kizolk
Indecisive 
Posts: 5,551
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Post by kizolk on Jan 28, 2024 0:53:34 GMT
snowball :/
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Post by Pacifica on Jan 28, 2024 0:57:05 GMT
That's the "certain kind of ball" that I was alluding to. |
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kizolk
Indecisive
Posts: 5,551
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Post by kizolk on Jan 28, 2024 0:58:15 GMT
Well, I've been wanting to try "avalanche" but wasn't sure it could be two syllables. Let's try it nonetheless.
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Post by Pacifica on Jan 28, 2024 1:00:10 GMT
[A star is seen at the darker end of the gallery; it is stationary; and a voice
is heard singing]
FIRST SPIRIT
Mortal! to thy bidding bow'd,
From my mansion in the cloud,
Which the breath of twilight builds,
And the summer's sun-set gilds
With the azure and vermilion,
Which is mix'd for my pavilion;
Though thy quest may be forbidden,
On a star-beam I have ridden;
To thine adjuration bow'd,
Mortal -- be thy wish avow'd!
Voice of the SECOND SPIRIT
Mont Blanc is the monarch of mountains,
They crowned him long ago
On a throne of rocks, in a robe of clouds,
With a diadem of snow.
Around his waist are forests braced,
The Avalanche in his hand;
But ere it fall, that thundering ball
Must pause for my command.
The Glacier's cold and restless mass
Moves onward day by day;
But I am he who bids it _______,
Or with its ice _______.
I am the spirit of the place,
Could make the mountain bow
And quiver to his cavern'd base--
And what with me wouldst Thou? |
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kizolk
Indecisive
Posts: 5,551
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Post by kizolk on Jan 28, 2024 11:08:00 GMT
it progress/stir/creep
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Post by Pacifica on Jan 28, 2024 12:12:59 GMT
Still on the right general track.
There's a rhyme there too.
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kizolk
Indecisive
Posts: 5,551
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Post by kizolk on Jan 28, 2024 12:13:33 GMT
Some meter questions; getting better at scanning might help in the future: Mortal! to thy bidding bow'd, From my mansion in the cloud, Which the breath of twilight builds, And the summer's sun-set gilds With the azure and vermilion, Which is mix'd for my pavilion; Though thy quest may be forbidden, On a star-beam I have ridden; To thine adjuration bow'd, Mortal -- be thy wish avow'd! What do you call that meter? It is trochaic tetrameter where a majority of the lines are catalectic, or headless iambic tetrameter with a few feminine endings? The latter seems a bit more far-fetched, but it would fit better with the second spirit's speech... But considering my history of meter-related guesses, I'll asume the third option I haven't thought of is the correct one  Mont Blanc is the monarch of mountains, I think he's working within the framework of an iambic tetrameter with some variations, but I'm not sure how best to analyze this line, other than the obvious feminine ending. I think "is the" could be seen as a pyrrhic substitution, and "monarch" as a trochaic substitution, but I wonder if there are better ways to parse it, for instance emphasizing the fact that it looks like the line consists of three consecutive amphibrachs. On a throne of rocks, in a robe of clouds, This could be a lot of things, but maybe iambic tetrameter with anapestic substitutions at the beginning of the line and after the caesura? But maybe "on" and "in" should be stressed. The simplest way to analyze it seems to be that there's an extra stressed syllable at the beginning, but this seems like cheating. Or maybe a headless iambic tetrameter, but it wouldn't follow the pattern of alternation between tetrameters and trimeters in this speech. In terms of rhymes, I can't help but notice place/base, which would make it the only instance of rhyming between two tetrameters in this speech. But maybe they don't even rhyme in Byron's English; "ba[z]e" has gotta to be a thing in a least some English varieties, past or present. (and it may also not be the sole such rhyme, depending on what "bids it _____" turns out to be) |
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kizolk
Indecisive
Posts: 5,551
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Post by kizolk on Jan 28, 2024 12:13:54 GMT
There's a rhyme there too. (and it may also not be the sole such rhyme, depending on what "bids it _____" turns out to be) Welp. Ninja'd. |
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kizolk
Indecisive
Posts: 5,551
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Post by kizolk on Jan 28, 2024 12:15:11 GMT
bids it pass
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Post by Pacifica on Jan 28, 2024 12:21:39 GMT
It is trochaic tetrameter where a majority of the lines are catalectic, or headless iambic tetrameter with a few feminine endings? I would choose the first description but you can take it either way. It's a matter of perspective; the result is the same. I think he's working within the framework of an iambic tetrameter with some variations, but I'm not sure how best to analyze this line, other than the obvious feminine ending. I think "is the" could be seen as a pyrrhic substitution, and "monarch" as a trochaic substitution, but I wonder if there are better ways to parse it, for instance emphasizing the fact that it looks like the line consists of three consecutive amphibrachs. I'm not sure how that line is supposed to scan. To me it instinctively reads as three amphibrachs, but that doesn't match the rest of the poem, which is in ballad form (tetrameters alternating with trimeters), mostly iambic with some anapests mixed in. That should also answer your next two questions. |
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Post by Pacifica on Jan 28, 2024 12:23:51 GMT
[A star is seen at the darker end of the gallery; it is stationary; and a voice
is heard singing]
FIRST SPIRIT
Mortal! to thy bidding bow'd,
From my mansion in the cloud,
Which the breath of twilight builds,
And the summer's sun-set gilds
With the azure and vermilion,
Which is mix'd for my pavilion;
Though thy quest may be forbidden,
On a star-beam I have ridden;
To thine adjuration bow'd,
Mortal -- be thy wish avow'd!
Voice of the SECOND SPIRIT
Mont Blanc is the monarch of mountains,
They crowned him long ago
On a throne of rocks, in a robe of clouds,
With a diadem of snow.
Around his waist are forests braced,
The Avalanche in his hand;
But ere it fall, that thundering ball
Must pause for my command.
The Glacier's cold and restless mass
Moves onward day by day;
But I am he who bids it pass,
Or with its ice _______.
I am the spirit of the place,
Could make the mountain bow
And quiver to his cavern'd base--
And what with me wouldst Thou? |
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Post by Etaoin Shrdlu on Jan 28, 2024 12:28:33 GMT
<Is it> trochaic tetrameter where a majority of the lines are catalectic Clearly to me at any rate. I think he's working within the framework of an iambic tetrameter with some variations Not sure. It's straightforward iambic tetrameter from The Glacier's onward. But the first four couplets are decidedly different. They're too triply to be iambic, really. It doesn't help matters that I can't read Mont Blanc is the monarch of mountains without thinking My bonnie lies over the ocean, and that has a 3/4 time signature. |
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Post by Etaoin Shrdlu on Jan 28, 2024 12:30:10 GMT
Apologies for the textual criticism of the brackets. But was I right?
I hadn't seen Pacifica's post when writing mine.
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kizolk
Indecisive
Posts: 5,551
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Post by kizolk on Jan 28, 2024 12:37:00 GMT
Apologies for the textual criticism of the brackets. But was I right? I hadn't seen Pacifica's post when writing mine. Yup, it was a typo! |
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kizolk
Indecisive
Posts: 5,551
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Post by kizolk on Jan 28, 2024 12:38:29 GMT
I mean, kind of. At first I'd written that sentence directly starting with "Trochaic" but then added "it is" without thinking much.
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