The Naked Goddess Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCC DDEEFFAACCCGGCCH IIJJHHCCKKLLAA MMBBNNOOCCHHCCPP AACCQQCC EERRSSCCTTCCCCCC CCCCCCAARR CCAHCCAANN CCLLCCBBUUBBCCVVAAAC CCCDDDD GGCCFFHHWWCCXXCCYYZZ CCDDDD EEMMA2A2CCCCH CCEEXXX B2C2CCHHAAD2E2CCHHA DDCCCCF2 CCAACCX G2Q SSCCCCCC CCCCA2A2BBCCCCCCCCH2 XXHHCCCC GGNNHHDDCCYArcane danze | A |
D'immortal piede i ruinosi gioghi | B |
Scossero e l'ardue selve oggi romito | C |
Nido de' venti LEOPARDI | C |
- | |
- | |
Through the country to the town | D |
Ran a rumour and renown | D |
That a woman grand and tall | E |
Swift of foot and therewithal | E |
Naked as a lily gleaming | F |
Had been seen by eyes not dreaming | F |
Darting down far forest glades | A |
Flashing sunshine through the shades | A |
With this rumour's swelling word | C |
All the city buzzed and stirred | C |
Solemn senators conferred | C |
Priest astrologer and mage | G |
Subtle sophist bard and sage | G |
Brought their wisdom lore and wit | C |
To expound or riddle it | C |
Last a porter ventured 'We | H |
Might go out ourselves to see ' | - |
- | |
Thus upon a summer morn | I |
Lo the city all forlorn | I |
Every house and street and square | J |
In the sunshine still and bare | J |
Every galley left to sway | H |
Silent in the glittering bay | H |
All the people swarming out | C |
Young and old a joyous rout | C |
Rich and poor far streaming through | K |
Fields and meadows dark with dew | K |
Crowd on crowd and throng on throng | L |
Chatter laughter jest and song | L |
Deafened all the singing birds | A |
Wildered sober grazing herds | A |
- | |
Up the hillside 'gainst the sun | M |
Where the forest outskirts run | M |
On along the level high | B |
Where the azure of the sky | B |
And the ruddy morning sheen | N |
Drop in fragments through the treen | N |
Where the sward surrounds the brake | O |
With a lucid glassy lake | O |
Where the ample glades extend | C |
Until clouds and foliage blend | C |
Where whoever turneth may | H |
See the city and the bay | H |
And beyond the broad sea bright | C |
League on league of slanting light | C |
Where the moist blue shadows sleep | P |
In the sacred forest deep | P |
- | |
Suddenly the foremost pause | A |
Ere the rear discern a cause | A |
Loiterers press up row on row | C |
All the mass heaves to and fro | C |
All seem murmuring in one strain | Q |
All seem hearkening fixed and fain | Q |
Silence and the lifted light | C |
Of countless faces gazing white | C |
- | |
Four broad beech trees great of bole | E |
Crowned the green smooth swelling knoll | E |
There She leant the glorious form | R |
Dazzling with its beauty warm | R |
Naked as the sun of noon | S |
Naked as the midnight moon | S |
And around her tame and mild | C |
All the forest creatures wild | C |
Lion panther kid and fawn | T |
Eagle hawk and dove all drawn | T |
By the magic of her splendour | C |
By her great voice rich and tender | C |
Whereof every beast and bird | C |
Understood each tone and word | C |
While she fondled and carest | C |
Playing freaks of joyous zest | C |
- | |
Suddenly the lion stood | C |
Turned and saw the multitude | C |
Swelled his mighty front in ire | C |
Roared the roar of raging fire | C |
Then She turned the living light | C |
Sprang erect grew up in height | C |
Smote them with the flash and blaze | A |
Of her terrible swift gaze | A |
A divine flushed throbbing form | R |
Dreadfuller than blackest storm | R |
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All the forest creatures cowered | C |
Trembling moaning overpowered | C |
All the simple folk who saw | A |
Sank upon their knees in awe | H |
Of this Goddess fierce and splendid | C |
Whom they witless had offended | C |
And they murmured out faint prayers | A |
Inarticulate despairs | A |
Till her haught and angry mien | N |
Grew more gentle and serene | N |
- | |
Stood the high priest forth and went | C |
Halfway up the green ascent | C |
There began a preachment long | L |
Of the great and grievous wrong | L |
She unto her own soul wrought | C |
In thus living without thought | C |
Of the gods who sain and save | B |
Of the life beyond the grave | B |
Living with the beasts that perish | U |
Far from all the rites that cherish | U |
Hope and faith and holy love | B |
And appease the thrones above | B |
Full of unction pled the preacher | C |
Let her come and they would teach her | C |
Spirit strangled in the mesh | V |
Of the vile and sinful flesh | V |
How to gain the heavenly prize | A |
How grow meet for Paradise | A |
Penance prayer self sacrifice | A |
Fasting cloistered solitude | C |
Mind uplifted heart subdued | C |
Thus a Virgin clean and chaste | C |
In the Bridegroom's arms embraced | C |
Vestal sister's hooded gown | D |
Straight and strait of dismal brown | D |
