To the Same
Marcellus, since the ardors of my strainTo thy young eyes and kindling fancy, gleamWith somewhat of the vivid hues, that streamFrom Poesy's bright orb, each envious stainShed by dull Critics, venal, vex'd and vain,Seems recompens'd at full;--and so wou'd seemDid not maturer Sons of Phœbus deemMy verse Aonian.--Thou, in time, shalt gain,Like them, amid the letter'd World, that swayWhich makes encomium fame;--so thou adorn,Extend, refine and dignify thy lay,And Indolence, and Syren Pleasure scorn;Then, at high noon, thy Genius shall displayThe splendors promis'd in its shining morn.
Words in this poem
- envious a.
- Malignant; mischievous; spiteful. [OF. envios, F. envieux, fr. L. invidiosus, fr. invidia envy. See Envy, and cf. Invidious.]
- maturer n.
- One who brings to maturity.
- deem v. t.
- To decide; to judge; to sentence; to condemn. [OE. demen to judge, condemn, AS. d, fr. d doom; akin to OFries. d, OS. ad, D. doemen, OHG. tuommen, Icel. dæma, Sw. dömma, Dan. dömme, Goth. d. See Doom, n., an]
- 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.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- 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]
- encomium n.
- Warm or high praise; panegyric; strong commendation. [NL., fr. Gr. Comedy.]
- dignify v. t.
- To invest with dignity or honor; to make illustrious; to give distinction to; to exalt in rank; to honor. [OF. dignifier, fr. LL. d; L. dignus worthy + ficare (in comp.), facere to make. See Deign, and Fact.]
- indolence n.
- Freedom from that which pains, or harasses, as toil, care, grief, etc. [L. indolentia freedom from pain: cf. F. indolence.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To the Same 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 the Same, in Original Sonnets on Various Subjects (1799), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #27663, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/seward-sonnets/to-the-same.html, id L09806.
Form and metre
To the Same 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 88%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 57% 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 strainA · gleamB · streamA · stainB · vainC · seemD · deemC · gainD · swayE · adornF · layE · scornF · displayG · mornG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Marcellus, since the ardors of my strain | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘··· |
| To thy young eyes and kindling fancy, gleam | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| With somewhat of the vivid hues, that stream | 10 | ·//··/˘··· |
| From Poesy's bright orb, each envious stain | 10 | ······/˘˘· |
| Shed by dull Critics, venal, vex'd and vain, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Seems recompens'd at full;--and so wou'd seem | 10 | ·········· |
| Did not maturer Sons of Phœbus deem | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| My verse Aonian.--Thou, in time, shalt gain, | 11 | ··˘/˘˘····· |
| Like them, amid the letter'd World, that sway | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| Which makes encomium fame;--so thou adorn, | 11 | ··˘/˘˘···˘/ |
| Extend, refine and dignify thy lay, | 10 | ˘/˘/·/˘··· |
| And Indolence, and Syren Pleasure scorn; | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘/˘· |
| Then, at high noon, thy Genius shall display | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| The splendors promis'd in its shining morn. | 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.