On Virtue
O Thou bright jewel in my aim I striveTo comprehend thee. Thine own words declareWisdom is higher than a fool can reach.I cease to wonder, and no more attemptThine height t' explore, or fathom thy profound.But, O my soul, sink not into despair,Virtue is near thee, and with gentle handWould now embrace thee, hovers o'er thine head.Fain would the heav'n-born soul with her converse,Then seek, then court her for her promis'd bliss.Auspicious queen, thine heav'nly pinions spread,And lead celestial Chastity along;Lo! now her sacred retinue descends,Array'd in glory from the orbs above.Attend me, Virtue, thro' my youthful years!O leave me not to the false joys of time!But guide my steps to endless life and bliss.Greatness, or Goodness, say what I shall call thee,To give me an higher appellation still,Teach me a better strain, a nobler lay,O thou, enthron'd with Cherubs in the realms of day.
Words in this poem
- explore v. t.
- To seek for or after; to strive to attain by search; to look wisely and carefully for. [L. explorare to explore; ex out+plorare to cry out aloud,prob. orig., to cause to flow; perh. akin to E. flow: cf. F. explorer.]
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- 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,]
- appellation n.
- The act of appealing; appeal. [L. appellatio, fr. appellare: cf. F. appellation. See Appeal.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On Virtue 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, On Virtue, in Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #409, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wheatley-poems/on-virtue.html, id L07705.
Form and metre
On Virtue is 21 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 19% 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 -A---A-BCCB-----C--DD strive · declareA · reach · attempt · profound · despairA · hand · headB · converseC · blissC · spreadB · along · descends · above · years · time · blissC · thee · still · layD · dayD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| O Thou bright jewel in my aim I strive | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| To comprehend thee. Thine own words declare | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| Wisdom is higher than a fool can reach. | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| I cease to wonder, and no more attempt | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Thine height t' explore, or fathom thy profound. | 11 | ···˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| But, O my soul, sink not into despair, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Virtue is near thee, and with gentle hand | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| Would now embrace thee, hovers o'er thine head. | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| Fain would the heav'n-born soul with her converse, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Then seek, then court her for her promis'd bliss. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Auspicious queen, thine heav'nly pinions spread, | 10 | ˘/˘····/˘· |
| And lead celestial Chastity along; | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘˘˘/ |
| Lo! now her sacred retinue descends, | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Array'd in glory from the orbs above. | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| Attend me, Virtue, thro' my youthful years! | 10 | ˘/·/˘··/˘· |
| O leave me not to the false joys of time! | 10 | ·········· |
| But guide my steps to endless life and bliss. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Greatness, or Goodness, say what I shall call thee, | 11 | /˘·/˘······ |
| To give me an higher appellation still, | 10 | ····/·˘/˘· |
| Teach me a better strain, a nobler lay, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| O thou, enthron'd with Cherubs in the realms of day. | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
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.