Translation
He who a tender long-lov'd Wife survives,Sees himself sunder'd from the only mindWhose hopes, and fears, and interests, were combin'd,And blended with his own.--No more she lives!No more, alas! her death-numb'd ear receivesHis thoughts, that trace the Past, or anxious windThe Future's darkling maze!--His wish refin'd,The wish to please, exists no more, that givesThe will its energy, the nerves their tone!--He feels the texture of his quiet torn,And stopt the settled course that Action drew;Life stands suspended--motionless--till thrownBy outward causes, into channels new;--But, in the dread suspense, how sinks the Soul forlorn!
Words in this poem
- darkling a.
- Becoming dark or gloomy; frowing.
- maze n.
- A wild fancy; a confused notion. [OE. mase; cf. OE. masen to confuse, puzzle, Norweg. masast to fall into a slumber, masa to be continually busy, prate, chatter, Icel. masa to chatter, dial. Sw.]
- forlorn a.
- Deserted abandoned; lost. [OE., p.p. of forlesen to lose utterly, AS. forleósan (p.p. forloren); pref. for- + leósan (in comp.) to lose; cf. D. verliezen to lose, G. verlieren, Sw. förlor]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Translation 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, Translation, in Original Sonnets on Various Subjects (1799), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #27663, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/seward-sonnets/translation-3.html, id L09810.
Form and metre
Translation 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 93%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 36% 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 survivesA · mindB · combin'dA · livesB · receivesC · windD · refin'dC · givesD · toneE · tornF · drewE · thrownF · newG · forlornG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| He who a tender long-lov'd Wife survives, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Sees himself sunder'd from the only mind | 10 | ·˘/····/˘· |
| Whose hopes, and fears, and interests, were combin'd, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| And blended with his own.--No more she lives! | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| No more, alas! her death-numb'd ear receives | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| His thoughts, that trace the Past, or anxious wind | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The Future's darkling maze!--His wish refin'd, | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| The wish to please, exists no more, that gives | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| The will its energy, the nerves their tone!-- | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| He feels the texture of his quiet torn, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And stopt the settled course that Action drew; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Life stands suspended--motionless--till thrown | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘˘·· |
| By outward causes, into channels new;-- | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| But, in the dread suspense, how sinks the Soul forlorn! | 12 | ····˘/····˘/ |
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.