A Pastoral of Phyllis and Corydon
On a hill there grows a flower,Fair befall the dainty sweet!By that flower there is a bower,Where the heavenly Muses meet.
In that bower there is a chair,Fringed all about with gold,Where doth sit the fairest fairThat did ever eye behold.
It is Phyllis, fair and bright,She that is the shepherds' joy,She that Venus did despite,And did blind her little boy.
This is she, the wise, the rich,That the world desires to see:This is ipsa quae, the whichThere is none but only she.
Who would not this face admire?Who would not this saint adore?Who would not this sight desire,Though he thought to see no more?
O, fair eyes, yet let me see,One good look, and I am gone:Look on me, for I am he,Thy poor silly Corydon.
Thou that art the shepherds' queen,Look upon thy silly swain;By thy comfort have been seenDead men brought to life again.
Words in this poem
- dainty n.
- Value; estimation; the gratification or pleasure taken in anything. [OE. deinie, dainte, deintie, deyntee, OF. deintié delicacy, orig., dignity, honor, fr. L. dignitas, fr. dignus worthy. See Deign, and cf. Dignity.]
- admire v. t.
- To regard with wonder or astonishment; to view with surprise; to marvel at. [F. admirer, fr. L. admirari; ad + mirari to wonder, for smirari, akin to Gr. smi, and E. smile.]
- adore v. t.
- To worship with profound reverence; to pay divine honors to; to honor as deity or as divine. [OE. aouren, anouren, adoren, OF. aorer, adorer, F. adorer, fr. L. adorare; ad + orare to speak, pray, os, oris, mouth. In OE. confused with honor, the French pr]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Pastoral of Phyllis and Corydon is in the public domain. This text is taken from Pastoral Poems by Nicholas Breton, Selected Poetry by George Wither, and Pastoral Poetry by William Browne (of Tavistock), Project Gutenberg ebook #22001; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Nicholas Breton, A Pastoral of Phyllis and Corydon, in Pastoral Poems and Selected Poetry (1597–1604), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22001, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/breton-poems/a-pastoral-of-phyllis-and-corydon.html, id L08831.
Form and metre
A Pastoral of Phyllis and Corydon is 28 lines in 7 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 5 of its 7 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.1 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 11% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic 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 ABAB flowerA · sweetB · bowerA · meetB
- 2 ABAB chairA · goldB · fairA · beholdB
- 3 ABAB brightA · joyB · despiteA · boyB
- 4 ABAB richA · seeB · whichA · sheB
- 5 -A-A admire · adoreA · desire · moreA
- 6 A-A- seeA · gone · heA · corydon
- 7 ABAB queenA · swainB · seenA · againB
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 iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| On a hill there grows a flower, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Fair befall the dainty sweet! | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| By that flower there is a bower, | 8 | ··/···/˘ |
| Where the heavenly Muses meet. | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| In that bower there is a chair, | 7 | ··/···· |
| Fringed all about with gold, | 7 | ·˘····· |
| Where doth sit the fairest fair | 7 | ····/˘· |
| That did ever eye behold. | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| It is Phyllis, fair and bright, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| She that is the shepherds' joy, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| She that Venus did despite, | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| And did blind her little boy. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| This is she, the wise, the rich, | 7 | ······· |
| That the world desires to see: | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| This is ipsa quae, the which | 7 | ······· |
| There is none but only she. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Who would not this face admire? | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Who would not this saint adore? | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Who would not this sight desire, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Though he thought to see no more? | 7 | ······· |
| O, fair eyes, yet let me see, | 7 | ······· |
| One good look, and I am gone: | 7 | ······· |
| Look on me, for I am he, | 7 | ······· |
| Thy poor silly Corydon. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Thou that art the shepherds' queen, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Look upon thy silly swain; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| By thy comfort have been seen | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Dead men brought to life again. | 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.