An Answer to the Rebus, by the Author of These Poems
THE poet asks, and Phillis can't refuseTo show th' obedience of the Infant muse.She knows the Quail of most inviting tasteFed Israel's army in the dreary waste;And what's on Britain's royal standard borne,But the tall, graceful, rampant Unicorn?The Emerald with a vivid verdure glowsAmong the gems which regal crowns compose;Boston's a town, polite and debonair,To which the beaux and beauteous nymphs repair,Each Helen strikes the mind with sweet surprise,While living lightning flashes from her eyes,See young Euphorbus of the Dardan lineBy Manelaus' hand to death resign:The well known peer of popular applauseIs C----m zealous to support our laws.Quebec now vanquish'd must obey,She too much annual tribute payTo Britain of immortal fame.And add new glory to her name.
Words in this poem
- inviting a.
- Alluring; tempting; as, an inviting amusement or prospect.
- dreary a.
- Sorrowful; distressful. [OE. dreori, dreri, AS. dreórig, sad; akin to G. traurig, and prob. to AS. dreósan to fall, Goth. driusan. Cf. Dross, Drear, Drizzle, Drowse.]
- unicorn n.
- A fabulous animal with one horn; the monoceros; -- often represented in heraldry as a supporter. [OE. unicorne, F. unicorne, L. unicornis one- horned, having a single horn; unus one + cornu a horn; cf. L. unicornuus a unicorn. See One, and Horn.]
- polite a.
- Smooth; polished. [L. politus, p. p. of polire to polish: cf. F. poli. See Polish, v.]
- 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]
- beauteous a.
- Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
An Answer to the Rebus, by the Author of These Poems is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems on various subjects, religious and moral, Project Gutenberg ebook #409; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Phillis Wheatley, An Answer to the Rebus, by the Author of These Poems, in Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #409, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wheatley-poems/an-answer-to-the-rebus-by-the-author-of-these-poems.html, id L25937.
Form and metre
An Answer to the Rebus, by the Author of These Poems is 20 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJ refuseA · museA · tasteB · wasteB · borneC · unicornC · glowsD · composeD · debonairE · repairE · surpriseF · eyesF · lineG · resignG · applauseH · lawsH · obeyI · payI · fameJ · nameJ
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 |
|---|---|---|
| THE poet asks, and Phillis can't refuse | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| To show th' obedience of the Infant muse. | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| She knows the Quail of most inviting taste | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Fed Israel's army in the dreary waste; | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| And what's on Britain's royal standard borne, | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| But the tall, graceful, rampant Unicorn? | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| The Emerald with a vivid verdure glows | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Among the gems which regal crowns compose; | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Boston's a town, polite and debonair, | 10 | /˘··˘/··˘/ |
| To which the beaux and beauteous nymphs repair, | 11 | ·····/˘˘·˘/ |
| Each Helen strikes the mind with sweet surprise, | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| While living lightning flashes from her eyes, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| See young Euphorbus of the Dardan line | 10 | ·········· |
| By Manelaus' hand to death resign: | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| The well known peer of popular applause | 10 | ·····/˘˘˘/ |
| Is C----m zealous to support our laws. | 10 | ···/˘·˘//· |
| Quebec now vanquish'd must obey, | 8 | ˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| She too much annual tribute pay | 9 | ···/˘˘/˘· |
| To Britain of immortal fame. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| And add new glory to her name. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
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.