Stanzas Written in Dejection, Near Naples
The sun is warm, the sky is clear,The waves are dancing fast and bright,Blue isles and snowy mountains wearThe purple noon's transparent might,The breath of the moist earth is light,Around its unexpanded buds;Like many a voice of one delight,The winds, the birds, the ocean floods,The City's voice itself, is soft like Solitude's.
I see the Deep's untrampled floorWith green and purple seaweeds strown;I see the waves upon the shore,Like light dissolved in star-showers, thrown:I sit upon the sands alone,--The lightning of the noontide oceanIs flashing round me, and a toneArises from its measured motion,How sweet! did any heart now share in my emotion.
Alas! I have nor hope nor health,Nor peace within nor calm around,Nor that content surpassing wealthThe sage in meditation found,And walked with inward glory crowned--Nor fame, nor power, nor love, nor leisure.Others I see whom these surround--Smiling they live, and call life pleasure;--To me that cup has been dealt in another measure.
Yet now despair itself is mild,Even as the winds and waters are;I could lie down like a tired child,And weep away the life of careWhich I have borne and yet must bear,Till death like sleep might steal on me,And I might feel in the warm airMy cheek grow cold, and hear the seaBreathe o'er my dying brain its last monotony.
Some might lament that I were cold,As I, when this sweet day is gone,Which my lost heart, too soon grown old,Insults with this untimely moan;They might lament--for I am oneWhom men love not,--and yet regret,Unlike this day, which, when the sunShall on its stainless glory set,Will linger, though enjoyed, like joy in memory yet.
Words in this poem
- snowy a.
- White like snow.
- noontide n.
- The time of noon; midday. [From noon + tide time; cf. AS. n the ninth hour.]
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- monotony n.
- A frequent recurrence of the same tone or sound, producing a dull uniformity; absence of variety, as in speaking or singing. [Gr. monotonie. See Monotonius.]
- 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,]
- stainless a.
- Free from stain; immaculate.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Stanzas Written in Dejection, Near Naples 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, Stanzas Written in Dejection, Near Naples, in The Complete Poetical Works, Volume II (1816–1819), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #4798, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/shelley-later-poems/stanzas-written-in-dejection-near-naples.html, id L16341.
Form and metre
Stanzas Written in Dejection, Near Naples is 45 lines in 5 stanzas of 9 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABABBCBCC, in 2 of the 5 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.8 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 22% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 ABABBCBC- clearA · brightB · wearA · mightB · lightB · budsC · delightB · floodsC · solitude's
- 2 ABABBCBCC floorA · strownB · shoreA · thrownB · aloneB · oceanC · toneB · motionC · emotionC
- 3 ABABBCBCC healthA · aroundB · wealthA · foundB · crownedB · leisureC · surroundB · pleasureC · measureC
- 4 A-ABBCBC- mildA · are · childA · careB · bearB · meC · airB · seaC · monotony
- 5 A-A-BCBCC coldA · gone · oldA · moan · oneB · regretC · sunB · setC · yetC
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The sun is warm, the sky is clear, | 8 | ········ |
| The waves are dancing fast and bright, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Blue isles and snowy mountains wear | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The purple noon's transparent might, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| The breath of the moist earth is light, | 8 | ········ |
| Around its unexpanded buds; | 8 | ········ |
| Like many a voice of one delight, | 9 | ·/˘····˘/ |
| The winds, the birds, the ocean floods, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The City's voice itself, is soft like Solitude's. | 12 | ·/˘·˘/···/˘· |
| I see the Deep's untrampled floor | 7 | ······· |
| With green and purple seaweeds strown; | 8 | ···/˘/·· |
| I see the waves upon the shore, | 8 | ········ |
| Like light dissolved in star-showers, thrown: | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| I sit upon the sands alone,-- | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The lightning of the noontide ocean | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Is flashing round me, and a tone | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Arises from its measured motion, | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘˘/˘ |
| How sweet! did any heart now share in my emotion. | 13 | ···/˘·····˘/˘ |
| Alas! I have nor hope nor health, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Nor peace within nor calm around, | 8 | ········ |
| Nor that content surpassing wealth | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| The sage in meditation found, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| And walked with inward glory crowned-- | 10 | ··˘·/˘/˘·˘ |
| Nor fame, nor power, nor love, nor leisure. | 10 | ···/˘···/˘ |
| Others I see whom these surround-- | 8 | /˘····˘/ |
| Smiling they live, and call life pleasure;-- | 9 | /˘·····/˘ |
| To me that cup has been dealt in another measure. | 13 | ········˘/˘/˘ |
| Yet now despair itself is mild, | 8 | ··˘/˘/·· |
| Even as the winds and waters are; | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
| I could lie down like a tired child, | 10 | ······/˘˘· |
| And weep away the life of care | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Which I have borne and yet must bear, | 8 | ········ |
| Till death like sleep might steal on me, | 8 | ········ |
| And I might feel in the warm air | 8 | ········ |
| My cheek grow cold, and hear the sea | 8 | ········ |
| Breathe o'er my dying brain its last monotony. | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| Some might lament that I were cold, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| As I, when this sweet day is gone, | 8 | ········ |
| Which my lost heart, too soon grown old, | 8 | ········ |
| Insults with this untimely moan; | 8 | ˘/··˘/˘· |
| They might lament--for I am one | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Whom men love not,--and yet regret, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Unlike this day, which, when the sun | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Shall on its stainless glory set, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Will linger, though enjoyed, like joy in memory yet. | 12 | ·/˘·˘/···/˘· |
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