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The Tempest

Edmund Clarence Stedman (1833–1908) · 1860–1897

iambic pentameter · 140 lines · from The Poetical Works of Edmund Clarence Stedman

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Queen of the shadowy clime!Thou of the fairy-spell and wondrous lay:Sweet Romance! breathe upon my way,Not with the breath of this degenerate time,But of that age when life was summer play,When Nature wore a verdurous hue,And Earth kept holiday;When on the ground Chaldæan shepherds lay,Gazing all night, with calm, creative view,Into the overhanging blue,And found, amid the many-twinkling stars,Warriors and maidens fair,Heroes of marvellous deeds and direful wars,Serpents and flaming hair,The Dragon and the Bear,A silvery Venus and a lurid Mars.

Come at thy lover’s call,Thou, that, with embraces kind,Throwing thy tendrils round the lives of all,Something in all to beautify dost find!So thine own ivy, on the Gothic wall,Or pendent from the armsOf gnarléd oaks, where’er its clusters fall,Clings to adorn and adds perennial charms.And therefore, Romance, would I greetThee by the fairest of fair names,Calling thee debonair and sweet;For sweet thou art—inspiring Manhood’s dreams,When all aweary of the actual life;And sweet thy influence seemsTo Woman, shrinking from the strife,The sordid tumult of the wrangling mart.But doubly sweet thou art,Leading the tender child by gentle streams,Among the lilies of our flowery Youth;Filling his all-believing heartWith thoughts that glorify the common truth;Building before him, in the lustrous air,Ethereal palaces and castles fair.

With such mild innocence the EarthReceived thy blessings at her birth;And in the pastoral days of yore,To Man’s enchanted gaze,Nature was fair—O, how much moreThan in our wiser days!Then deities of sylvan form,While yet the hearts of men were young and warm,Like shepherds wandered through the arching groves,Or sang aloud, the listening flocks among,Sweet legends of their loves;Then Cupid and fair Psyche breathed their vows,—He with the feathered darts and bow unstrung,And garlands on his brows;She folding gently to her bosom dovesSnow-white, forever, as their mistress, young;And, as they sighed together, peerless JoyEnwreathed the maiden and the raptured boy!

Yes! on romantic pilgrimage,To the calm piety of Nature’s shrine,Through summer-paths, thou ledst our human-kind,With influence divine.In that orient, elden age,Ere man had learned to wageDispassionate war against his natural mind,Thy voice of mystery,Reading aloud the Earth’s extended page,Bade human aspirations findIn the cool fountain and the forest-treeA sentient imagery;The flowing river and the murmuring wind,The land—the sea—Were all informed by thee!

Through coral grottoes wandering and singing,The merry Nereid glided to her cave;Anon, with warm, luxurious motion flingingHer sinuous form above the moonlit wave,To the charmed mariner gaveA glimpse of snowy arms and amber tresses,While on his startled earThe sea-nymph’s madrigal fell clear;Then to the far recesses,Where drowsy Neptune wears the emerald crown,Serenely floated down,Leaving the mariner all amort with fear.In the under-opening wood,What time the Gods had crowned the full-grown year,The Dryad and the Hamadryad stoodAmong the fallow deer;Bending the languid branches of their trees,With every breeze,To view their image in the fountains near:—The fountains! whence the white-limbed Naiads sang,Pouring upon the air melodious trills,And, while the echoes through the forest rang,The white-limbed Naiads of a thousand rillsFar o’er the Arcadian vales a pæan spread.Led by Diana, in the dewy dawn,The Oread sisters chased the dappled fawnThrough all the coverts of their native hills;Home, with the spoils, at sultry noon they fled,—Home to their shaded bowers,Where, with the ivy, and those sacred flowersThat now have faded from the weary earth,Each laughing Oread crowned an Oread’s head.The mountains echoed back their maiden mirth,Rousing old Pan, who, from a secret lair,Shook the wild tangles of his frosty hair,And laid him down again with sullen roar:But now the frightened nymphs like statues stand,One balancing her body half in air,Dreading to hear again that tumult sore;One, with a liquid tremor in her eye,Waving above her head a glimmering hand;Till suddenly, like dreams, away they fly,Leaving the forest stiller than before!

