An Hymn to Humanity. To S. P. G. Esq;
LO! for this dark terrestrial ballForsakes his azure-paved hallA prince of heav'nly birth!Divine Humanity behold,What wonders rise, what charms unfoldAt his descent to earth!
The bosoms of the great and goodWith wonder and delight he view'd,And fix'd his empire there:Him, close compressing to his breast,The sire of gods and men address'd,"My son, my heav'nly fair!
"Descend to earth, there place thy throne;"To succour man's afflicted son"Each human heart inspire:"To act in bounties unconfin'd"Enlarge the close contracted mind,"And fill it with thy fire."
Quick as the word, with swift careerHe wings his course from star to star,And leaves the bright abode.The Virtue did his charms impart;Their G-----! then thy raptur'd heartPerceiv'd the rushing God:
For when thy pitying eye did seeThe languid muse in low degree,Then, then at thy desireDescended the celestial nine;O'er me methought they deign'd to shine,And deign'd to string my lyre.
Can Afric's muse forgetful prove?Or can such friendship fail to moveA tender human heart?Immortal Friendship laurel-crown'dThe smiling Graces all surroundWith ev'ry heav'nly Art.
Words in this poem
- sire n.
- A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.]
- succour v. t.
- tiono run to, or run to support; hence, to help or relieve when in difficulty, want, or distress; to assist and deliver from suffering; to relieve; as, to succor a besieged city. [OE. socouren, OF. sucurre, soucourre, secorre, F. secourir, L. succurrere, succursum, to run under, run to the aid of, help, succor; sub under + currere to run.]
- career n.
- A race course: the ground run over. [F. carrière race course, high road, street, fr. L. carrus wagon. See Car.]
- abode n.
- Act of waiting; delay. [OE. abad, abood, fr. abiden to abide. See Abide. For the change of vowel, cf. abode, imp. of abide.]
- pitying a.
- Expressing pity; as, a pitying eye, glance, or word.
- forgetful a.
- Apt to forget; easily losing remembrance; as, a forgetful man should use helps to strengthen his memory.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
An Hymn to Humanity. To S. P. G. Esq; 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 Hymn to Humanity. To S. P. G. Esq;, in Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #409, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wheatley-poems/an-hymn-to-humanity-to-s-p-g-esq.html, id L26092.
Form and metre
An Hymn to Humanity. To S. P. G. Esq; is 36 lines in 6 stanzas of 6 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is AABCCB, in 2 of the 6 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%).
See other poems in iambic 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 AABCCB ballA · hallA · birthB · beholdC · unfoldC · earthB
- 2 --ABBA good · view'd · thereA · breastB · address'dB · fairA
- 3 --ABBA throne · son · inspireA · unconfin'dB · mindB · fireA
- 4 ---AA- career · star · abode · impartA · heartA · god
- 5 AA-BB- seeA · degreeA · desire · nineB · shineB · lyre
- 6 AABCCB proveA · moveA · heartB · crown'dC · surroundC · artB
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| LO! for this dark terrestrial ball | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Forsakes his azure-paved hall | 7 | ˘/·/˘·· |
| A prince of heav'nly birth! | 6 | ······ |
| Divine Humanity behold, | 8 | ˘/˘/˘˘˘/ |
| What wonders rise, what charms unfold | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| At his descent to earth! | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| The bosoms of the great and good | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| With wonder and delight he view'd, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| And fix'd his empire there: | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Him, close compressing to his breast, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| The sire of gods and men address'd, | 8 | ·/····˘/ |
| "My son, my heav'nly fair! | 6 | ······ |
| "Descend to earth, there place thy throne; | 8 | ˘/······ |
| "To succour man's afflicted son | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| "Each human heart inspire: | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| "To act in bounties unconfin'd | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| "Enlarge the close contracted mind, | 8 | ˘/··/˘˘· |
| "And fill it with thy fire." | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Quick as the word, with swift career | 8 | ······˘/ |
| He wings his course from star to star, | 8 | ········ |
| And leaves the bright abode. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| The Virtue did his charms impart; | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Their G-----! then thy raptur'd heart | 7 | ······· |
| Perceiv'd the rushing God: | 6 | ˘/·/˘· |
| For when thy pitying eye did see | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The languid muse in low degree, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Then, then at thy desire | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Descended the celestial nine; | 8 | ˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| O'er me methought they deign'd to shine, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| And deign'd to string my lyre. | 6 | ······ |
| Can Afric's muse forgetful prove? | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Or can such friendship fail to move | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A tender human heart? | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Immortal Friendship laurel-crown'd | 8 | ˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| The smiling Graces all surround | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| With ev'ry heav'nly Art. | 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.