Here he proffered and laid down | D |
On the green grass like a frown | D |
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Then stood forth the old arch sage | G |
Wrinkled more with thought than age | G |
What could worse afflict deject | C |
Any well trained intellect | C |
Than in savage forest seeing | F |
Such a full grown human being | F |
With the beasts and birds at play | H |
Ignorant and wild as they | H |
Sciences and arts by which | W |
Man makes Nature's poor life rich | W |
Dominates the world around | C |
Proves himself its King self crowned | C |
She knew nothing of them she | X |
Knew not even what they be | X |
Body naked to the air | C |
And the reason just as bare | C |
Yet since circumstance that can | Y |
Hinder the full growth of man | Y |
Cannot kill the seeds of worth | Z |
Innate in the Lord of Earth | Z |
Yet she might be taught and brought | C |
To full sovranty of thought | C |
Crowned with reason's glorious crown | D |
So he tendered and laid down | D |
Sober grey beside the brown | D |
Amplest philosophic gown | D |
- | |
Calm and proud she stood the while | E |
With a certain wondering smile | E |
When the luminous sage was done | M |
She begin to speak as one | M |
Using language not her own | A2 |
Simplest words in sweetest tone | A2 |
'Poor old greybeards worn and bent | C |
I do know not what they meant | C |
Only here and there a word | C |
Reached my mind of all I heard | C |
Let some child come here I may | H |
Understand what it can say ' | - |
- | |
So two little children went | C |
Lingering up the green ascent | C |
Hand in hand but grew the while | E |
Bolder in her gentle smile | E |
When she kissed them they were free | X |
Joyous as at mother s knee | X |
'Tell me darlings now ' said she | X |
'What they want to say to me ' | - |
Boy and girl then nothing loth | B2 |
Sometimes one and sometimes both | C2 |
Prattled to her sitting there | C |
Fondling with their soft young hair | C |
'Dear kind lady do you stay | H |
Here with always holiday | H |
Do you sleep among the trees | A |
People want you if you please | A |
To put on your dress and come | D2 |
With us to the City home | E2 |
Live with us and be our friend | C |
Oh such pleasant times we'll spend | C |
But if you can't come away | H |
Will you let us stop and play | H |
With you and all these happy things | A |
With hair and horns and shining wings ' | - |
- | |
She arose and went half down | D |
Took the vestal sister's gown | D |
Tried it on burst through its shroud | C |
As the sun burns through a cloud | C |
Flung it from her split and rent | C |
Said 'This cerement sad was meant | C |
For some creature stunted thin | F2 |
Breastless blighted bones and skin ' | - |
- | |
Then the sage's robe she tried | C |
Muffling in its long folds wide | C |
All her lithe and glorious grace | A |
'I should stumble every pace | A |
This big bag was meant to hold | C |
Some poor sluggard fat and old | C |
Limping shuffling wearily | X |
With a form not fit to see ' | - |
So she flung it off again | G2 |
With a gesture of disdain | Q |
- | |
Naked as the midnight moon | S |
Naked as the sun of noon | S |
Burning too intensely bright | C |
Clothed in its own dazzling light | C |
Seen less thus than in the shroud | C |
Of morning mist or evening cloud | C |
She stood terrible and proud | C |
O'er the pallid quivering crowd | C |
- | |
At a gesture ere they wist | C |
Perched a falcon on her wrist | C |
And she whispered to the bird | C |
Something it alone there heard | C |
Then she threw it off when thrown | A2 |
Straight it rose as falls a stone | A2 |
Arrow swift on high on high | B |
Till a mere speck in the sky | B |
Then it circled round and round | C |
Till as if the prey were found | C |
Forth it darted on its quest | C |
Straight away into the West | C |
Every eye that watched its flight | C |
Felt a sideward flash of light | C |
All were for a moment dazed | C |
Then around intently gazed | C |
What had passed them | H2 |
Where was She | X |
The offended deity | X |
O'er the city o'er the bay | H |
They beheld her melt away | H |
Melt away beyond their quest | C |
Through the regions of the west | C |
While the eagle screamed rauque ire | C |
And the lion roared like fire | C |
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That same night both priest and sage | G |
Died accursed in sombre rage | G |
Never more in wild wood green | N |
Was that glorious Goddess seen | N |
Never more and from that day | H |
Evil hap and dull decay | H |
Fell on countryside and town | D |
Life and vigour dwindled down | D |
Storms in Spring nipped bud and sprout | C |
Summer suns shed plague and drought | C |
Autumn's store was crude and scan | Y |
James Thomson
(1)
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