Subject Continued
Yon late but gleaming Moon, in hoary lightShines out unveil'd, and on the cloud's dark fleeceRests;--but her strengthen'd beams appear to increaseThe wild disorder of this troubled Night.Redoubling Echos seem yet more to exciteThe roaring Winds and Waters!--Ah! why ceaseResolves, that promis'd everlasting peace,And drew my steps to this incumbent height?I wish!--I shudder!--stretch my longing armsO'er the steep cliff!--My swelling spirits braveThe leap, that quiets all these dire alarms,And floats me tossing on the stormy wave!But Oh! what roots my feet?--what spells, what charmsThe daring purpose of my Soul enslave?
My hour is not yet come!--these burning eyesHave not yet look'd their last!--else, 'mid the roarOf this wild STORM, what gloomy joy to pourMy freed, exhaling Soul!--sublime to rise,Rend the conflicting clouds, inflame the skies,And lash the torrents!--Bending to exploreOur evening seat, my straining eye once moreRoves the wide watry Waste;--but nought descriesSave the pale Flood, o'erwhelming as it strays.Yet Oh! lest my remorseless Fate decreeThat all I love, with life's extinguish'd raysSink from my soul, to soothe this agony,To balm that life, whose loss may forfeit thee,
Words in this poem
- hoary a.
- White or whitish."The hoary willows."
- dire a.
- Ill-boding; portentous; as, dire omens. [L. dirus; of uncertain origin.]
- explore v. t.
- To seek for or after; to strive to attain by search; to look wisely and carefully for. [L. explorare to explore; ex out+plorare to cry out aloud,prob. orig., to cause to flow; perh. akin to E. flow: cf. F. explorer.]
- remorseless a.
- Being without remorse; having no pity; hence, destitute of sensibility; cruel; insensible to distress; merciless.
- soothe v. t.
- To assent to as true. Testament of Love. [Originally, to assent to as true; OE. so to verify, AS. ges to prove the truth of, to bear witness. See Sooth, a.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Subject Continued 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, Subject Continued, in Original Sonnets on Various Subjects (1799), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #27663, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/seward-sonnets/subject-continued-4.html, id L09820.
Form and metre
Subject Continued is 27 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 59% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 lightA · fleeceB · increaseA · nightB · exciteC · ceaseD · peaceC · heightD · armsE · braveF · alarmsE · waveF · charmsG · enslaveG
- 2 ABBAABBACDC-D eyesA · roarB · pourB · riseA · skiesA · exploreB · moreB · descriesA · straysC · decreeD · raysC · agony · theeD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Yon late but gleaming Moon, in hoary light | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Shines out unveil'd, and on the cloud's dark fleece | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Rests;--but her strengthen'd beams appear to increase | 11 | ···/˘·˘/·/· |
| The wild disorder of this troubled Night. | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Redoubling Echos seem yet more to excite | 11 | ˘/˘/˘····˘/ |
| The roaring Winds and Waters!--Ah! why cease | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Resolves, that promis'd everlasting peace, | 10 | ˘/·/˘·˘/˘· |
| And drew my steps to this incumbent height? | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| I wish!--I shudder!--stretch my longing arms | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| O'er the steep cliff!--My swelling spirits brave | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| The leap, that quiets all these dire alarms, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| And floats me tossing on the stormy wave! | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| But Oh! what roots my feet?--what spells, what charms | 10 | ·········· |
| The daring purpose of my Soul enslave? | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| My hour is not yet come!--these burning eyes | 10 | ·/·····/˘· |
| Have not yet look'd their last!--else, 'mid the roar | 10 | ·········· |
| Of this wild STORM, what gloomy joy to pour | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| My freed, exhaling Soul!--sublime to rise, | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/·· |
| Rend the conflicting clouds, inflame the skies, | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/·· |
| And lash the torrents!--Bending to explore | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Our evening seat, my straining eye once more | 10 | //˘··/˘··· |
| Roves the wide watry Waste;--but nought descries | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Save the pale Flood, o'erwhelming as it strays. | 10 | ·········· |
| Yet Oh! lest my remorseless Fate decree | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| That all I love, with life's extinguish'd rays | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Sink from my soul, to soothe this agony, | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| To balm that life, whose loss may forfeit thee, | 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.