To Mr. Henry Cary, on Reading His Sonnets Written at Sixteen
Disciple of the bright Aonian MaidIn thy life's blossom, a resistless spellAmid the wild wood, and irriguous dell,O'er thymy hill, and thro' illumin'd glade,Led thee, for her thy votive wreaths to braid,Where flaunts the musk-rose, and the azure bellNods o'er loquacious brook, or silent well.--Thus woo'd her inspirations, their rapt aidLiberal she gave; nor only thro' thy strainBreath'd their pure spirit, while her charms beguil'dThe languid hours of Sorrow, and of Pain,But when Youth's tide ran high, and tempting smil'dCircean Pleasure, rescuing did she stand,Broke the Enchantress' cup and snapt her wand.
Words in this poem
- aonian a.
- Pertaining to Aonia, Boeotia, or to the Muses, who were supposed to dwell there. Aonian fount, the fountain of Aganippe, at the foot of Mount Helicon, not far from Thebes, and sacred to the Muses. [From Aonia, a part of Boeotia, in Greece.]
- resistless a.
- Having no power to resist; making no opposition.
- 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]
- irriguous a.
- Watered; watery; moist; dewy. [L. irriguus. See Irrigate.]
- dell n.
- A small, retired valley; a ravine. [AS. del, akin to E. dale; cf. D. delle, del, low ground. See Dale.]
- thymy a.
- Abounding with thyme; fragrant; as, a thymy vale. Akenside.
- 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 ]
- votive a.
- Given by vow, or in fulfillment of a vow; consecrated by a vow; devoted; as, votive offerings; a votive tablet. [L. votivus, fr. votum a vow: cf. F. votif. See Vow.]
- rapt n.
- An ecstasy; a trance. Bp. Morton. [From F. rapt abduction, rape, L. raptus, fr. rapere to seize and carry off, to transport; or fr. E. rapt, a. See Rapt, a., and Rapid.]
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To Mr. Henry Cary, on Reading His Sonnets Written at Sixteen 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 Mr. Henry Cary, on Reading His Sonnets Written at Sixteen, in Original Sonnets on Various Subjects (1799), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #27663, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/seward-sonnets/to-mr-henry-cary-on-reading-his-sonnets-written-at-sixteen.html, id L09803.
Form and metre
To Mr. Henry Cary, on Reading His Sonnets Written at Sixteen 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 85%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 50% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 maidA · spellB · dellA · gladeB · braidC · bellD · wellC · aidD · strainE · beguil'dF · painE · smil'dF · standG · wandG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Disciple of the bright Aonian Maid | 11 | ˘/˘···˘/˘˘· |
| In thy life's blossom, a resistless spell | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Amid the wild wood, and irriguous dell, | 11 | ˘/····˘/˘˘· |
| O'er thymy hill, and thro' illumin'd glade, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| Led thee, for her thy votive wreaths to braid, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Where flaunts the musk-rose, and the azure bell | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Nods o'er loquacious brook, or silent well.-- | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Thus woo'd her inspirations, their rapt aid | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Liberal she gave; nor only thro' thy strain | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| Breath'd their pure spirit, while her charms beguil'd | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| The languid hours of Sorrow, and of Pain, | 10 | ·/˘/·/˘··· |
| But when Youth's tide ran high, and tempting smil'd | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Circean Pleasure, rescuing did she stand, | 10 | ˘/˘/˘/˘··· |
| Broke the Enchantress' cup and snapt her wand. | 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.