Such was thy power, O Pastoral Romance!In that ambrosial age of classic fame,The spirit to entrance.Fain would I whisper of the latter days,When, in thy royal name,The mailéd knights encountered lance to lance,All for sweet Romance and fair ladies’ praise;But no! I bowed the kneeAnd vowed allegiance to thee,As I beheld thee in thy golden prime,And now from thy demesne must haste away:Perchance that of the aftertime,Of nodding plumes and chivalrous array,In aftertime I sing a roundelay.

Fair Spirit of ethereal birth,In whom such mysteries and beauties blend!Still from thine ancient dwelling-place descendAnd idealize our too material earth;Still to the Bard thy chaste conceptions lend,To him thine early purity renew;Round every image grace majestic throw!Till rapturously the living song shall glowWith inspiration as thy being true,And Poesy’s creations, decked by thee,Shall wake the tuneful thrill of sensuous ecstasy.

Words in this poem 48
clime n.
A climate; a tract or region of the earth. See Climate. [L. clima. See Climate.]
wondrous adv.
In a wonderful or surprising manner or degree; wonderfully. [OE. wonders, adv. (later also adj.). See Wonder, n., and cf. -wards.]
verdurous a.
Covered with verdure; clothed with the fresh green of vegetation; verdured; verdant; as, verdurous pastures.
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]
twinkling n.
The act of one who, or of that which, twinkles; a quick movement of the eye; a wink; a twinkle. Holland.
direful a.
Dire; dreadful; terrible; calamitous; woeful; as, a direful fiend; a direful day. [Dire + -ful.]
lurid a.
Pale yellow; ghastly pale; wan; gloomy; dismal. [L. luridus.]
debonair a.
Characterized by courteousness, affability, or gentleness; of good appearance and manners; graceful; complaisant. [OE. debonere, OF. de bon aire, debonaire, of good descent or lineage, excellent, debonair, F. débonnaire debonair; de of (L. de) + bon good (L. bonus) + aire. S]
strife n.
The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
sordid a.
Filthy; foul; dirty. [L. sordidus, fr. sordere to be filthy or dirty; probably akin to E. swart: cf. F. sordide. See Swart, a.]
mart v. t.
To buy or sell in, or as in, a mart.
glorify v. t.
To make glorious by bestowing glory upon; to confer honor and distinction upon; to elevate to power or happiness, or to celestial glory. [F. glorifier, L. glorificare; gloria glory + - ficare (in comp.) to make. See -fy.]
yore adv.
In time long past; in old time; long since. [OE. , yare, , AS. geára;akin to geár a year, E. year. Year.]
enchanted a.
Under the power of enchantment; possessed or exercised by enchanters; as, an enchanted castle.
aloud adv.
With a loud voice, or great noise; loudly; audibly. [Pref. a- + loud.]
cupid
The god of love, son of Venus; usually represented as a naked, winged boy with bow and arrow. [L.Cupido, fr. cupido desire, desire of love, fr. cupidus. See Cupidity.]
psyche n.
A lovely maiden, daughter of a king and mistress of Eros, or Cupid. She is regarded as the personification of the soul.
pilgrimage n.
The journey of a pilgrim; a long journey; especially, a journey to a shrine or other sacred place. Fig., the journey of human life. [OE. pilgrimage, pelgrinage; cf. F. pèlerinage.]
wage v. i.
To bind one's self; to engage.
dispassionate a.
Free from passion; not warped, prejudiced, swerved, or carried away by passion or feeling; judicial; calm; composed.
bade
A form of the pat tense of Bid.
imagery n.
The work of one who makes images or visible representation of objects; imitation work; images in general, or in mass. [OE. imagerie, F. imagerie.]
informed a.
Unformed or ill-formed; deformed; shapeless.
anon adv.
Straightway; at once. [OE. anoon, anon, anan, lit., in one (moment), fr. AS. on in + an one. See On and One.]
moonlit a.
Illumined by the moon.
snowy a.
White like snow.
madrigal n.
A little amorous poem, sometimes called a pastoral poem, containing some tender and delicate, though simple, thought. [It. madrigale, OIt. madriale, mandriale (cf. LL. matriale); of uncertain origin, possibly fr. It mandra flock, L. mandra stall, herd of cattle, Gr. madrigal, or]
serenely adv.
In a serene manner; clearly.
amort a.
As if dead; lifeless; spiritless; dejected; depressed. [Pref. a- + F. mort death, dead; all amort is for alamort.]
dryad n.
A wood nymph; a nymph whose life was bound up with that of her tree. [L. dryas, pl. dryades, Gr. Tree.]
hamadryad n.
A tree nymph whose life ended with that of the particular tree, usually an oak, which had been her abode. [L. Hamadryas, -adis, Gr. hamadryade. See Same, and Tree.]
arcadian a.
Of or pertaining to Arcadia; pastoral; ideally rural; as, Arcadian simplicity or scenery. [L. Arcadius, Arcadicus, fr. Arcadia: cf. F. Arcadien, Arcadique.]
diana n.
The daughter of Jupiter and Latona; a virgin goddess who presided over hunting, chastity, and marriage; -- identified with the Greek goddess Artemis. [L. Diana.]
oread n.
One of the nymphs of mountains and grottoes. [L. Oreas, -adis, Gr. oréade.]
dappled a.
Marked with spots of different shades of color; spotted; variegated; as, a dapple horse.
lair n.
A place in which to lie or rest; especially, the bed or couch of a wild beast. [OE. leir, AS. leger; akin to D. leger, G. lager couch, lair, OHG. laga, Goth. ligrs, and to E. lie. See Lie to be prostrate, and cf. Layer, Leaguer.]
shook v. t.
To pack, as staves, in a shook.
sullen a.
Lonely; solitary; desolate. Wyclif (Job iii. 14). [OE. solein, solain, lonely, sullen; through Old French fr. (assumed) LL. solanus solitary, fr. L. solus alone. See Sole, a.]
stiller n.
One who stills, or quiets.
ambrosial a.
Consisting of, or partaking of the nature of, ambrosia; delighting the taste or smell; delicious.
classic a.
Of or relating to the first class or rank, especially in literature or art. [L. classicus relating to the classes of the Roman people, and especially to the frist class; hence, of the first rank, superior, from classis class: cf. F. clas]
fain v. t.
To be glad ; to wish or desire.
idealize v. t.
To make ideal; to give an ideal form or value to; to attribute ideal characteristics and excellences to; as, to idealize real life.
rapturously adv.
In a rapturous manner.
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,]
poesy n.
The art of composing poems; poetical skill or faculty; as, the heavenly gift of poesy. [F. poésie (cf. It. poesia), L. poesis, from Gr. Posy.]
tuneful a.
Harmonious; melodious; musical; as, tuneful notes.
sensuous a.
Of or pertaining to the senses, or sensible objects; addressing the senses; suggesting pictures or images of sense.

