Part I: Showing Cupid’s Conquest Over a Coy Lady of Five Thousand a Year
BACHELORS of every station,Mark this strange and true relation,Which in brief to you I bring,—Never was a stranger thing!
You shall find it worth the hearing;Loyal love is most endearing,When it takes the deepest root,Yielding charms and gold to boot.
Some will wed for love of treasure;But the sweetest joy and pleasureIs in faithful love, you’ll find,Gracèd with a noble mind.
Such a noble dispositionHad this lady, with submission,Of whom I this sonnet write,Store of wealth, and beauty bright.
She had left, by a good grannum,Full five thousand pounds per annum,Which she held without control;Thus she did in riches roll.
Though she had vast store of riches,Which some persons much bewitches,Yet she bore a virtuous mind,Not the least to pride inclined.
Many noble persons courtedThis young lady, ’tis reported;But their labour proved in vain,They could not her favour gain.
Though she made a strong resistance,Yet by Cupid’s true assistance,She was conquered after all;How it was declare I shall.
Being at a noble wedding,Near the famous town of Redding,A young gentleman she saw,Who belongèd to the law.
As she viewed his sweet behaviour,Every courteous carriage gave herNew addition to her grief;Forced she was to seek relief.
Privately she then enquiredAbout him, so much admired;Both his name, and where he dwelt,—Such was the hot flame she felt.
Then, at night, this youthful ladyCalled her coach, which being ready,Homewards straight she did return;But her heart with flames did burn.
Words in this poem
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- endearing a.
- Making dear or beloved; causing love.
- sonnet n.
- A short poem, -- usually amatory. [F., fr. It. sonetto, fr. suono a sound, a song, fr. L. sonus a sound. See Sound noise.]
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- virtuous a.
- Possessing or exhibiting virtue. Specifically: -- (a) Exhibiting manly courage and strength; valorous; valiant; brave. [OE. vertuous, OF. vertuos, vertuous, F. vertueux, fr. L. Virtuous. See Virtue, and cf. Virtuoso.]
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- cupid
- The god of love, son of Venus; usually represented as a naked, winged boy with bow and arrow. [L.Cupido, fr. cupido desire, desire of love, fr. cupidus. See Cupidity.]
- admired a.
- Regarded with wonder and delight; highly prized; as, an admired poem.
- homewards adv.
- Toward home; in the direction of one's house, town, or country. [AS. hamweard.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Part I: Showing Cupid’s Conquest Over a Coy Lady of Five Thousand a Year is in the public domain. This text is taken from Ancient Poems, Ballads, and Songs of the Peasantry of England, Project Gutenberg ebook #649; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Bell, Part I: Showing Cupid’s Conquest Over a Coy Lady of Five Thousand a Year, in Ancient Poems, Ballads and Songs of the Peasantry of England (1857), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #649, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bell-ancient-poems/part-i-showing-cupid-s-conquest-over-a-coy-lady-of-five-thou.html, id L11923.
Form and metre
Part I: Showing Cupid’s Conquest Over a Coy Lady of Five Thousand a Year is 48 lines in 12 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABB, complete in 8 of its 12 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.6 syllables. 23 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 12% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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.
- 1 AABB stationA · relationA · bringB · thingB
- 2 AABB hearingA · endearingA · rootB · bootB
- 3 AABB treasureA · pleasureA · findB · mindB
- 4 AABB dispositionA · submissionA · writeB · brightB
- 5 AABB grannumA · annumA · controlB · rollB
- 6 AABB richesA · bewitchesA · mindB · inclinedB
- 7 --AA courted · reported · vainA · gainA
- 8 AA-- resistanceA · assistanceA · all · shall
- 9 AABB weddingA · reddingA · sawB · lawB
- 10 --AA behaviour · her · griefA · reliefA
- 11 AABB enquiredA · admiredA · dweltB · feltB
- 12 --AA lady · ready · returnA · burnA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| BACHELORS of every station, | 8 | /˘·/˘˘/˘ |
| Mark this strange and true relation, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Which in brief to you I bring,— | 7 | ······· |
| Never was a stranger thing! | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| You shall find it worth the hearing; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Loyal love is most endearing, | 8 | /˘···˘/˘ |
| When it takes the deepest root, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Yielding charms and gold to boot. | 7 | /˘····· |
| Some will wed for love of treasure; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| But the sweetest joy and pleasure | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Is in faithful love, you’ll find, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Gracèd with a noble mind. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Such a noble disposition | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Had this lady, with submission, | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Of whom I this sonnet write, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Store of wealth, and beauty bright. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| She had left, by a good grannum, | 8 | ········ |
| Full five thousand pounds per annum, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Which she held without control; | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Thus she did in riches roll. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Though she had vast store of riches, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Which some persons much bewitches, | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| Yet she bore a virtuous mind, | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| Not the least to pride inclined. | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Many noble persons courted | 8 | /˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| This young lady, ’tis reported; | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| But their labour proved in vain, | 8 | ··/··˘·· |
| They could not her favour gain. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Though she made a strong resistance, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Yet by Cupid’s true assistance, | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| She was conquered after all; | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| How it was declare I shall. | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| Being at a noble wedding, | 8 | /˘··/˘/˘ |
| Near the famous town of Redding, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| A young gentleman she saw, | 7 | ··/˘˘·· |
| Who belongèd to the law. | 6 | ······ |
| As she viewed his sweet behaviour, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Every courteous carriage gave her | 8 | /˘/˘/˘·· |
| New addition to her grief; | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| Forced she was to seek relief. | 8 | ·˘····˘/ |
| Privately she then enquired | 8 | /˘˘··˘/˘ |
| About him, so much admired; | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Both his name, and where he dwelt,— | 7 | ······· |
| Such was the hot flame she felt. | 7 | ······· |
| Then, at night, this youthful lady | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Called her coach, which being ready, | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Homewards straight she did return; | 7 | /˘···˘/ |
| But her heart with flames did burn. | 7 | ······· |
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