From the Italian of Filacaja
Here, from laborious Art, proud TOWNS, ye rose!Here, in an instant, sunk!--nor ought remainsOf all ye were!--on the wide, lonely plainsNot e'en a stone, that might these words disclose,“Here stood CATANIA;”--or whose surface showsThat this was SYRACUSE:--but louring reignsA trackless DESOLATION.--Dim Domains!Pale, mournful Strand! how oft, with anxious throes,Seek I sad relics, which no spot supplies!--A SILENCE--a fix'd HORROR sears my soul,Arrests my foot!--Dread DOOM of human crimes,What art thou?--Ye o'erwhelmed Cities, rise!That your terrific skeletons may scowlPortentous warning to succeeding Times!
Words in this poem
- ought p. p.
- Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
- syracuse n.
- A red wine of Italy.
- louring n.
- Instructive discourse. [See 3d Lore.]
- trackless a.
- Having no track; marked by no footsteps; untrodden; as, a trackless desert.
- desolation n.
- The act of desolating or laying waste; destruction of inhabitants; depopulation. [F. désolation, L. desolatio.]
- scowl v. i.
- To wrinkle the brows, as in frowning or displeasure; to put on a frowning look; to look sour, sullen, severe, or angry. [Akin to Dan. skule; cf. Icel. skolla to skulk, LG. schulen to hide one's self, D. schuilen, G. schielen to squint, Dan. skele, Sw. skela, AS. sceolh squinting. ]
- portentous a.
- Of the nature of a portent; containing portents; foreschadowing, esp. foreschadowing ill; ominous. [L. portentosus.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
From the Italian of Filacaja is in the public domain. This text is taken from Original sonnets on various subjects; and odes paraphrased from Horace, Project Gutenberg ebook #27663; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Anna Seward, From the Italian of Filacaja, in Original Sonnets on Various Subjects (1799), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #27663, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/seward-sonnets/from-the-italian-of-filacaja.html, id L09815.
Form and metre
From the Italian of Filacaja is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABABCDCDEFEFGG, the pattern of the English sonnet. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 99% 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 English 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 ABABCDCDEFEFGG roseA · remainsB · plainsA · discloseB · showsC · reignsD · domainsC · throesD · suppliesE · soulF · crimesE · riseF · scowlG · timesG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Here, from laborious Art, proud TOWNS, ye rose! | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Here, in an instant, sunk!--nor ought remains | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Of all ye were!--on the wide, lonely plains | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Not e'en a stone, that might these words disclose, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| “Here stood CATANIA;”--or whose surface shows | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| That this was SYRACUSE:--but louring reigns | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| A trackless DESOLATION.--Dim Domains! | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘·˘/ |
| Pale, mournful Strand! how oft, with anxious throes, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Seek I sad relics, which no spot supplies!-- | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| A SILENCE--a fix'd HORROR sears my soul, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Arrests my foot!--Dread DOOM of human crimes, | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| What art thou?--Ye o'erwhelmed Cities, rise! | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| That your terrific skeletons may scowl | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘˘·· |
| Portentous warning to succeeding Times! | 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.