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

The Tempest is in the public domain. This text is taken from The poetical works of Edmund Clarence Stedman, Project Gutenberg ebook #70763; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: Edmund Clarence Stedman, The Tempest, in The Poetical Works of Edmund Clarence Stedman (1860–1897), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #70763, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/stedman-poems/the-tempest.html, id L10658.

Form and metre

The Tempest is 140 lines in 7 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 86% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.0 syllables. 12 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 15% 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. 1 ABBABCBBCCDE-EED climeA · layB · wayB · timeA · playB · hueC · holidayB · layB · viewC · blueC · starsD · fairE · wars · hairE · bearE · marsD
  2. 2 ABABACACD-DEFEFGGEHGHII callA · kindB · allA · findB · wallA · armsC · fallA · charmsC · greetD · names · sweetD · dreamsE · lifeF · seemsE · strifeF · martG · artG · streamsE · youthH · heartG · truthH · airI · fairI
  3. 3 AABCBCDD-EFGEGFEHH earthA · birthA · yoreB · gazeC · moreB · daysC · formD · warmD · groves · amongE · lovesF · vowsG · unstrungE · browsG · dovesF · youngE · joyH · boyH
  4. 4 ABCBAAC-ACD-CDD pilgrimageA · shrineB · kindC · divineB · ageA · wageA · mindC · mystery · pageA · findC · treeD · imagery · windC · seaD · theeD
  5. 5 ABABB-CC-DDCECECFFCGHGHIJJHIKKLILMMNOMNPOPN singingA · caveB · flingingA · waveB · gaveB · tresses · earC · clearC · recesses · crownD · downD · fearC · woodE · yearC · stoodE · deerC · treesF · breezeF · nearC · sangG · trillsH · rangG · rillsH · spreadI · dawnJ · fawnJ · hillsH · fledI · bowersK · flowersK · earthL · headI · mirthL · lairM · hairM · roarN · standO · airM · soreN · eyeP · handO · flyP · beforeN
  6. 6 ABACBACDDEFEFF romanceA · fameB · entranceA · daysC · nameB · lanceA · praiseC · kneeD · theeD · primeE · awayF · aftertimeE · arrayF · roundelayF
  7. 7 ABBABCDDC-- birthA · blendB · descendB · earthA · lendB · renewC · throwD · glowD · trueC · thee · ecstasy
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.

