All
Now that the Spring hath fill'd our veinsWith kind and active fire,And made green liv'ries for the plains,And every grove a quire:
Sing me a song of merry glee,And Bacchus fill the bowl.1. Then here's to thee: 2. And thou to meAnd every thirsty soul.
Nor Care nor Sorrow e'er paid debt,Nor never shall do mine;I have no cradle going yet,Not I, by this good wine.
No wife at home to send for me,No hogs are in my ground,No suit in law to pay a fee,Then round, old Jocky, round.
Shear sheep that have them, cry we still,But see that no man 'scapeTo drink of the sherry,That makes us so merry,And plump as the lusty grape.
Welcome, welcome, do I sing,Far more welcome than the spring;He that parteth from you neverShall enjoy a spring for ever.
Love, that to the voice is nearBreaking from your iv'ry pale,Need not walk abroad to hearThe delightful nightingale.Welcome, welcome, then I sing,Far more welcome than the spring;He that parteth from you neverShall enjoy a spring for ever.
Love, that looks still on your eyes,Though the winter have begunTo benumb our arteries,Shall not want the summer's sun.Welcome, welcome, then I sing, &c.
Love that still may see your cheeks,Where all rareness still reposes,Is a fool, if e'er he seeksOther lilies, other roses.Welcome, welcome, &c.
Love, to whom your soft lip yields,And perceives your breath in kissing,All the odours of the fieldsNever, never shall be missing.Welcome, welcome, &c.
Love, that question would anewWhat fair Eden was of old,Let him rightly study you,And a brief of that behold.Welcome, welcome, then I, &c.
Words in this poem
- quire v. i.
- To sing in concert.
- glee n.
- Music; minstrelsy; entertainment.
- 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,]
- benumb v. t.
- To make torpid; to deprive of sensation or sensibility; to stupefy; as, a hand or foot benumbed by cold. [OE. binomen, p. p. of binimen to take away, AS. beniman; pref. be + niman to take. See Numb, a., and cf. Benim.]
- rareness n.
- The state or quality of being rare.
- eden n.
- The garden where Adam and Eve first dwelt; hence, a delightful region or residence. [Heb. eden delight, pleasure; also, a place of pleasure, Eden.]
- rightly adv.
- Straightly; directly; in front. [AS. richtlice.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
All 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, All, in Pastoral Poems and Selected Poetry (1597–1604), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22001, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/breton-poems/all.html, id L08867.
Form and metre
All is 53 lines in 11 stanzas. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAB, in 4 of the 11 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.1 syllables. 13 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 21% 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 ABAB veinsA · fireB · plainsA · quireB
- 2 ABAB gleeA · bowlB · meA · soulB
- 3 ABAB debtA · mineB · yetA · wineB
- 4 ABAB meA · groundB · feeA · roundB
- 5 -ABBA still · scapeA · sherryB · merryB · grapeA
- 6 AABB singA · springA · neverB · everB
- 7 ABABCCDD nearA · paleB · hearA · nightingaleB · singC · springC · neverD · everD
- 8 ABAB- eyesA · begunB · arteriesA · sunB · —
- 9 ABAB- cheeksA · reposesB · seeksA · rosesB · —
- 10 ABAB- yieldsA · kissingB · fieldsA · missingB · —
- 11 ABAB- anewA · oldB · youA · beholdB · —
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Now that the Spring hath fill'd our veins | 8 | ······/· |
| With kind and active fire, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| And made green liv'ries for the plains, | 7 | ······· |
| And every grove a quire: | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| Sing me a song of merry glee, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And Bacchus fill the bowl. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| 1. Then here's to thee: 2. And thou to me | 8 | ········ |
| And every thirsty soul. | 7 | ·/˘˘/˘· |
| Nor Care nor Sorrow e'er paid debt, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Nor never shall do mine; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| I have no cradle going yet, | 7 | ···/˘/· |
| Not I, by this good wine. | 6 | ······ |
| No wife at home to send for me, | 8 | ········ |
| No hogs are in my ground, | 6 | ······ |
| No suit in law to pay a fee, | 8 | ········ |
| Then round, old Jocky, round. | 6 | ······ |
| Shear sheep that have them, cry we still, | 8 | ········ |
| But see that no man 'scape | 6 | ······ |
| To drink of the sherry, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| That makes us so merry, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| And plump as the lusty grape. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Welcome, welcome, do I sing, | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| Far more welcome than the spring; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| He that parteth from you never | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Shall enjoy a spring for ever. | 8 | ·˘/···/˘ |
| Love, that to the voice is near | 7 | ······· |
| Breaking from your iv'ry pale, | 7 | /˘····· |
| Need not walk abroad to hear | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| The delightful nightingale. | 7 | ·˘/˘/˘˘ |
| Welcome, welcome, then I sing, | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| Far more welcome than the spring; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| He that parteth from you never | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Shall enjoy a spring for ever. | 8 | ·˘/···/˘ |
| Love, that looks still on your eyes, | 7 | ······· |
| Though the winter have begun | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| To benumb our arteries, | 8 | ·˘//˘/˘˘ |
| Shall not want the summer's sun. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Welcome, welcome, then I sing, &c. | 8 | /˘/˘···· |
| Love that still may see your cheeks, | 7 | ······· |
| Where all rareness still reposes, | 8 | ··/˘·/·˘ |
| Is a fool, if e'er he seeks | 7 | ······· |
| Other lilies, other roses. | 8 | /˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| Welcome, welcome, &c. | 5 | /˘/˘· |
| Love, to whom your soft lip yields, | 7 | ······· |
| And perceives your breath in kissing, | 8 | ·˘/···/˘ |
| All the odours of the fields | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Never, never shall be missing. | 8 | /˘/˘··/˘ |
| Welcome, welcome, &c. | 5 | /˘/˘· |
| Love, that question would anew | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| What fair Eden was of old, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Let him rightly study you, | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| And a brief of that behold. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Welcome, welcome, then I, &c. | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
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