From Britannia's Pastorals
Glide soft, ye silver floods,And every spring:Within the shady woodsLet no bird sing!Nor from the grove a turtle-doveBe seen to couple with her love;But silence on each dale and mountain dwell,Whilst Willy bids his friend and joy farewell.
But (of great Thetis' train)Ye mermaids fair,That on the shores do plainYour sea-green hair,As ye in trammels knit your locks,Weep ye; and so enforce the rocksIn heavy murmurs through the broad shores tellHow Willy bade his friend and joy farewell.
Cease, cease, ye murd'ring winds,To move a wave;But if with troubled mindsYou seek his grave;Know 'tis as various as yourselves,Now in the deep, then on the shelves,His coffin toss'd by fish and surges fell,Whilst Willy weeps and bids all joy farewell.
Had he Arion-likeBeen judged to drown,He on his lute could strikeSo rare a sowne,A thousand dolphins would have comeAnd jointly strive to bring him home.But he on shipboard died, by sickness fell,Since when his Willy bade all joy farewell.
Great Neptune, hear a swain!His coffin take,And with a golden chainFor pity makeIt fast unto a rock near land!Where ev'ry calmy morn I'll stand,And ere one sheep out of my fold I tell,Sad Willy's pipe shall bid his friend farewell.
Venus by Adonis' sideCrying kiss'd, and kissing cried,Wrung her hands and tore her hairFor Adonis dying there.
Stay (quoth she) O stay and live!Nature surely doth not giveTo the earth her sweetest flowersTo be seen but some few hours.
On his face, still as he bledFor each drop a tear she shed,Which she kiss'd or wip'd away,Else had drown'd him where he lay.
Fair Proserpina (quoth she)Shall not have thee yet from me;Nor my soul to fly beginWhile my lips can keep it in.
Here she clos'd again. And someSay Apollo would have comeTo have cur'd his wounded limb,But that she had smothered him.
Words in this poem
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- willy n.
- A large wicker basket. Halliwell. [Cf. Willow.]
- bade
- A form of the pat tense of Bid.
- calmy a.
- Tranquil; peaceful; calm. [Fr. Calm, n.]
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- 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,]
- tore n.
- The dead grass that remains on mowing land in winter and spring. Mortimer. [Probably from the root of tear; cf. W. tór a break, cut, tóri to break, cut.]
- quoth v. t.
- Said; spoke; uttered; -- used only in the first and third persons in the past tenses, and always followed by its nominative, the word or words said being the object; as, quoth I. quoth he. [AS.cweedhan, imp cwæedh, pl. cwædon; akin to OS. queedhan, OHG. quethan, quedan, Icel. kveedha, Goth. qiþan. sq. root22. Cf. Bequeath.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
From Britannia's Pastorals 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, From Britannia's Pastorals, in Pastoral Poems and Selected Poetry (1597–1604), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22001, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/breton-poems/from-britannia-s-pastorals.html, id L08862.
Form and metre
From Britannia's Pastorals is 60 lines in 10 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is AABB, complete in 5 of its 10 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.0 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 32% 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 -A-ABBCC floods · springA · woods · singA · doveB · loveB · dwellC · farewellC
- 2 ABABCCDD trainA · fairB · plainA · hairB · locksC · rocksC · tellD · farewellD
- 3 ABABCCDD windsA · waveB · mindsA · graveB · yourselvesC · shelvesC · fellD · farewellD
- 4 ABABCCDD likeA · drownB · strikeA · sowneB · comeC · homeC · fellD · farewellD
- 5 ABABCCDD swainA · takeB · chainA · makeB · landC · standC · tellD · farewellD
- 6 AABB sideA · criedA · hairB · thereB
- 7 AABB liveA · giveA · flowersB · hoursB
- 8 AABB bledA · shedA · awayB · layB
- 9 AABB sheA · meA · beginB · inB
- 10 AABB someA · comeA · limbB · himB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Glide soft, ye silver floods, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And every spring: | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| Within the shady woods | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Let no bird sing! | 4 | ···· |
| Nor from the grove a turtle-dove | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Be seen to couple with her love; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But silence on each dale and mountain dwell, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Whilst Willy bids his friend and joy farewell. | 10 | ·/˘······/ |
| But (of great Thetis' train) | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Ye mermaids fair, | 4 | ·/·· |
| That on the shores do plain | 6 | ······ |
| Your sea-green hair, | 4 | ···· |
| As ye in trammels knit your locks, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Weep ye; and so enforce the rocks | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| In heavy murmurs through the broad shores tell | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| How Willy bade his friend and joy farewell. | 10 | ·/˘······/ |
| Cease, cease, ye murd'ring winds, | 6 | ······ |
| To move a wave; | 4 | ···· |
| But if with troubled minds | 6 | ···/˘· |
| You seek his grave; | 4 | ···· |
| Know 'tis as various as yourselves, | 9 | ···/˘˘·˘/ |
| Now in the deep, then on the shelves, | 8 | ········ |
| His coffin toss'd by fish and surges fell, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Whilst Willy weeps and bids all joy farewell. | 10 | ·/˘······/ |
| Had he Arion-like | 5 | ····· |
| Been judged to drown, | 4 | ···· |
| He on his lute could strike | 6 | ······ |
| So rare a sowne, | 4 | ···· |
| A thousand dolphins would have come | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And jointly strive to bring him home. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But he on shipboard died, by sickness fell, | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| Since when his Willy bade all joy farewell. | 10 | ···/˘····/ |
| Great Neptune, hear a swain! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| His coffin take, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| And with a golden chain | 6 | ···/˘· |
| For pity make | 4 | ·/˘· |
| It fast unto a rock near land! | 8 | ········ |
| Where ev'ry calmy morn I'll stand, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And ere one sheep out of my fold I tell, | 10 | ·········· |
| Sad Willy's pipe shall bid his friend farewell. | 10 | ·/˘······/ |
| Venus by Adonis' side | 7 | /˘·˘/˘· |
| Crying kiss'd, and kissing cried, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Wrung her hands and tore her hair | 7 | ······· |
| For Adonis dying there. | 7 | ·˘/˘/˘· |
| Stay (quoth she) O stay and live! | 7 | ······· |
| Nature surely doth not give | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| To the earth her sweetest flowers | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| To be seen but some few hours. | 8 | ······/˘ |
| On his face, still as he bled | 7 | ······· |
| For each drop a tear she shed, | 7 | ······· |
| Which she kiss'd or wip'd away, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Else had drown'd him where he lay. | 7 | ······· |
| Fair Proserpina (quoth she) | 7 | ·˘/˘˘·· |
| Shall not have thee yet from me; | 7 | ······· |
| Nor my soul to fly begin | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| While my lips can keep it in. | 7 | ······· |
| Here she clos'd again. And some | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| Say Apollo would have come | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| To have cur'd his wounded limb, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| But that she had smothered him. | 7 | ····/˘· |
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