Written December 1790
Lyre of the Sonnet, that full many a timeAmus'd my lassitude, and sooth'd my pains,When graver cares forbade the lengthen'd strains,To thy brief bound, and oft-returning chimeA long farewell!--the splendid forms of RhymeWhen Grief in lonely orphanism reigns,Oppress the drooping Soul.--DEATH's dark domainsThrow mournful shadows o'er the Aonian clime;For in their silent bourne my filial bandsLie all dissolv'd;--and swiftly-wasting pourFrom my frail glass of life, health's sparkling sands.Sleep then, my LYRE, thy tuneful tasks are o'er,Sleep! for my heart bereav'd, and listless handsWake with rapt touch thy glowing strings no more!
Words in this poem
- sonnet n.
- A short poem, -- usually amatory. [F., fr. It. sonetto, fr. suono a sound, a song, fr. L. sonus a sound. See Sound noise.]
- lassitude n.
- A condition of the body, or mind, when its voluntary functions are performed with difficulty, and only by a strong exertion of the will; languor; debility; weariness. [L. lassitudo, fr. lassus faint, weary; akin to E. late: cf. F. lassitude. See Late.]
- graver n.
- One who graves; an engraver or a sculptor; one whose occupation is te cut letters or figures in stone or other hard material.
- chime n.
- The harmonious sound of bells, or of musical instruments. [OE. chimbe, prop., cymbal, OF. cymbe, cymble, in a dialectic form, chymble, F. cymbale, L. cymbalum, fr. Gr. Cymbal.]
- 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.]
- clime n.
- A climate; a tract or region of the earth. See Climate. [L. clima. See Climate.]
- bourne n.
- A stream or rivulet; a burn. [OE. burne, borne, AS. burna; akin to OS. brunno spring, G. born, brunnen, OHG. prunno, Goth. brunna, Icel. brunnr, and perh. to Gr. burn, v., because the source]
- filial a.
- Of or pertaining to a son or daughter; becoming to a child in relation to his parents; as, filial obedience. [L. filialis, fr. filius son, filia daughter; akin to e. female, feminine. Cf. Fitz.]
- tuneful a.
- Harmonious; melodious; musical; as, tuneful notes.
- listless a.
- Having no desire or inclination; indifferent; heedless; spiritless. [OE. listles, lustles. See Lust.]
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Written December 1790 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, Written December 1790, in Original Sonnets on Various Subjects (1799), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #27663, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/seward-sonnets/written-december-1790.html, id L09823.
Form and metre
Written December 1790 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 87%). 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 timeA · painsB · strainsA · chimeB · rhymeC · reignsD · domainsC · climeD · bandsE · pourF · sandsE · o'erF · handsG · moreG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lyre of the Sonnet, that full many a time | 10 | ···/˘··/·· |
| Amus'd my lassitude, and sooth'd my pains, | 10 | ˘/·/˘˘···· |
| When graver cares forbade the lengthen'd strains, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| To thy brief bound, and oft-returning chime | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| A long farewell!--the splendid forms of Rhyme | 10 | ···/·/˘··· |
| When Grief in lonely orphanism reigns, | 9 | ···/˘/˘˘· |
| Oppress the drooping Soul.--DEATH's dark domains | 10 | ˘/·/˘···˘/ |
| Throw mournful shadows o'er the Aonian clime; | 12 | ·/˘/···˘/˘˘· |
| For in their silent bourne my filial bands | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Lie all dissolv'd;--and swiftly-wasting pour | 10 | ··˘/·/˘/˘· |
| From my frail glass of life, health's sparkling sands. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Sleep then, my LYRE, thy tuneful tasks are o'er, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Sleep! for my heart bereav'd, and listless hands | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| Wake with rapt touch thy glowing strings no more! | 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.