The Solitude of Alexander Selkirk
I am monarch of all I survey,My right there is none to dispute,From the center all round to the sea,I am lord of the fowl and the brute.O Solitude! where are the charmsThat sages have seen in thy face?Better dwell in the midst of alarmsThan reign in this horrible place.
I am out of humanity’s reach,I must finish my journey alone,Never hear the sweet music of speech,--I start at the sound of my own.The beasts that roam over the plainMy form with indifference see;They are so unacquainted with man,Their tameness is shocking to me.
Society, Friendship, and Love,Divinely bestow’d upon man,Oh, had I the wings of a dove,How soon would I taste you again!My sorrows I then might assuageIn the ways of religion and truth,Might learn from the wisdom of age,And be cheer’d by the sallies of youth.
Ye winds that have made me your sport,Convey to this desolate shoreSome cordial endearing reportOf a land I shall visit no more!
My friends--do they now and then sendA wish or a thought after me?Oh, tell me I yet have a friend,Though a friend I am never to see.
How fleet is a glance of the mind!Compared with the speed of its flight,The tempest itself lags behind,And the swift-wingèd arrows of light.When I think of my own native land,In a moment I seem to be there;But alas! recollection at handSoon hurries me back to despair.
But the seafowl is gone to her nest,The beast is laid down in his lair,Even here is a season of rest,And I to my cabin repair.There’s mercy in every place,And mercy, encouraging thought!Gives even affliction a grace,And reconciles man to his lot.
Words in this poem
- 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]
- tameness n.
- The quality or state of being tame.
- shocking a.
- Causing to shake or tremble, as by a blow; especially, causing to recoil with horror or disgust; extremely offensive or disgusting.
- endearing a.
- Making dear or beloved; causing love.
- 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,]
- hurries n.
- A staith or framework from which coal is discharged from cars into vessels.
- lair n.
- A place in which to lie or rest; especially, the bed or couch of a wild beast. [OE. leir, AS. leger; akin to D. leger, G. lager couch, lair, OHG. laga, Goth. ligrs, and to E. lie. See Lie to be prostrate, and cf. Layer, Leaguer.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Solitude of Alexander Selkirk is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems Every Child Should Know The What-Every-Child-Should-Know-Library, Project Gutenberg ebook #16436; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Mary E. Burt, The Solitude of Alexander Selkirk, in Poems Every Child Should Know (1904), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16436, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poems-every-child/the-solitude-of-alexander-selkirk.html, id L25268.
Form and metre
The Solitude of Alexander Selkirk is 48 lines in 7 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 4 of its 7 stanzas. The metre is anapaestic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 96%).
See other poems in anapaestic trimeter.
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-ABCBC survey · disputeA · sea · bruteA · charmsB · faceC · alarmsB · placeC
- 2 ABABCDCD reachA · aloneB · speechA · ownB · plainC · seeD · manC · meD
- 3 ABABCDCD loveA · manB · doveA · againB · assuageC · truthD · ageC · youthD
- 4 ABAB sportA · shoreB · reportA · moreB
- 5 ABAB sendA · meB · friendA · seeB
- 6 ABABCDCD mindA · flightB · behindA · lightB · landC · thereD · handC · despairD
- 7 ABABCDCD nestA · lairB · restA · repairB · placeC · thoughtD · graceC · lotD
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 anapaestic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I am monarch of all I survey, | 9 | ··/····˘/ |
| My right there is none to dispute, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| From the center all round to the sea, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| I am lord of the fowl and the brute. | 9 | ········· |
| O Solitude! where are the charms | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| That sages have seen in thy face? | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Better dwell in the midst of alarms | 9 | /˘·····˘/ |
| Than reign in this horrible place. | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| I am out of humanity’s reach, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| I must finish my journey alone, | 9 | ··/˘·/˘˘/ |
| Never hear the sweet music of speech,-- | 8 | /···/˘·· |
| I start at the sound of my own. | 8 | ········ |
| The beasts that roam over the plain | 8 | ········ |
| My form with indifference see; | 8 | ···˘/˘˘· |
| They are so unacquainted with man, | 9 | ········· |
| Their tameness is shocking to me. | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| Society, Friendship, and Love, | 8 | ˘/˘˘/˘·· |
| Divinely bestow’d upon man, | 8 | ˘/˘˘/··· |
| Oh, had I the wings of a dove, | 8 | ········ |
| How soon would I taste you again! | 8 | ······˘/ |
| My sorrows I then might assuage | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| In the ways of religion and truth, | 9 | ····˘/˘·· |
| Might learn from the wisdom of age, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| And be cheer’d by the sallies of youth. | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Ye winds that have made me your sport, | 8 | ········ |
| Convey to this desolate shore | 8 | ˘/··/˘˘· |
| Some cordial endearing report | 8 | ·/˘˘/˘˘/ |
| Of a land I shall visit no more! | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| My friends--do they now and then send | 8 | ········ |
| A wish or a thought after me? | 8 | ········ |
| Oh, tell me I yet have a friend, | 8 | ········ |
| Though a friend I am never to see. | 8 | ·····/·· |
| How fleet is a glance of the mind! | 8 | ········ |
| Compared with the speed of its flight, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| The tempest itself lags behind, | 8 | ·/˘˘/··· |
| And the swift-wingèd arrows of light. | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| When I think of my own native land, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| In a moment I seem to be there; | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| But alas! recollection at hand | 9 | ·˘/·˘/˘·· |
| Soon hurries me back to despair. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| But the seafowl is gone to her nest, | 9 | ········· |
| The beast is laid down in his lair, | 8 | ········ |
| Even here is a season of rest, | 8 | /···/˘·· |
| And I to my cabin repair. | 8 | ····/˘˘/ |
| There’s mercy in every place, | 8 | ·/˘·/˘˘· |
| And mercy, encouraging thought! | 8 | ·/˘˘/˘˘· |
| Gives even affliction a grace, | 8 | ·/˘˘/˘·· |
| And reconciles man to his lot. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
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