On a Theme in the Greek Anthology
Thy petals yet are closely curled,Rose of the world,Around their scented, golden core;Nor yet has Summer purpled o'erThy tender clusters that beginTo swell withinThe dewy vine-leaves' early screenOf sheltering green.
O hearts that are Love's helpless prey,While yet you may,Fly, ere the shaft is on the string!The fire that now is smoulderingShall be the conflagration soonWhose paths are strewnWith torment of blanched lips and eyesThat agonize.
Words in this poem
- smouldering a.
- Being in a state of suppressed activity; quiet but not dead.
- 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,]
- conflagration n.
- A fire extending to many objects, or over a large space; a general burning.
- agonize v. i.
- To writhe with agony; to suffer violent anguish. [F. agoniser, LL. agonizare, fr. Gr. Agony.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On a Theme in the Greek Anthology is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #617; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Alan Seeger, On a Theme in the Greek Anthology, in Poems (1916), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #617, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/seeger-poems/on-a-theme-in-the-greek-anthology.html, id L12972.
Form and metre
On a Theme in the Greek Anthology is 16 lines in 2 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.8 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 50% 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 AA--BBCC curledA · worldA · core · o'er · beginB · withinB · screenC · greenC
- 2 AABBCCDD preyA · mayA · stringB · smoulderingB · soonC · strewnC · eyesD · agonizeD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Thy petals yet are closely curled, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘·˘ |
| Rose of the world, | 4 | ···· |
| Around their scented, golden core; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Nor yet has Summer purpled o'er | 9 | ···/˘/˘˘· |
| Thy tender clusters that begin | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| To swell within | 4 | ···· |
| The dewy vine-leaves' early screen | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Of sheltering green. | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| O hearts that are Love's helpless prey, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| While yet you may, | 4 | ···· |
| Fly, ere the shaft is on the string! | 8 | ········ |
| The fire that now is smouldering | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Shall be the conflagration soon | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Whose paths are strewn | 4 | ···· |
| With torment of blanched lips and eyes | 9 | ·˘/··˘··· |
| That agonize. | 4 | ·/˘· |
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.