A Sequence in Praise of Wine
Wine the good and bland, thou blessingOf the good, the bad's distressing,Sweet of taste by all confessing,Hail, thou world's felicity!Hail thy hue, life's gloom dispelling;Hail thy taste, all tastes excelling;By thy power, in this thy dwellingDeign to make us drunk with thee!
Oh, how blest for bounteous usesIs the birth of pure vine-juices!Safe's the table which producesWine in goodly quality.Oh, in colour how auspicious!Oh, in odour how delicious!In the mouth how sweet, propitiousTo the tongue enthralled by thee!
Blest the man who first thee planted,Called thee by thy name enchanted!He whose cups have ne'er been scantedDreads no danger that may be.Blest the belly where thou bidest!Blest the tongue where thou residest!Blest the mouth through which thou glidest,And the lips thrice blest by thee!
Therefore let wine's praise be sounded,Healths to topers all propounded;We shall never be confounded,Toping for eternity!Pray we: here be thou still flowing,Plenty on our board bestowing,While with jocund voice we're showingHow we serve thee--Jubilee!
Words in this poem
- deign v. t.
- To esteem worthy; to consider worth notice; -- opposed to disdain. [OE. deinen, deignen, OF. degner, deigner, daigner, F. daigner, fr. L. dignari to deem worthy, deign, fr. dignus worthy; akin to decere to be fitting. See Decent]
- bounteous a.
- Liberal in charity; disposed to give freely; generously liberal; munificent; beneficent; free in bestowing gifts; as, bounteous production. [OE. bountevous, fr. bounte bounty.]
- goodly a.
- Pleasant; agreeable; desirable. [OE. godlich, AS. g. See Good, and Like.]
- odour n.
- Any smell, whether fragrant or offensive; scent; perfume. [OE. odor, odour, OF. odor, odour, F. odeur, fr. L. odor; akin to olere to smell, Gr. Olfactory, Osmium, Ozone, Redolent.]
- enchanted a.
- Under the power of enchantment; possessed or exercised by enchanters; as, an enchanted castle.
- 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,]
- jocund
- Merry; cheerful; gay; airy; lively; sportive. [L. jocundus, jucundus, orig., helpful, fr. juvare to help. See Aid.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Sequence in Praise of Wine is in the public domain. This text is taken from Wine, Women, and Song Mediaeval Latin Students' songs; Now first translated into English verse, Project Gutenberg ebook #18044; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Addington Symonds, A Sequence in Praise of Wine, in Wine, Women and Song (1884), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18044, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/symonds-wine-women/a-sequence-in-praise-of-wine.html, id L11854.
Form and metre
A Sequence in Praise of Wine is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 50% of the lines. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.9 syllables. 26 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 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 AAA-BBB- blessingA · distressingA · confessingA · felicity · dispellingB · excellingB · dwellingB · thee
- 2 AAA-BBB- usesA · juicesA · producesA · quality · auspiciousB · deliciousB · propitiousB · thee
- 3 AAABCCCB plantedA · enchantedA · scantedA · beB · bidestC · residestC · glidestC · theeB
- 4 AA--BBB- soundedA · propoundedA · confounded · eternity · flowingB · bestowingB · showingB · jubilee
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Wine the good and bland, thou blessing | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Of the good, the bad's distressing, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Sweet of taste by all confessing, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Hail, thou world's felicity! | 7 | ···˘/˘˘ |
| Hail thy hue, life's gloom dispelling; | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Hail thy taste, all tastes excelling; | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| By thy power, in this thy dwelling | 9 | ··/˘···/˘ |
| Deign to make us drunk with thee! | 7 | ······· |
| Oh, how blest for bounteous uses | 9 | ····/˘˘/˘ |
| Is the birth of pure vine-juices! | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Safe's the table which produces | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Wine in goodly quality. | 7 | ··/˘/˘˘ |
| Oh, in colour how auspicious! | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Oh, in odour how delicious! | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| In the mouth how sweet, propitious | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| To the tongue enthralled by thee! | 8 | ···˘/˘·· |
| Blest the man who first thee planted, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Called thee by thy name enchanted! | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| He whose cups have ne'er been scanted | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Dreads no danger that may be. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Blest the belly where thou bidest! | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Blest the tongue where thou residest! | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Blest the mouth through which thou glidest, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And the lips thrice blest by thee! | 7 | ······· |
| Therefore let wine's praise be sounded, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Healths to topers all propounded; | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| We shall never be confounded, | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Toping for eternity! | 7 | ···˘/˘˘ |
| Pray we: here be thou still flowing, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Plenty on our board bestowing, | 9 | /˘·/˘·˘/˘ |
| While with jocund voice we're showing | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| How we serve thee--Jubilee! | 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.