To Mæcenas: Book I: , Ode the Eighth
O, Lydia! I conjure thee tellWhy, with persisting zeal, thou dost employThe strongest power of amorous spellOn Sybaris, belov'd too well,Wounding his fame amid voluptuous joy?
Why shuns he now the noon-tide glare,Inur'd to whirling dust, and scorching heat?Ceases the Warrior-vest to wearIn which he us'd, with graceful air,Aspiring Youths, all emulous, to meet?
Why is it now no more his prideTo rein the ardent horse with agile arm?With new-strung sinews to divideThe yellow Tyber's angry tide,When the tempestuous showers its rage alarm?
Why hates he, as the viper's gore,The Wrestler's oil, that supples every vein?Why do we see his arms no moreWith livid bruises spotted o'er,Of manly sports the honorable stain?
'T was his to whirl, with matchless skill,The glancing quoit, the certain javelin throw,While Crowds, with acclamations shrill,The lofty Circus joy'd to fill,And all the honors of the Day bestow.
Such fond seclusion why desire?--Thus Thetis' care her blooming Son conceal'd,Ere yet commenc'd that Contest dire,When mournful gleam'd the funeral pyre,Thro' ten long years, on Ilium's purpled field.
In vain the female vest he wore,That Love maternal might avert his fate;Lest his spear drink the Lycian gore,Lest sinking Troy his force deplore,And DEATH with GLORY meet him at her gate.
Words in this poem
- conjure v. t.
- To call on or summon by a sacred name or in solemn manner; to implore earnestly; to adjure. [F. conjurer, fr. L. conjurare to swear together, to conspire; con- + jurare to swear. See Jury.]
- persisting a.
- Inclined to persist; tenacious of purpose; persistent.
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- glare v. i.
- To shine with a bright, dazzling light. [OE. glaren, gloren; cf. AS. glær amber, LG. glaren to glow or burn like coals, D. gloren to glimmer; prob. akin to E. glass.]
- scorching a.
- Burning; parching or shriveling with heat.
- vest n.
- An article of clothing covering the person; an outer garment; a vestment; a dress; a vesture; a robe. [L. vestis a garment, vesture; akin to Goth. wasti, and E. wear: cf. F. veste. See Wear to carry on the person, and cf. Divest, Invest, Travesty.]
- aspiring a.
- That aspires; as, an Aspiring mind.
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
- glancing a.
- Shooting, as light.
- quoit v. t.
- To throw; to pitch.
- dire a.
- Ill-boding; portentous; as, dire omens. [L. dirus; of uncertain origin.]
- pyre n.
- A funeral pile; a combustible heap on which the dead are burned; hence, any pile to be burnt. [L. pure, Gr. Fire.]
- maternal a.
- Of or pertaining to a mother; becoming to a mother; motherly; as, maternal love; maternal tenderness. [F. maternel, L. maternus, fr. mater mother. See Mother.]
- deplore v. t.
- To feel or to express deep and poignant grief for; to bewail; to lament; to mourn; to sorrow over. [L. deplorare; de- + plorare to cry out, wail, lament; prob. akin to pluere to rain, and to E. flow: cf. F. déplorer. Cf. Flow.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To Mæcenas: Book I: , Ode the Eighth 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, To Mæcenas: Book I: , Ode the Eighth, in Original Sonnets on Various Subjects (1799), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #27663, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/seward-sonnets/to-m-cenas-book-i-ode-the-eighth.html, id L09827.
Form and metre
To Mæcenas: Book I: , Ode the Eighth is 35 lines in 7 stanzas of 5 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAAB, complete in 6 of its 7 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.0 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 20% 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 ABAAB tellA · employB · spellA · wellA · joyB
- 2 ABAAB glareA · heatB · wearA · airA · meetB
- 3 ABAAB prideA · armB · divideA · tideA · alarmB
- 4 ABA-B goreA · veinB · moreA · o'er · stainB
- 5 ABAAB skillA · throwB · shrillA · fillA · bestowB
- 6 ABAAB desireA · conceal'dB · direA · pyreA · fieldB
- 7 ABAAB woreA · fateB · goreA · deploreA · gateB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| O, Lydia! I conjure thee tell | 9 | ·/˘˘·/˘·· |
| Why, with persisting zeal, thou dost employ | 10 | ··˘/˘···˘/ |
| The strongest power of amorous spell | 10 | ·/˘/˘·/˘˘· |
| On Sybaris, belov'd too well, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Wounding his fame amid voluptuous joy? | 10 | /˘··˘/˘/˘· |
| Why shuns he now the noon-tide glare, | 8 | ········ |
| Inur'd to whirling dust, and scorching heat? | 10 | ˘/·/˘··/˘· |
| Ceases the Warrior-vest to wear | 9 | /˘·/˘˘··· |
| In which he us'd, with graceful air, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Aspiring Youths, all emulous, to meet? | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘˘·· |
| Why is it now no more his pride | 8 | ········ |
| To rein the ardent horse with agile arm? | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| With new-strung sinews to divide | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The yellow Tyber's angry tide, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| When the tempestuous showers its rage alarm? | 10 | ···/˘/··˘/ |
| Why hates he, as the viper's gore, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The Wrestler's oil, that supples every vein? | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Why do we see his arms no more | 8 | ········ |
| With livid bruises spotted o'er, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Of manly sports the honorable stain? | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘˘· |
| 'T was his to whirl, with matchless skill, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| The glancing quoit, the certain javelin throw, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| While Crowds, with acclamations shrill, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| The lofty Circus joy'd to fill, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And all the honors of the Day bestow. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Such fond seclusion why desire?-- | 9 | ··˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| Thus Thetis' care her blooming Son conceal'd, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Ere yet commenc'd that Contest dire, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| When mournful gleam'd the funeral pyre, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘/˘ |
| Thro' ten long years, on Ilium's purpled field. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| In vain the female vest he wore, | 8 | ···/···· |
| That Love maternal might avert his fate; | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/·· |
| Lest his spear drink the Lycian gore, | 8 | ········ |
| Lest sinking Troy his force deplore, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| And DEATH with GLORY meet him at her gate. | 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.