Sonnet XLI
On the fleet streams, the Sun, that late arose,In amber radiance plays;--the tall young grassNo foot hath bruis'd;--clear Morning, as I pass,Breathes the pure gale, that on the blossom blows;And, as with gold yon green hill's summit glows,The lake inlays the vale with molten glass.--Now is the Year's soft youth;--yet me, alas!Cheers not as it was wont;--impending woesWeigh on my heart;--the joys, that once were mine,Spring leads not back;--and those that yet remainFade while she blooms.--Each hour more lovely shineHer crystal beams, and feed her floral Train;But ah with pale, and waning fires, declineThose eyes, whose light my filial hopes sustain.
Words in this poem
- vale n.
- A tract of low ground, or of land between hills; a valley. [OE. val, F. val, L. vallis; perhaps akin to Gr. Avalanche, Vail to lower, Valley.]
- waning n.
- The act or process of waning, or decreasing.
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet XLI 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 XLI, in Original Sonnets on Various Subjects (1799), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #27663, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/seward-sonnets/sonnet-xli.html, id L20495.
Form and metre
Sonnet XLI 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 87%).
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 aroseA · grassB · passA · blowsB · glowsC · glassD · alasC · woesD · mineE · remainF · shineE · trainF · declineG · sustainG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| On the fleet streams, the Sun, that late arose, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| In amber radiance plays;--the tall young grass | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| No foot hath bruis'd;--clear Morning, as I pass, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Breathes the pure gale, that on the blossom blows; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And, as with gold yon green hill's summit glows, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The lake inlays the vale with molten glass.-- | 10 | ··/····/˘· |
| Now is the Year's soft youth;--yet me, alas! | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Cheers not as it was wont;--impending woes | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Weigh on my heart;--the joys, that once were mine, | 10 | ·········· |
| Spring leads not back;--and those that yet remain | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Fade while she blooms.--Each hour more lovely shine | 10 | ·····/·/˘· |
| Her crystal beams, and feed her floral Train; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| But ah with pale, and waning fires, decline | 10 | ·····/˘/˘/ |
| Those eyes, whose light my filial hopes sustain. | 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.