To the University of Cambridge, in New-England
WHILE an intrinsic ardor prompts to write,The muses promise to assist my pen;'Twas not long since I left my native shoreThe land of errors, and Egyptian gloom:Father of mercy, 'twas thy gracious handBrought me in safety from those dark abodes.Students, to you 'tis giv'n to scan the heightsAbove, to traverse the ethereal space,And mark the systems of revolving worlds.Still more, ye sons of science ye receiveThe blissful news by messengers from heav'n,How Jesus' blood for your redemption flows.See him with hands out-stretcht upon the cross;Immense compassion in his bosom glows;He hears revilers, nor resents their scorn:What matchless mercy in the Son of God!When the whole human race by sin had fall'n,He deign'd to die that they might rise again,And share with him in the sublimest skies,Life without death, and glory without end.Improve your privileges while they stay,Ye pupils, and each hour redeem, that bearsOr good or bad report of you to heav'n.Let sin, that baneful evil to the soul,By you be shun'd, nor once remit your guard;Suppress the deadly serpent in its egg.Ye blooming plants of human race divine,An Ethiop tells you 'tis your greatest foe;Its transient sweetness turns to endless pain,And in immense perdition sinks the soul.
Words in this poem
- scan v. t.
- To mount by steps; to go through with step by step. [L. scandere, scansum, to climb, to scan, akin to Skr. skand to spring, leap: cf. F. scander. Cf. Ascend, Descend, Scale a ladder.]
- blissful a.
- Full of, characterized by, or causing, joy and felicity; happy in the highest degree.
- baneful a.
- Having poisonous qualities; deadly; destructive; injurious; noxious; pernicious.
- remit v. t.
- To send back; to give up; to surrender; to resign. [L. remittere, remissum, to send back, to slacken, relax; pref. re- re- + mittere to send. See Mission, and cf. Remise, Remiss.]
- ethiop n.
- A native or inhabitant of Ethiopia; also, in a general sense, a negro or black man.
- perdition n.
- Entire loss; utter destruction; ruin; esp., the utter loss of the soul, or of final happiness in a future state; future misery or eternal death. [F., fr. L. perditio, fr. perdere, perditum, to ruin, to lose; per (cf. Skr. para away) + -dere (only in comp.) to put; akin to Gr. do. See Do.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To the University of Cambridge, in New-England 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, To the University of Cambridge, in New-England, in Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #409, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wheatley-poems/to-the-university-of-cambridge-in-new-england.html, id L07706.
Form and metre
To the University of Cambridge, in New-England is 30 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 17% 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--------BC-C---A----BD-----D write · penA · shore · gloom · hand · abodes · heights · space · worlds · receive · heav'nB · flowsC · cross · glowsC · scorn · god · fall'n · againA · skies · end · stay · bears · heav'nB · soulD · guard · egg · divine · foe · pain · soulD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| WHILE an intrinsic ardor prompts to write, | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| The muses promise to assist my pen; | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| 'Twas not long since I left my native shore | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The land of errors, and Egyptian gloom: | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Father of mercy, 'twas thy gracious hand | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| Brought me in safety from those dark abodes. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Students, to you 'tis giv'n to scan the heights | 10 | /˘········ |
| Above, to traverse the ethereal space, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| And mark the systems of revolving worlds. | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Still more, ye sons of science ye receive | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| The blissful news by messengers from heav'n, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘·· |
| How Jesus' blood for your redemption flows. | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| See him with hands out-stretcht upon the cross; | 10 | ·········· |
| Immense compassion in his bosom glows; | 10 | ˘/˘/˘··/˘· |
| He hears revilers, nor resents their scorn: | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| What matchless mercy in the Son of God! | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| When the whole human race by sin had fall'n, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| He deign'd to die that they might rise again, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| And share with him in the sublimest skies, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Life without death, and glory without end. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Improve your privileges while they stay, | 9 | ˘/·/˘˘··· |
| Ye pupils, and each hour redeem, that bears | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/·· |
| Or good or bad report of you to heav'n. | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Let sin, that baneful evil to the soul, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| By you be shun'd, nor once remit your guard; | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Suppress the deadly serpent in its egg. | 10 | ˘/·/˘/˘··· |
| Ye blooming plants of human race divine, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| An Ethiop tells you 'tis your greatest foe; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Its transient sweetness turns to endless pain, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| And in immense perdition sinks the soul. | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
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.