To Mæcenas: Book I: , Ode the Thirty-Eighth
Boy, not in these Autumnal bowersShalt thou the Persian Vest dispose,Of artful fold, and rich brocade;Nor tie in gaudy knots the sprays and flowers.Ah! search not where the latest roseYet lingers in the sunny glade;Plain be the vest, and simple be the braid!I charge thee with the myrtle wreathNot one resplendent bloom entwine;We both become that modest band,As stretch'd my vineyard's ample shade beneath,Jocund I quaff the rosy wine;While near me thou shalt smiling stand,And fill the sparkling cup with ready hand.
Words in this poem
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- 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.]
- artful a.
- Performed with, or characterized by, art or skill. [From Art.]
- brocade n.
- Silk stuff, woven with gold and silver threads, or ornamented with raised flowers, foliage, etc.; -- also applied to other stuffs thus wrought and enriched. [Sp. brocado (cf. It. broccato, F. brocart), fr. LL. brocare *prick, to figure (textile fabrics), to emboss (linen), to stitch. See Broach.]
- sunny a.
- Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; hence, shining; bright; brilliant; radiant.
- glade n.
- An open passage through a wood; a grassy open or cleared space in a forest. [Prob. of Scand. origin, and akin to glad, a.; cf. also W. golead, goleuad, a lighting, illumination, fr. goleu light, clear, bright, goleu fwlch glade, lit., a ]
- entwine v. t.
- To twine, twist, or wreathe together or round. [Pref. en- + twine. Cf. Intwine.]
- jocund
- Merry; cheerful; gay; airy; lively; sportive. [L. jocundus, jucundus, orig., helpful, fr. juvare to help. See Aid.]
- quaff v. t.
- To drink with relish; to drink copiously of; to swallow in large draughts. [For quach, fr. Gael. & Ir. cuach a drinking cup; cf. L. caucus a drinking vessel. Cf. Quaigh.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To Mæcenas: Book I: , Ode the Thirty-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 Thirty-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-thirty-eighth.html, id L09830.
Form and metre
To Mæcenas: Book I: , Ode the Thirty-Eighth is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABABCDCDEFEFGG, the pattern of the English sonnet. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 98%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.7 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 21% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other English sonnets, other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 bowersA · disposeB · brocadeA · flowersB · roseC · gladeD · braidC · wreathD · entwineE · bandF · beneathE · wineF · standG · handG
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Boy, not in these Autumnal bowers | 9 | ····˘/˘/˘ |
| Shalt thou the Persian Vest dispose, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Of artful fold, and rich brocade; | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Nor tie in gaudy knots the sprays and flowers. | 10 | ···/˘····/ |
| Ah! search not where the latest rose | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Yet lingers in the sunny glade; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Plain be the vest, and simple be the braid! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| I charge thee with the myrtle wreath | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Not one resplendent bloom entwine; | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| We both become that modest band, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| As stretch'd my vineyard's ample shade beneath, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Jocund I quaff the rosy wine; | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| While near me thou shalt smiling stand, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And fill the sparkling cup with ready hand. | 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.