Sonnet Lxxviii
Sophia tempts me to her social walls,That 'mid the vast Metropolis arise,Where Splendor dazzles, and each Pleasure viesIn soft allurement; and each Science callsTo philosophic Domes, harmonious Halls,And storied Galleries. With duteous sighs,Filial and kind, and with averted eyes,I meet the gay temptation, as it fallsFrom a seducing pen.--Here--here I stay,Fix'd by Affection's power; nor entertainOne latent wish, that might persuade to strayFrom my ag'd Nurseling, in his life's dim wane;But, like the needle, by the magnet's sway,My constant, trembling residence maintain.
Words in this poem
- philosophic a.
- Of or pertaining to philosophy; versed in, or imbued with, the principles of philosophy; hence, characterizing a philosopher; rational; wise; temperate; calm; cool. [L. philosophicus: cf. F. philosophique.]
- storied a.
- Told in a story. [From Story.]
- duteous a.
- Fulfilling duty; dutiful; having the sentiments due to a superior, or to one to whom respect or service is owed; obedient; as, a duteous son or daughter. [From Duty.]
- filial a.
- Of or pertaining to a son or daughter; becoming to a child in relation to his parents; as, filial obedience. [L. filialis, fr. filius son, filia daughter; akin to e. female, feminine. Cf. Fitz.]
- averted a.
- Turned away, esp. as an expression of feeling; also, offended; unpropitious.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet Lxxviii 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, Sonnet Lxxviii, in Original Sonnets on Various Subjects (1799), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #27663, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/seward-sonnets/sonnet-lxxviii.html, id L09813.
Form and metre
Sonnet Lxxviii 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 85%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 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 wallsA · ariseB · viesA · callsB · hallsC · sighsD · eyesC · fallsD · stayE · entertainF · strayE · waneF · swayG · maintainG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sophia tempts me to her social walls, | 10 | ˘/˘····/˘· |
| That 'mid the vast Metropolis arise, | 10 | ····˘/˘˘˘/ |
| Where Splendor dazzles, and each Pleasure vies | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| In soft allurement; and each Science calls | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| To philosophic Domes, harmonious Halls, | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| And storied Galleries. With duteous sighs, | 10 | ·/˘/˘·/˘˘· |
| Filial and kind, and with averted eyes, | 10 | /˘····˘/˘· |
| I meet the gay temptation, as it falls | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| From a seducing pen.--Here--here I stay, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Fix'd by Affection's power; nor entertain | 10 | ··˘/˘/··˘/ |
| One latent wish, that might persuade to stray | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| From my ag'd Nurseling, in his life's dim wane; | 11 | ··········· |
| But, like the needle, by the magnet's sway, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| My constant, trembling residence maintain. | 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.