Poem XI
"Bacchus forte superansPectora virorumIn amorem concitatAnimos eorum.
"Bacchus saepe visitansMulierum genusFacit eas subditasTibi, O tu Venus!"
"Qui potare non potestis,Ite procul ab his festis;Non est hic locus modestis:Devitantur plus quam pestis."
"Magis quam ecclesiamDiligo tabernam."
"Mihi sapit dulciusVinum de taberna,Quam quod aqua miscuitPraesulis pincerna."
Words in this poem
- forte n.
- The strong point; that in which one excels. fort"a The construction of a fable seems by no means the forte of our modern poetical writers. Jeffrey. [IT. forte: cf. F. fort. See Fort.]
- locus n.
- A place; a locality. [L., place. Cf. Allow, Couch, Lieu, Local.]
- vinum n.
- Wine, --chiefly used in Pharmacy in the name of solutions of some medicinal substance in wine; as: vina medicata, medicated wines; vinum opii, wine of opium.
- quod v.
- Quoth; said. See Quoth.
- aqua n.
- Water; -- a word much used in pharmacy and the old chemistry, in various signification, determined by the word or words annexed. [L. See Ewer.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Poem XI 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, Poem XI, in Wine, Women and Song (1884), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18044, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/symonds-wine-women/poem-xi.html, id L11806.
Form and metre
Poem XI is 18 lines in 5 stanzas. The metre is trochaic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.4 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 50% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic trimeter.
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 -A-A superans · virorumA · concitat · eorumA
- 2 -A-A visitans · genusA · subditas · venusA
- 3 AAAA potestisA · festisA · modestisA · pestisA
- 5 -A-A dulcius · tabernaA · miscuit · pincernaA
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| "Bacchus forte superans | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| Pectora virorum | 6 | ······ |
| In amorem concitat | 7 | ······· |
| Animos eorum. | 5 | ····· |
| "Bacchus saepe visitans | 6 | /˘···· |
| Mulierum genus | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Facit eas subditas | 6 | ······ |
| Tibi, O tu Venus!" | 6 | /···/˘ |
| "Qui potare non potestis, | 7 | ······· |
| Ite procul ab his festis; | 7 | ······· |
| Non est hic locus modestis: | 9 | ·˘/·/˘··· |
| Devitantur plus quam pestis." | 8 | ········ |
| "Magis quam ecclesiam | 6 | /˘···· |
| Diligo tabernam." | 6 | ······ |
| "Mihi sapit dulcius | 6 | ······ |
| Vinum de taberna, | 6 | /˘···· |
| Quam quod aqua miscuit | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Praesulis pincerna." | 6 | ······ |
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.