LineSyl.Stress
Queen of the shadowy clime!7···/˘˘·
Thou of the fairy-spell and wondrous lay:10···/˘··/˘·
Sweet Romance! breathe upon my way,8·˘/·····
Not with the breath of this degenerate time,10······˘/˘·
But of that age when life was summer play,10·······/˘·
When Nature wore a verdurous hue,9·/˘··/˘˘·
And Earth kept holiday;6···/˘·
When on the ground Chaldæan shepherds lay,9······/˘·
Gazing all night, with calm, creative view,10/˘····˘/˘·
Into the overhanging blue,8···/˘·˘·
And found, amid the many-twinkling stars,10··˘/·//˘˘·
Warriors and maidens fair,7/˘˘·/˘·
Heroes of marvellous deeds and direful wars,11/˘······/˘·
Serpents and flaming hair,6/˘·/˘·
The Dragon and the Bear,6·/˘···
A silvery Venus and a lurid Mars.10·/˘/˘··/˘·
Come at thy lover’s call,6···/˘·
Thou, that, with embraces kind,7···˘/˘·
Throwing thy tendrils round the lives of all,10/˘········
Something in all to beautify dost find!10/˘···/˘···
So thine own ivy, on the Gothic wall,10···/˘··/˘·
Or pendent from the arms6·/˘···
Of gnarléd oaks, where’er its clusters fall,10···˘˘/·/˘·
Clings to adorn and adds perennial charms.10··˘/··˘/˘·
And therefore, Romance, would I greet8···˘/···
Thee by the fairest of fair names,8···/˘···
Calling thee debonair and sweet;8/˘··˘/··
For sweet thou art—inspiring Manhood’s dreams,10····˘/˘/··
When all aweary of the actual life;10··˘/˘··/˘·
And sweet thy influence seems7···/˘˘·
To Woman, shrinking from the strife,8·/˘/˘···
The sordid tumult of the wrangling mart.10·/˘/˘··/˘·
But doubly sweet thou art,6·/˘···
Leading the tender child by gentle streams,10/˘·/˘··/˘·
Among the lilies of our flowery Youth;10···/˘·//˘·
Filling his all-believing heart8/˘··˘/˘·
With thoughts that glorify the common truth;10···/˘··/˘·
Building before him, in the lustrous air,10/˘·····/˘·
Ethereal palaces and castles fair.10˘/˘/˘˘·/˘·
With such mild innocence the Earth8···/˘˘··
Received thy blessings at her birth;9˘/˘·/˘···
And in the pastoral days of yore,9···/˘˘···
To Man’s enchanted gaze,6··˘/˘·
Nature was fair—O, how much more8/˘······
Than in our wiser days!7··/˘/˘·
Then deities of sylvan form,8·/˘˘·/˘·
While yet the hearts of men were young and warm,10··········
Like shepherds wandered through the arching groves,10·/˘/˘··/˘·
Or sang aloud, the listening flocks among,10··˘/·/˘···
Sweet legends of their loves;6·/˘···
Then Cupid and fair Psyche breathed their vows,—10·/˘··/˘···
He with the feathered darts and bow unstrung,10···/˘·····
And garlands on his brows;6·/˘···
She folding gently to her bosom doves10·/˘/˘··/˘·
Snow-white, forever, as their mistress, young;10··˘/˘··/˘·
And, as they sighed together, peerless Joy10····˘/˘/˘·
Enwreathed the maiden and the raptured boy!10···/˘··/˘·
Yes! on romantic pilgrimage,8··˘/˘/˘˘
To the calm piety of Nature’s shrine,10···/˘˘·/˘·
Through summer-paths, thou ledst our human-kind,10·/˘···//˘·
With influence divine.6·/˘˘˘/
In that orient, elden age,8··/˘·/˘·
Ere man had learned to wage6······
Dispassionate war against his natural mind,10˘/˘····/˘·
Thy voice of mystery,6···/˘˘
Reading aloud the Earth’s extended page,10/˘˘/··˘/˘·
Bade human aspirations find8·/˘·˘/˘·
In the cool fountain and the forest-tree10···/˘··/˘·
A sentient imagery;7·/˘˘/˘˘
The flowing river and the murmuring wind,10·//˘··/˘˘·
The land—the sea—4····
Were all informed by thee!6··˘/··
Through coral grottoes wandering and singing,11·/˘/·/˘˘·/˘
