. t.
- To call down by prayer, as something hurtful or calamitous. [L. imprecatus, p. p. of imprecari to imprecate; pref. im- in, on + precari to pray. See Pray.]
- unkind a.
- Having no race or kindred; childless. [See Kin kindred.]
- mould n.
- Crumbling, soft, friable earth; esp., earth containing the remains or constituents of organic matter, and suited to the growth of plants; soil. [OE. molde, AS. molde; akin to D. mul, G. mull, mulm, OHG. molt, molta, Icel. mold, Dan. muld, Sw. mull, Goth. mulda, and E. meal flour. See Meal, and cf. Mole a]
- 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,]
- laura n.
- A number of hermitages or cells in the same neighborhood occupied by anchorites who were under the same superior. C. Kingsley.
- phoebus n.
- Apollo; the sun god.
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-7.html, id L14500.
Form and metre
Macgregor is 38 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.4 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 16% 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 A-BA-BA-CA-C-DE-DE-FG-FG-HI-HIJ-KJ-KLL eyesA · fire · pursuesB · skiesA · retire · renewsB · riseA · shades · delightC · sighsA · spreads · lightC · retreat · raysD · viewE · fate · blazeD · threwE · glooms · unkindF · flowG · o'ercomes · mindF · glowG · fly · wayH · remainI · espy · dayH · painI · sunJ · loves · renewK · shunJ · groves · pursueK · earthL · birthL
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Each creature on whose wakeful eyes | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The bright sun pours his golden fire, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| By day a destined toil pursues; | 9 | ···/˘˘·˘/ |
| And, when heaven's lamps illume the skies, | 9 | ··/˘·˘/·· |
| All to some haunt for rest retire, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Till a fresh dawn that toil renews. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| But I, when a new morn doth rise, | 8 | ········ |
| Chasing from earth its murky shades, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| While ring the forests with delight, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Find no remission of my sighs; | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| And, soon as night her mantle spreads, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I weep, and wish returning light | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Again when eve bids day retreat, | 8 | ˘/····˘/ |
| O'er other climes to dart its rays; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Pensive those cruel stars I view, | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| Which influence thus my amorous fate; | 10 | ·/˘˘··/˘˘· |
| And imprecate that beauty's blaze, | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| Which o'er my form such wildness threw. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| No forest surely in its glooms | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Nurtures a savage so unkind | 8 | /˘·/˘·˘/ |
| As she who bids these sorrows flow: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Me, nor the dawn nor sleep o'ercomes; | 8 | ········ |
| For, though of mortal mould, my mind | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Feels more than passion's mortal glow. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Ere up to you, bright orbs, I fly, | 8 | ········ |
| Or to Love's bower speed down my way, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| While here my mouldering limbs remain; | 9 | ···/˘˘·˘/ |
| Let me her pity once espy; | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| Thus, rich in bliss, one little day | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Shall recompense whole years of pain. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Be Laura mine at set of sun; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Let heaven's fires only mark our loves, | 10 | ·/˘//˘·/˘· |
| And the day ne'er its light renew; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| My fond embrace may she not shun; | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Nor Phoebus-like, through laurel groves, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| May I a nymph transform'd pursue! | 8 | ····˘/˘/ |
| But I shall cast this mortal veil on earth, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And stars shall gild the noon, ere such bright scenes have birth. | 12 | ············ |
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.