Nott
Already in the east the amorous starIllumined heaven, while from her northern heightGreat Juno's rival through the dusky nightHer beamy radiance shot. Returning careHad roused th' industrious hag, with footstep bare,And loins ungirt, the sleeping fire to light;And lovers thrill'd that season of despight,Which wont renew their tears, and wake despair.When my soul's hope, now on the verge of fate,(Not by th' accustomed way; for that in sleepWas closed, and moist with griefs,) attain'd my heart.Alas, how changed! "Servant, no longer weep,"She seem'd to say; "resume thy wonted state:Not yet thine eyes from mine are doom'd to part."
Words in this poem
- beamy a.
- Emitting beams of light; radiant; shining.
- industrious a.
- Given to industry; characterized by diligence; constantly, regularly, or habitually occupied; busy; assiduous; not slothful or idle; -- commonly implying devotion to lawful and useful labor. [L. industrius, industriosus: cf. F. industrieux. See Industry.]
- resume n.
- A summing up; a condensed statement; an abridgment or brief recapitulation. [F. See Resume.]
- wonted a.
- Accustomed; customary; usual.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Nott 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, Nott, in The Sonnets, Triumphs and Other Poems (1859), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #17650, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/petrarch-sonnets/nott-4.html, id L14514.
Form and metre
Nott 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%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 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 starA · heightB · nightB · careA · bareA · lightB · despightB · despairA · fateC · sleepD · heartC · weepD · stateC · partD
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 amorous star | 10 | ˘/˘····/˘· |
| Illumined heaven, while from her northern height | 10 | ˘/˘/···/˘· |
| Great Juno's rival through the dusky night | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Her beamy radiance shot. Returning care | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Had roused th' industrious hag, with footstep bare, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/·· |
| And loins ungirt, the sleeping fire to light; | 10 | ·····/˘/·· |
| And lovers thrill'd that season of despight, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Which wont renew their tears, and wake despair. | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| When my soul's hope, now on the verge of fate, | 10 | ·········· |
| (Not by th' accustomed way; for that in sleep | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Was closed, and moist with griefs,) attain'd my heart. | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Alas, how changed! "Servant, no longer weep," | 10 | ˘/··/˘·/˘· |
| She seem'd to say; "resume thy wonted state: | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| Not yet thine eyes from mine are doom'd to part." | 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.