The merry Nereid glided to her cave;11·/˘/˘˘/˘···
Anon, with warm, luxurious motion flinging11˘/··˘/˘/˘/˘
Her sinuous form above the moonlit wave,10·/˘····/··
To the charmed mariner gave7···/˘˘·
A glimpse of snowy arms and amber tresses,11···/˘··/˘/˘
While on his startled ear6···/˘·
The sea-nymph’s madrigal fell clear;8···/˘˘··
Then to the far recesses,7····/˘˘
Where drowsy Neptune wears the emerald crown,10·/˘/˘··/˘·
Serenely floated down,7˘/˘˘/˘·
Leaving the mariner all amort with fear.10/˘·/˘·˘/··
In the under-opening wood,8····/˘˘·
What time the Gods had crowned the full-grown year,10··········
The Dryad and the Hamadryad stood9·/˘··/˘˘·
Among the fallow deer;6···/··
Bending the languid branches of their trees,10/˘·/˘/˘···
With every breeze,5·/˘˘·
To view their image in the fountains near:—10···/˘··/˘·
The fountains! whence the white-limbed Naiads sang,10·/˘····˘··
Pouring upon the air melodious trills,10/˘····˘/˘·
And, while the echoes through the forest rang,10···/˘··/˘·
The white-limbed Naiads of a thousand rills10···˘···/˘·
Far o’er the Arcadian vales a pæan spread.10····/˘····
Led by Diana, in the dewy dawn,10··˘/˘··/˘·
The Oread sisters chased the dappled fawn10·/˘˘/˘····
Through all the coverts of their native hills;10···/˘··/˘·
Home, with the spoils, at sultry noon they fled,—10·····/˘···
Home to their shaded bowers,7···/˘/˘
Where, with the ivy, and those sacred flowers11···/˘··/˘/˘
That now have faded from the weary earth,10···/˘··/˘·
Each laughing Oread crowned an Oread’s head.11·/˘/˘˘·····
The mountains echoed back their maiden mirth,10·/˘/˘··/˘·
Rousing old Pan, who, from a secret lair,10/˘·····/˘·
Shook the wild tangles of his frosty hair,10···/˘··/˘·
And laid him down again with sullen roar:10····˘/·/˘·
But now the frightened nymphs like statues stand,10···/˘··/··
One balancing her body half in air,10·/˘˘·/˘···
Dreading to hear again that tumult sore;10/˘··˘/·/˘·
One, with a liquid tremor in her eye,10···/˘/˘···
Waving above her head a glimmering hand;10/˘·····/˘·
Till suddenly, like dreams, away they fly,10·/˘˘··˘/··
Leaving the forest stiller than before!10/˘·/˘/˘···
Such was thy power, O Pastoral Romance!10···/·/˘˘˘/
In that ambrosial age of classic fame,10··˘/˘··/˘·
The spirit to entrance.6·/˘·/˘
Fain would I whisper of the latter days,10···/˘··/˘·
When, in thy royal name,6···/˘·
The mailéd knights encountered lance to lance,10···˘/˘˘···
All for sweet Romance and fair ladies’ praise;10···/˘··/··
But no! I bowed the knee6······
And vowed allegiance to thee,7··˘/˘··
As I beheld thee in thy golden prime,10··˘/···/˘·
And now from thy demesne must haste away:10····˘/··˘/
Perchance that of the aftertime,8˘/······
Of nodding plumes and chivalrous array,10·/˘··/˘˘˘/
In aftertime I sing a roundelay.10·······/˘˘
Fair Spirit of ethereal birth,9·/˘·˘/˘˘·
In whom such mysteries and beauties blend!10···/˘˘·/˘·
Still from thine ancient dwelling-place descend10···/˘/˘·˘/
And idealize our too material earth;10·˘/·/·˘/˘·
Still to the Bard thy chaste conceptions lend,10······˘/˘·
To him thine early purity renew;10···/˘/˘˘˘/
Round every image grace majestic throw!10·/˘/˘·˘/˘·
Till rapturously the living song shall glow11·/˘˘˘·/˘···
With inspiration as thy being true,10··˘/˘··/˘·
And Poesy’s creations, decked by thee,10···˘/˘·˘··
Shall wake the tuneful thrill of sensuous ecstasy.11···/˘··/˘/˘

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