A Pursuivant: Place, for the Marshal of the Masque!
What thinkest thou of this quaint masque which turns,Like morning from the shadow of the night,The night to day, and London to a placeOf peace and joy?
And Hell to Heaven.Eight years are gone,And they seem hours, since in this populous streetI trod on grass made green by summer's rain,For the red plague kept state within that palaceWhere now that vanity reigns. In nine years moreThe roots will be refreshed with civil blood;And thank the mercy of insulted HeavenThat sin and wrongs wound, as an orphan's cry,The patience of the great Avenger's ear.
A YOUTH:Yet, father, 'tis a happy sight to see,Beautiful, innocent, and unforbiddenBy God or man;--'tis like the bright processionOf skiey visions in a solemn dreamFrom which men wake as from a Paradise,And draw new strength to tread the thorns of life.If God be good, wherefore should this be evil?And if this be not evil, dost thou not drawUnseasonable poison from the flowersWhich bloom so rarely in this barren world?Oh, kill these bitter thoughts which make the presentDark as the future!--
When Avarice and Tyranny, vigilant Fear,And open-eyed Conspiracy lie sleepingAs on Hell's threshold; and all gentle thoughtsWaken to worship Him who giveth joysWith His own gift.
How young art thou in this old age of time!How green in this gray world? Canst thou discernThe signs of seasons, yet perceive no hintOf change in that stage-scene in which thou artNot a spectator but an actor? orArt thou a puppet moved by [enginery]?The day that dawns in fire will die in storms,Even though the noon be calm. My travel's done,--Before the whirlwind wakes I shall have foundMy inn of lasting rest; but thou must stillBe journeying on in this inclement air.Wrap thy old cloak about thy back;Nor leave the broad and plain and beaten road,Although no flowers smile on the trodden dust,For the violet paths of pleasure. This Charles the FirstRose like the equinoctial sun,...By vapours, through whose threatening ominous veilDarting his altered influence he has gainedThis height of noon--from which he must declineAmid the darkness of conflicting storms,To dank extinction and to latest night...There goesThe apostate Strafford; he whose titleswhispered aphorismsFrom Machiavel and Bacon: and, if JudasHad been as brazen and as bold as he--
NOTES:33-37 Canst...enginery 1870;Canst thou not thinkOf change in that low scene, in which thou artNot a spectator but an actor?... 1824.43-57 Wrap...bold as he 1870; omitted 1824.
Words in this poem
- quaint a.
- Prudent; wise; hence, crafty; artful; wily. [OE. queint, queynte, coint, prudent, wise, cunning, pretty, odd, OF. cointe cultivated, amiable, agreeable, neat, fr. L. cognitus known, p. p. of cognoscere to ]
- masque n.
- A mask; a masquerade.
- populous a.
- Abounding in people; full of inhabitants; containing many inhabitants in proportion to the extent of the country. [L. populosus, fr. populus people: cf. F. populeux.]
- thank n.
- A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural. [AS. Þanc, Þonc, thanks, favor, thought; akin to OS. thank favor, pleasure, thanks, D. & G. dank thanks, Icel. Þ\'94kk, Dan. tak, Sw. tack, Goth. Þagks thanks; -]
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
- avarice n.
- An excessive or inordinate desire of gain; greediness after wealth; covetousness; cupidity. [F. avaritia, fr. avarus avaricious, prob. fr. av to covert, fr. a root av to satiate one's self: cf. Gr. av to satiate one's self, rejoice, protect.]
- waken v. i.
- To wake; to cease to sleep; to be awakened. [OE. waknen, AS. wæcnan; akin to Goth. gawaknan. See Wake, v. i.]
- enginery n.
- The act or art of managing engines, or artillery.
- 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,]
- inclement a.
- Not clement; destitute of a mild and kind temper; void of tenderness; unmerciful; severe; harsh. [L. inclemens; pref. in- not + clemens mild: cf. F. inclément. See Clement.]
- 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]
- dank n.
- Moisture; humidity; water.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Pursuivant: Place, for the Marshal of the Masque! is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley — Volume 1, Project Gutenberg ebook #4797; 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, A Pursuivant: Place, for the Marshal of the Masque!, in The Complete Poetical Works, Volume I (1813–1820), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #4797, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/shelley-poems/a-pursuivant-place-for-the-marshal-of-the-masque.html, id L00280.
