Verses
Sent by Lord Melcombe to Dr. Young, Not Long Before His Lordship'sDeath.
Kind companion of my youth,Lov'd for genius, worth, and truth!Take what friendship can impart,Tribute of a feeling heart;Take the muse's latest spark,Ere we drop into the dark.He, who parts and virtue gave,Bad thee look beyond the graveGenius soars, and virtue guides;Above, the love of God presides.There's a gulf 'twixt us and God;Let the gloomy path be trod:Why stand shivering on the shore?Why not boldly venture o'er?Where unerring virtue guides,Let us have the winds and tides:Safe, through seas of doubts and fears,Rides the bark which virtue steers.
Words in this poem
- boldly adv.
- In a bold manner. [AS. bealdlice.]
- unerring a.
- Committing no mistake; incapable or error or failure certain; sure; unfailing; as, the unerring wisdom of God.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Verses is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Edward Young, Volume 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #18827; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Edward Young, Verses, in The Poetical Works, Volume II (1742–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18827, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/young-night-thoughts/verses.html, id L09486.
Form and metre
Verses is 20 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 80% of the lines. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.2 syllables. 10% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in trochaic 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.
- 2 AABBCCDDEEFF--EEGG youthA · truthA · impartB · heartB · sparkC · darkC · gaveD · graveD · guidesE · presidesE · godF · trodF · shore · o'er · guidesE · tidesE · fearsG · steersG
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Sent by Lord Melcombe to Dr. Young, Not Long Before His Lordship's | 15 | ··············· |
| Death. | 1 | · |
| Kind companion of my youth, | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| Lov'd for genius, worth, and truth! | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Take what friendship can impart, | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Tribute of a feeling heart; | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Take the muse's latest spark, | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Ere we drop into the dark. | 7 | ······· |
| He, who parts and virtue gave, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Bad thee look beyond the grave | 7 | ······· |
| Genius soars, and virtue guides; | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Above, the love of God presides. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| There's a gulf 'twixt us and God; | 7 | ······· |
| Let the gloomy path be trod: | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Why stand shivering on the shore? | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| Why not boldly venture o'er? | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Where unerring virtue guides, | 7 | ·˘/˘/˘· |
| Let us have the winds and tides: | 7 | ······· |
| Safe, through seas of doubts and fears, | 7 | ······· |
| Rides the bark which virtue steers. | 7 | ····/˘· |
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.