Epode 2A
Then gentle winds aroseWith many a mingled closeOf wild Aeolian sound, and mountain-odours keen;And where the Baian oceanWelters with airlike motion,Within, above, around its bowers of starry green,Moving the sea-flowers in those purple caves,Even as the ever stormless atmosphereFloats o'er the Elysian realm,It bore me, like an Angel, o'er the wavesOf sunlight, whose swift pinnace of dewy airNo storm can overwhelm.I sailed, where ever flowsUnder the calm SereneA spirit of deep emotionFrom the unknown gravesOf the dead Kings of Melody.Shadowy Aornos darkened o'er the helmThe horizontal aether; Heaven stripped bareIts depth over Elysium, where the prowMade the invisible water white as snow;From that Typhaean mount, Inarime,There streamed a sunbright vapour, like the standardOf some aethereal host;Whilst from all the coast,Louder and louder, gathering round, there wanderedOver the oracular woods and divine seaProphesyings which grew articulate--They seize me--I must speak them!--be they fate!
Words in this poem
- airlike a.
- Resembling air.
- starry a.
- Abounding with stars; adorned with stars.
- stormless a.
- Without storms.
- elysian a.
- Pertaining, or the abode of the blessed after death; hence, yielding the highest pleasures; exceedingly delightful; beatific. [L. Elysius, fr. Elysium.]
- elysium n.
- A dwelling place assigned to happy souls after death; the seat of future happiness; Paradise.
- vapour n.
- Any substance in the gaseous, or aëriform, state, the condition of which is ordinarily that of a liquid or solid. [OE. vapour, OF. vapour, vapor, vapeur, F. vapeur, L. vapor; probably for cvapor, and akin to Gr. kvepti to breathe, smell, Russ. kopote fine soot. Cf. Vapid.]
- oracular a.
- Of or pertaining to an oracle; uttering oracles; forecasting the future; as, an oracular tongue. [L. oracularius. See Oracle.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Epode 2A is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley — Volume 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #4798; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Percy Bysshe Shelley, Epode 2A, in The Complete Poetical Works, Volume II (1816–1819), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #4798, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/shelley-later-poems/epode-2a.html, id L16402.
Form and metre
Epode 2A is 29 lines in a single stanza. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic pentameter. 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.5 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 55% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 AABCCBDEFDEFABCD-FE----GG--HH aroseA · closeA · keenB · oceanC · motionC · greenB · cavesD · atmosphereE · realmF · wavesD · airE · overwhelmF · flowsA · sereneB · emotionC · gravesD · melody · helmF · bareE · prow · snow · inarime · standard · hostG · coastG · wandered · sea · articulateH · fateH
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Then gentle winds arose | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| With many a mingled close | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| Of wild Aeolian sound, and mountain-odours keen; | 11 | ······/˘/˘· |
| And where the Baian ocean | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Welters with airlike motion, | 7 | /˘·/˘/˘ |
| Within, above, around its bowers of starry green, | 12 | ·······/·/˘· |
| Moving the sea-flowers in those purple caves, | 10 | /˘··/··/˘· |
| Even as the ever stormless atmosphere | 10 | /··/˘/˘/˘· |
| Floats o'er the Elysian realm, | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| It bore me, like an Angel, o'er the waves | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Of sunlight, whose swift pinnace of dewy air | 11 | ·/···/˘·/˘· |
| No storm can overwhelm. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| I sailed, where ever flows | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Under the calm Serene | 6 | ····˘/ |
| A spirit of deep emotion | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| From the unknown graves | 5 | ··˘/· |
| Of the dead Kings of Melody. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Shadowy Aornos darkened o'er the helm | 10 | /˘˘··/˘··· |
| The horizontal aether; Heaven stripped bare | 10 | ··˘/˘··/·· |
| Its depth over Elysium, where the prow | 10 | ···˘/˘˘··· |
| Made the invisible water white as snow; | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| From that Typhaean mount, Inarime, | 8 | ········ |
| There streamed a sunbright vapour, like the standard | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| Of some aethereal host; | 6 | ······ |
| Whilst from all the coast, | 5 | ····· |
| Louder and louder, gathering round, there wandered | 11 | /·/˘/˘˘··/˘ |
| Over the oracular woods and divine sea | 11 | ··˘/˘˘··˘/· |
| Prophesyings which grew articulate-- | 9 | ·····˘/˘· |
| They seize me--I must speak them!--be they fate! | 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.