Form and metre
A Pursuivant: Place, for the Marshal of the Masque! is 64 lines in 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.9 syllables. 16 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 47% 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.
- 2 AA-A---A-- heavenA · goneA · street · rainA · palace · more · blood · heavenA · cry · ear
- 5 ------AB-------B---A------ time · discern · hint · art · or · enginery · stormsA · doneB · found · still · air · back · road · dust · first · sunB · veil · gained · decline · stormsA · night · goes · titles · aphorisms · judas · he
- 6 -A--AA notes · — · think · art · — · —
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 |
|---|---|---|
| What thinkest thou of this quaint masque which turns, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Like morning from the shadow of the night, | 10 | ·/˘··/···· |
| The night to day, and London to a place | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Of peace and joy? | 4 | ···· |
| And Hell to Heaven. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Eight years are gone, | 4 | ···· |
| And they seem hours, since in this populous street | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| I trod on grass made green by summer's rain, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| For the red plague kept state within that palace | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Where now that vanity reigns. In nine years more | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| The roots will be refreshed with civil blood; | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| And thank the mercy of insulted Heaven | 11 | ···/˘·˘/˘/˘ |
| That sin and wrongs wound, as an orphan's cry, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The patience of the great Avenger's ear. | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| A YOUTH: | 2 | ·· |
| Yet, father, 'tis a happy sight to see, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Beautiful, innocent, and unforbidden | 10 | /˘/˘˘····· |
| By God or man;--'tis like the bright procession | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| Of skiey visions in a solemn dream | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| From which men wake as from a Paradise, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And draw new strength to tread the thorns of life. | 10 | ·········· |
| If God be good, wherefore should this be evil? | 11 | ····/˘···/˘ |
| And if this be not evil, dost thou not draw | 10 | ·····/···· |
| Unseasonable poison from the flowers | 11 | ˘/˘˘˘/˘··/˘ |
| Which bloom so rarely in this barren world? | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Oh, kill these bitter thoughts which make the present | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Dark as the future!-- | 5 | ···/˘ |
| When Avarice and Tyranny, vigilant Fear, | 10 | ·/˘·/˘/˘˘· |
| And open-eyed Conspiracy lie sleeping | 11 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| As on Hell's threshold; and all gentle thoughts | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| Waken to worship Him who giveth joys | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| With His own gift. | 4 | ···· |
| How young art thou in this old age of time! | 10 | ·········· |
| How green in this gray world? Canst thou discern | 10 | ········˘/ |
| The signs of seasons, yet perceive no hint | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| Of change in that stage-scene in which thou art | 10 | ·········· |
| Not a spectator but an actor? or | 10 | ··/˘˘··/˘· |
| Art thou a puppet moved by [enginery]? | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| The day that dawns in fire will die in storms, | 10 | ·····/···· |
| Even though the noon be calm. My travel's done,-- | 10 | /······/˘· |
| Before the whirlwind wakes I shall have found | 10 | ···/······ |
| My inn of lasting rest; but thou must still | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Be journeying on in this inclement air. | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| Wrap thy old cloak about thy back; | 8 | ········ |
| Nor leave the broad and plain and beaten road, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Although no flowers smile on the trodden dust, | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| For the violet paths of pleasure. This Charles the First | 12 | ··/˘··/˘···· |
| Rose like the equinoctial sun,... | 8 | ········ |
| By vapours, through whose threatening ominous veil | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Darting his altered influence he has gained | 10 | /˘·/˘/˘··· |
| This height of noon--from which he must decline | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Amid the darkness of conflicting storms, | 10 | ˘/·/˘·˘/˘· |
| To dank extinction and to latest night... | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| There goes | 2 | ·· |
| The apostate Strafford; he whose titles | 10 | ·˘/˘····/˘ |
| whispered aphorisms | 6 | /˘/˘·˘ |
| From Machiavel and Bacon: and, if Judas | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| Had been as brazen and as bold as he-- | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| NOTES: | 1 | · |
| 33-37 Canst...enginery 1870; | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| Canst thou not think | 4 | ···· |
| Of change in that low scene, in which thou art | 10 | ·········· |
| Not a spectator but an actor?... 1824. | 9 | ··/˘˘··/˘ |
| 43-57 Wrap...bold as he 1870; omitted 1824. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
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.