The Descent of Dullness
In vain, in vain--the all-composing HourResistless falls: the Muse obeys the Pow'r.She comes! she comes! the sable Throne beholdOf Night primaeval and of Chaos old!Before her, Fancy's gilded clouds decay,And all its varying Rain-bows die away.Wit shoots in vain its momentary fires,The meteor drops, and in a flash expires.As one by one, at dread Medea's strain,The sick'ning stars fade off th' ethereal plain;As Argus' eyes by Hermes' wand opprest,Clos'd one by one to everlasting rest;Thus at her felt approach, and secret might,Art after Art goes out, and all is Night.See skulking Truth to her old cavern fled,Mountains of Casuistry heap'd o'er her head!Philosophy, that lean'd on Heav'n before,Shrinks to her second cause, and is no more.Physic of Metaphysic begs defence,And Metaphysic calls for aid on Sense!See Mystery to Mathematics fly!In vain! they gaze, turn giddy, rave, and die.Religion blushing veils her sacred fires,And unawares Morality expires.For public Flame, nor private, dares to shine;Nor human Spark is left, nor Glimpse divine!Lo! thy dread Empire, CHAOS! is restor'd;Light dies before thy uncreating word;Thy hand, great Anarch! lets the curtain fall,And universal Darkness buries All.
Words in this poem
- resistless a.
- Having no power to resist; making no opposition.
- sable n.
- A carnivorous animal of the Weasel family (Mustela zibellina) native of the northern latitudes of Europe, Asia, and America, -- noted for its fine, soft, and valuable fur. [OF. sable, F. zibeline sable (in sense 4), LL. sabellum; cf. D. sabel, Dan. sabel, zobel, Sw. sabel, sobel, G. zobel; all fr. Russ. sóbole.]
- chaos n.
- An empty, immeasurable space; a yawning chasm. [L. chaos chaos (in senses 1 & 2), Gr. Chasm.]
- defence n.
- The act of defending, or the state of being defended; protection, as from violence or danger. [F. défense, OF. defense, fem., defens, masc., fr. L. defensa (cf. Fence.]
- anarch n.
- The author of anarchy; one who excites revolt.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Descent of Dullness is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Rape of the Lock, and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #9800; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Alexander Pope, The Descent of Dullness, in The Rape of the Lock (1712), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9800, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/pope-rape-of-the-lock/the-descent-of-dullness.html, id L03478.
Form and metre
The Descent of Dullness is 30 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 7% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOO hourA · pow'rA · beholdB · oldB · decayC · awayC · firesD · expiresD · strainE · plainE · opprestF · restF · mightG · nightG · fledH · headH · beforeI · moreI · defenceJ · senseJ · flyK · dieK · firesL · expiresL · shineM · divineM · restor'dN · wordN · fallO · allO
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 |
|---|---|---|
| In vain, in vain--the all-composing Hour | 11 | ······˘/˘/˘ |
| Resistless falls: the Muse obeys the Pow'r. | 10 | ˘/˘···˘/·· |
| She comes! she comes! the sable Throne behold | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Of Night primaeval and of Chaos old! | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Before her, Fancy's gilded clouds decay, | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| And all its varying Rain-bows die away. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Wit shoots in vain its momentary fires, | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| The meteor drops, and in a flash expires. | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| As one by one, at dread Medea's strain, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| The sick'ning stars fade off th' ethereal plain; | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| As Argus' eyes by Hermes' wand opprest, | 11 | ·/˘··/˘·/˘˘ |
| Clos'd one by one to everlasting rest; | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Thus at her felt approach, and secret might, | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| Art after Art goes out, and all is Night. | 10 | ·········· |
| See skulking Truth to her old cavern fled, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Mountains of Casuistry heap'd o'er her head! | 11 | /˘·/˘˘˘···· |
| Philosophy, that lean'd on Heav'n before, | 10 | ˘/˘˘······ |
| Shrinks to her second cause, and is no more. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Physic of Metaphysic begs defence, | 10 | /˘······˘/ |
| And Metaphysic calls for aid on Sense! | 10 | ·········· |
| See Mystery to Mathematics fly! | 10 | ·/˘˘··˘/˘· |
| In vain! they gaze, turn giddy, rave, and die. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Religion blushing veils her sacred fires, | 11 | ˘/˘/˘··/˘/˘ |
| And unawares Morality expires. | 11 | ··˘/˘/˘˘˘/˘ |
| For public Flame, nor private, dares to shine; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Nor human Spark is left, nor Glimpse divine! | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Lo! thy dread Empire, CHAOS! is restor'd; | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Light dies before thy uncreating word; | 9 | ········· |
| Thy hand, great Anarch! lets the curtain fall, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And universal Darkness buries All. | 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.