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 GGNNHHDDCCY| Arcane 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 |
| - | |
| 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 |
| - | |
| 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 |
| - | |
| 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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