To the Fountain of Vauoluse—Contemplations of Death
Ye limpid brooks, by whose clear streamsMy goddess laid her tender limbs!Ye gentle boughs, whose friendly shadeGave shelter to the lovely maid!Ye herbs and flowers, so sweetly press'dBy her soft rising snowy breast!Ye Zephyrs mild, that breathed aroundThe place where Love my heart did wound!Now at my summons all appear,And to my dying words give ear.
If then my destiny requires,And Heaven with my fate conspires,That Love these eyes should weeping close,Here let me find a soft repose.So Death will less my soul affright,And, free from dread, my weary sprightNaked alone will dare t' essayThe still unknown, though beaten way;Pleased that her mortal part will haveSo safe a port, so sweet a grave.
The cruel fair, for whom I burn,May one day to these shades return,And smiling with superior grace,Her lover seek around this place,And when instead of me she findsSome crumbling dust toss'd by the winds,She may feel pity in her breast,And, sighing, wish me happy rest,Drying her eyes with her soft veil,Such tears must sure with Heaven prevail.
Well I remember how the flowersDescended from these boughs in showers,Encircled in the fragrant cloudShe set, nor midst such glory proud.These blossoms to her lap repair,These fall upon her flowing hair,(Like pearls enchased in gold they seem,)These on the ground, these on the stream;In giddy rounds these dancing say,Here Love and Laura only sway.
In rapturous wonder oft I said,Sure she in Paradise was made,Thence sprang that bright angelic state,Those looks, those words, that heavenly gait,That beauteous smile, that voice divine,Those graces that around her shine:Transported I beheld the fair,And sighing cried, How came I here?In heaven, amongst th' immortal blest,Here let me fix and ever rest.
Words in this poem
- snowy a.
- White like snow.
- spright n.
- Spirit; mind; soul; state of mind; mood. [See Sprite.]
- laura n.
- A number of hermitages or cells in the same neighborhood occupied by anchorites who were under the same superior. C. Kingsley.
- beauteous a.
- Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
- amongst prep.
- Mixed or mingled; surrounded by. [OE. amongist, amonges, amonge, among, AS. onmang, ongemang, gemang, in a crowd or mixture. For the ending -st see Amidst. See Mingle.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To the Fountain of Vauoluse—Contemplations of Death 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, To the Fountain of Vauoluse—Contemplations of Death, in The Sonnets, Triumphs and Other Poems (1859), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #17650, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/petrarch-sonnets/to-the-fountain-of-vauoluse-contemplations-of-death.html, id L14639.
Form and metre
To the Fountain of Vauoluse—Contemplations of Death is 50 lines in 5 stanzas of 10 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABBCCDDEE, complete in 3 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.4 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 20% 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 --AABBCCDD streams · limbs · shadeA · maidA · press'dB · breastB · aroundC · woundC · appearD · earD
- 2 AABBCCDDEE requiresA · conspiresA · closeB · reposeB · affrightC · sprightC · essayD · wayD · haveE · graveE
- 3 AABBCCDDEE burnA · returnA · graceB · placeB · findsC · windsC · breastD · restD · veilE · prevailE
- 4 AABBCCDDEE flowersA · showersA · cloudB · proudB · repairC · hairC · seemD · streamD · sayE · swayE
- 5 --AABBCCDD said · made · stateA · gaitA · divineB · shineB · fairC · hereC · blestD · restD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ye limpid brooks, by whose clear streams | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| My goddess laid her tender limbs! | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Ye gentle boughs, whose friendly shade | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Gave shelter to the lovely maid! | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Ye herbs and flowers, so sweetly press'd | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| By her soft rising snowy breast! | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Ye Zephyrs mild, that breathed around | 9 | ·/˘···˘·· |
| The place where Love my heart did wound! | 8 | ········ |
| Now at my summons all appear, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| And to my dying words give ear. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| If then my destiny requires, | 9 | ···/˘˘˘/˘ |
| And Heaven with my fate conspires, | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| That Love these eyes should weeping close, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Here let me find a soft repose. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| So Death will less my soul affright, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And, free from dread, my weary spright | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Naked alone will dare t' essay | 10 | /˘˘˘/···/· |
| The still unknown, though beaten way; | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Pleased that her mortal part will have | 9 | ·˘··/˘··· |
| So safe a port, so sweet a grave. | 8 | ········ |
| The cruel fair, for whom I burn, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| May one day to these shades return, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And smiling with superior grace, | 9 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘· |
| Her lover seek around this place, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And when instead of me she finds | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Some crumbling dust toss'd by the winds, | 9 | ·/˘˘····· |
| She may feel pity in her breast, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And, sighing, wish me happy rest, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Drying her eyes with her soft veil, | 8 | /˘······ |
| Such tears must sure with Heaven prevail. | 9 | ·····/˘˘/ |
| Well I remember how the flowers | 9 | ··˘/˘··/˘ |
| Descended from these boughs in showers, | 9 | ˘/˘····/˘ |
| Encircled in the fragrant cloud | 9 | ˘/˘˘··/˘· |
| She set, nor midst such glory proud. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| These blossoms to her lap repair, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| These fall upon her flowing hair, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| (Like pearls enchased in gold they seem,) | 9 | ····˘···· |
| These on the ground, these on the stream; | 8 | ········ |
| In giddy rounds these dancing say, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Here Love and Laura only sway. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| In rapturous wonder oft I said, | 9 | ·/˘˘/˘··· |
| Sure she in Paradise was made, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Thence sprang that bright angelic state, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Those looks, those words, that heavenly gait, | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| That beauteous smile, that voice divine, | 9 | ·/˘˘···˘/ |
| Those graces that around her shine: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Transported I beheld the fair, | 8 | ˘/˘·˘/·· |
| And sighing cried, How came I here? | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| In heaven, amongst th' immortal blest, | 9 | ·/˘··˘/˘· |
| Here let me fix and ever rest. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
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.