Sonnet XLVI
The breathing freshness of the shining Morn,Whose beams glance yellow on the distant fields,A sweet, unutterable pleasure yieldsTo my dejected sense, that turns with scornFrom the light joys of Dissipation born.Sacred Remembrance all my bosom shieldsAgainst each glittering lance she gaily wields,Warring with fond Regrets, that silent mournThe Heart's dear comforts lost.--But, NATURE, thou,Thou art resistless still;--and yet I weenThy present balmy gales, and vernal blow,To MEMORY owe the magic of their scene;For with such fragrant breath, such orient rays,Shone the soft mornings of my youthful days.
Words in this poem
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- dissipation n.
- The act of dissipating or dispersing; a state of dispersion or separation; dispersion; waste. [L. dissipatio: cf. F. dissipation.]
- gaily adv.
- Merrily; showily. See gaily. [From Gay.]
- resistless a.
- Having no power to resist; making no opposition.
- ween v. i.
- To think; to imagine; to fancy. [OE. wenen, AS. w, fr. w hope, expectation, opinion; akin to D. waan, OFries. w, OS. & OHG. wan, G. wahn delusion, Icel. van hope, expectation, Goth. w, and D. w]
- balmy a.
- Having the qualities of balm; odoriferous; aromatic; assuaging; soothing; refreshing; mild.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet XLVI 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 XLVI, in Original Sonnets on Various Subjects (1799), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #27663, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/seward-sonnets/sonnet-xlvi.html, id L20500.
Form and metre
Sonnet XLVI 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%).
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 mornA · fieldsB · yieldsA · scornB · bornC · shieldsD · wieldsC · mournD · thouE · weenF · blowE · sceneF · raysG · daysG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The breathing freshness of the shining Morn, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Whose beams glance yellow on the distant fields, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| A sweet, unutterable pleasure yields | 10 | ··˘/˘˘˘/˘· |
| To my dejected sense, that turns with scorn | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| From the light joys of Dissipation born. | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Sacred Remembrance all my bosom shields | 10 | /˘˘/˘··/˘· |
| Against each glittering lance she gaily wields, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Warring with fond Regrets, that silent mourn | 10 | /˘··˘/·/˘· |
| The Heart's dear comforts lost.--But, NATURE, thou, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Thou art resistless still;--and yet I ween | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Thy present balmy gales, and vernal blow, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| To MEMORY owe the magic of their scene; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| For with such fragrant breath, such orient rays, | 11 | ···/˘··/˘·· |
| Shone the soft mornings of my youthful days. | 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.