Composed After a Journey Across the Hambleton Hills, Yorkshire
Dark and more dark the shades of evening fell;The wished-for point was reached--but at an hourWhen little could be gained from that rich dowerOf prospect, whereof many thousands tell.Yet did the glowing west with marvellous powerSalute us; there stood Indian citadel,Temple of Greece, and minster with its towerSubstantially expressed--a place for bellOr clock to toll from! Many a tempting isle,With groves that never were imagined, lay'Mid seas how steadfast! objects all for the eyeOf silent rapture; but we felt the whileWe should forget them; they are of the sky,And from our earthly memory fade away.
Words in this poem
- whereof adv.
- Of which; of whom; formerly, also, with which; -- used relatively.
- substantially adv.
- In a substantial manner; in substance; essentially.
- isle v. t.
- To cause to become an island, or like an island; to surround or encompass; to island.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Composed After a Journey Across the Hambleton Hills, Yorkshire is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth — Volume 2 (of 8), Project Gutenberg ebook #12145; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Wordsworth, Composed After a Journey Across the Hambleton Hills, Yorkshire, in The Poetical Works, Volume II (1798–1807), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12145, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wordsworth-vol2/composed-after-a-journey-across-the-hambleton-hills-yorkshir.html, id L17370.
Form and metre
Composed After a Journey Across the Hambleton Hills, Yorkshire is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABBABABACDECED. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 86% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 57% 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 ABBABABACDECED fellA · hourB · dowerB · tellA · powerB · citadelA · towerB · bellA · isleC · layD · eyeE · whileC · skyE · awayD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Dark and more dark the shades of evening fell; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The wished-for point was reached--but at an hour | 10 | ·········/ |
| When little could be gained from that rich dower | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Of prospect, whereof many thousands tell. | 9 | ·/˘··//˘· |
| Yet did the glowing west with marvellous power | 11 | ···/˘·····/ |
| Salute us; there stood Indian citadel, | 10 | ˘/···/˘/˘· |
| Temple of Greece, and minster with its tower | 10 | /˘···/˘··/ |
| Substantially expressed--a place for bell | 9 | ˘/˘˘/···· |
| Or clock to toll from! Many a tempting isle, | 10 | ·····/·/˘· |
| With groves that never were imagined, lay | 9 | ···/·˘/˘· |
| 'Mid seas how steadfast! objects all for the eye | 11 | ···/·/˘···· |
| Of silent rapture; but we felt the while | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| We should forget them; they are of the sky, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| And from our earthly memory fade away. | 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.