Prologue
Peter Bells, one, two and three,O'er the wide world wandering be.--First, the antenatal Peter,Wrapped in weeds of the same metre,The so-long-predestined raimentClothed in which to walk his way meantThe second Peter; whose ambitionIs to link the proposition,As the mean of two extremes--(This was learned from Aldric's themes)Shielding from the guilt of schismThe orthodoxal syllogism;The First Peter--he who wasLike the shadow in the glassOf the second, yet unripe,His substantial antitype.--
Then came Peter Bell the Second,Who henceforward must be reckonedThe body of a double soul,And that portion of the wholeWithout which the rest would seemEnds of a disjointed dream.--And the Third is he who hasO'er the grave been forced to passTo the other side, which is,--Go and try else,--just like this.
Peter Bell the First was PeterSmugger, milder, softer, neater,Like the soul before it isBorn from THAT world into THIS.The next Peter Bell was he,Predevote, like you and me,To good or evil as may come;His was the severer doom,--For he was an evil Cotter,And a polygamic Potter.And the last is Peter Bell,Damned since our first parents fell,Damned eternally to Hell--Surely he deserves it well!
Words in this poem
- antenatal a.
- Before birth. Shelley.
- orthodoxal a.
- Pertaining to, or evincing, orthodoxy; orthodox.
- antitype n.
- That of which the type pattern or representation; that which is represented by the type or symbol. [Gr. Type.]
- henceforward adv.
- From this time forward; henceforth.
- disjointed a.
- Separated at the joints; disconnected; incoherent.
- cotter n.
- A cottager; a cottier. Burns. [LL. cotarius, cottarius, coterius. See Cot.]
- damned a.
- Sentenced to punishment in a future state; condemned; consigned to perdition.
- eternally adv.
- In an eternal manner.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Prologue 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, Prologue, in Alastor, and Other Poems (1813–1820), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #4797, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/shelley-poems/prologue.html, id L00255.
Form and metre
Prologue is 40 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 90% of the lines. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, 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 8.1 syllables. 15 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 33% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in trochaic 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH threeA · beA · peterB · metreB · raimentC · meantC · ambitionD · propositionD · extremesE · themesE · schismF · syllogismF · wasG · glassG · unripeH · antitypeH
- 2 AABBCC---- secondA · reckonedA · soulB · wholeB · seemC · dreamC · has · pass · is · this
- 3 AABBCCDDEEFFGG peterA · neaterA · isB · thisB · heC · meC · comeD · doomD · cotterE · potterE · bellF · fellF · hellG · wellG
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Peter Bells, one, two and three, | 7 | /˘····· |
| O'er the wide world wandering be.-- | 7 | ····/˘· |
| First, the antenatal Peter, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Wrapped in weeds of the same metre, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| The so-long-predestined raiment | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Clothed in which to walk his way meant | 8 | ········ |
| The second Peter; whose ambition | 9 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| Is to link the proposition, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| As the mean of two extremes-- | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| (This was learned from Aldric's themes) | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Shielding from the guilt of schism | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| The orthodoxal syllogism; | 7 | ·/˘˘/˘˘ |
| The First Peter--he who was | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Like the shadow in the glass | 7 | ··/···· |
| Of the second, yet unripe, | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| His substantial antitype.-- | 7 | ·˘/˘/˘˘ |
| Then came Peter Bell the Second, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Who henceforward must be reckoned | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| The body of a double soul, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And that portion of the whole | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Without which the rest would seem | 7 | ······· |
| Ends of a disjointed dream.-- | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| And the Third is he who has | 7 | ······· |
| O'er the grave been forced to pass | 7 | ······· |
| To the other side, which is,-- | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Go and try else,--just like this. | 7 | ······· |
| Peter Bell the First was Peter | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| Smugger, milder, softer, neater, | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| Like the soul before it is | 7 | ······· |
| Born from THAT world into THIS. | 7 | ······· |
| The next Peter Bell was he, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Predevote, like you and me, | 7 | ······· |
| To good or evil as may come; | 7 | ···/··· |
| His was the severer doom,-- | 7 | ······· |
| For he was an evil Cotter, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| And a polygamic Potter. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And the last is Peter Bell, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Damned since our first parents fell, | 7 | ··/·/˘· |
| Damned eternally to Hell-- | 7 | ·˘/˘˘·· |
| Surely he deserves it well! | 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.