The Philosopher to His Mistress
Because thou canst not see,Because thou canst not knowThe black and hopeless woeThat hath encompassed me:Because, should I confessThe thought of my despair,My words would wound thee lessThan swords can hurt the air:
Because with thee I seemAs one invited nearTo taste the faery cheerOf spirits in a dream;Of whom he knoweth noughtSave that they vie to makeAll motion, voice and thoughtA pleasure for his sake:
Therefore more sweet and strangeHas been the mysteryOf thy long love to me,That doth not quit, nor change,Nor tax my solemn heart,That kisseth in a gloom,Knowing not who thou artThat givest, nor to whom.
Therefore the tender touchIs more; more dear the smile:And thy light words beguileMy wisdom overmuch:And O with swiftness flyThe fancies of my songTo happy worlds, where IStill in thy love belong.
Haste on, my joys! your treasure liesIn swift, unceasing flight.O haste: for while your beauty fliesI seize your full delight.Lo! I have seen the scented flower,Whose tender stems I cull,For her brief date and meted hourAppear more beautiful.
O youth, O strength, O most divineFor that so short ye prove;Were but your rare gifts longer mine,Ye scarce would win my love.Nay, life itself the heart would spurn,Did once the days restoreThe days, that once enjoyed return,Return--ah! nevermore.
Words in this poem
- cull v. t.
- To separate, select, or pick out; to choose and gather or collect; as, to cuil flowers. [OE., OF. cuillir, coillir, F.cueillir, to gather, pluck, pick, fr. L. colligere. See Coil, v. t., and cf. Collect.]
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- spurn v. t.
- To drive back or away, as with the foot; to kick. [OE. spurnen to kick against, to stumble over, AS. spurnan to kick, offend; akin to spura spur, OS. & OHG. spurnan to kick, Icel. spyrna, L. spernere to despise,]
- nevermore adv.
- Never again; at no time hereafter. Testament of Love. Tyndale.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Philosopher to His Mistress is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Robert Bridges, Excluding the Eight Dramas, Project Gutenberg ebook #37804; 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 Bridges, The Philosopher to His Mistress, in The Growth of Love, and Other Poems (1873–1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #37804, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bridges-shorter-poems/the-philosopher-to-his-mistress.html, id L01766.
Form and metre
The Philosopher to His Mistress is 48 lines in 6 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABBACDCD, complete in 3 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, 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 6.4 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 48% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
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 ABBACDCD seeA · knowB · woeB · meA · confessC · despairD · lessC · airD
- 2 ABBACDCD seemA · nearB · cheerB · dreamA · noughtC · makeD · thoughtC · sakeD
- 3 A--ABCBC strangeA · mystery · me · changeA · heartB · gloomC · artB · whomC
- 4 ABBACDCD touchA · smileB · beguileB · overmuchA · flyC · songD · iC · belongD
- 5 ABABCDCD liesA · flightB · fliesA · delightB · flowerC · cullD · hourC · beautifulD
- 6 ABABCDCD divineA · proveB · mineA · loveB · spurnC · restoreD · returnC · nevermoreD
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Because thou canst not see, | 6 | ······ |
| Because thou canst not know | 6 | ······ |
| The black and hopeless woe | 6 | ···/˘· |
| That hath encompassed me: | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Because, should I confess | 6 | ····˘/ |
| The thought of my despair, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| My words would wound thee less | 6 | ······ |
| Than swords can hurt the air: | 6 | ······ |
| Because with thee I seem | 6 | ······ |
| As one invited near | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| To taste the faery cheer | 6 | ······ |
| Of spirits in a dream; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Of whom he knoweth nought | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Save that they vie to make | 6 | ······ |
| All motion, voice and thought | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| A pleasure for his sake: | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Therefore more sweet and strange | 6 | ······ |
| Has been the mystery | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Of thy long love to me, | 6 | ······ |
| That doth not quit, nor change, | 6 | ······ |
| Nor tax my solemn heart, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| That kisseth in a gloom, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Knowing not who thou art | 6 | /˘···· |
| That givest, nor to whom. | 6 | ······ |
| Therefore the tender touch | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Is more; more dear the smile: | 6 | ······ |
| And thy light words beguile | 6 | ····˘/ |
| My wisdom overmuch: | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| And O with swiftness fly | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The fancies of my song | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| To happy worlds, where I | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Still in thy love belong. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Haste on, my joys! your treasure lies | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In swift, unceasing flight. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| O haste: for while your beauty flies | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I seize your full delight. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Lo! I have seen the scented flower, | 8 | ·····/˘/ |
| Whose tender stems I cull, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| For her brief date and meted hour | 8 | ·····/˘/ |
| Appear more beautiful. | 6 | ˘/·/˘˘ |
| O youth, O strength, O most divine | 8 | ······˘/ |
| For that so short ye prove; | 6 | ······ |
| Were but your rare gifts longer mine, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Ye scarce would win my love. | 6 | ······ |
| Nay, life itself the heart would spurn, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Did once the days restore | 6 | ····˘/ |
| The days, that once enjoyed return, | 8 | ····˘/˘/ |
| Return--ah! nevermore. | 6 | ˘/·/˘· |
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.