The Twins
Grand rough old Martin LutherBloomed fables-flowers on furze,The better the uncouther:Do roses stick like burrs?
A beggar asked an almsOne day at an abbey-door,Said Luther; but, seized with qualms,The abbot replied, "We're poor!"
"Poor, who had plenty once,When gifts fell thick as rain:But they give us nought, for the nonce,And now should we give again?"
Then the beggar, "See your sins!Of old, unless I err,Ye had brothers for inmates, twins,Date and Dabitur.
"While Date was in good caseDabitur flourished too:For Dabitur's lenten faceNo wonder if Date rue.
"Would ye retrieve the one?Try and make plump the other!When Date's penance is done,Dabitur helps his brother.
"Only, beware relapse!"The Abbot hung his head.This beggar might be perhapsAn angel, Luther said.
Words in this poem
- nonce n.
- The one or single occasion; the present call or purpose; -- chiefly used in the phrase for the nonce. [For the nonce, OE. for the nones, a corruption of for then ones, where n. in then is a relic of AS. m in , dat. of the article and demonstrative pronoun, E. the]
- lenten n.
- Lent. Piers Plowman.
- retrieve n.
- A seeking again; a discovery. B. Jonson.
- beware v. t.
- To avoid; to take care of; to have a care for.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Twins is in the public domain. This text is taken from Dramatic Romances, Project Gutenberg ebook #4253; 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 Browning, The Twins, in Dramatic Lyrics (1842), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #4253, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/browning-dramatic-lyrics/the-twins.html, id L03547.
Form and metre
The Twins is 28 lines in 7 stanzas of 4 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAB, in 3 of the 7 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is short measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.7 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 18% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in short measure.
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.
- 2 A-A- almsA · door · qualmsA · poor
- 3 -A-A once · rainA · nonce · againA
- 4 A-A- sinsA · err · twinsA · dabitur
- 5 ABAB caseA · tooB · faceA · rueB
- 6 ABAB oneA · otherB · doneA · brotherB
- 7 ABAB relapseA · headB · perhapsA · saidB
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 short measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Grand rough old Martin Luther | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Bloomed fables-flowers on furze, | 8 | ·˘/˘/˘·· |
| The better the uncouther: | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Do roses stick like burrs? | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| A beggar asked an alms | 7 | ·/˘·˘·· |
| One day at an abbey-door, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Said Luther; but, seized with qualms, | 8 | ·/˘··˘·· |
| The abbot replied, "We're poor!" | 7 | ·/˘˘/·· |
| "Poor, who had plenty once, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| When gifts fell thick as rain: | 6 | ······ |
| But they give us nought, for the nonce, | 8 | ········ |
| And now should we give again?" | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Then the beggar, "See your sins! | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Of old, unless I err, | 6 | ······ |
| Ye had brothers for inmates, twins, | 8 | ··/˘·/·· |
| Date and Dabitur. | 5 | ····· |
| "While Date was in good case | 6 | ······ |
| Dabitur flourished too: | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| For Dabitur's lenten face | 7 | ····/˘· |
| No wonder if Date rue. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| "Would ye retrieve the one? | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Try and make plump the other! | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| When Date's penance is done, | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Dabitur helps his brother. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| "Only, beware relapse!" | 6 | /˘˘/˘/ |
| The Abbot hung his head. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| This beggar might be perhaps | 7 | ·/˘··˘/ |
| An angel, Luther said. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
On this poem
"The Twins" versifies a story told by Martin Luther in his "Table Talk," in which the saying, "Give and it shall be given unto you," is quaintly personified by the Latin words equivalent in meaning: Date, "Give," and Dabitur, "It-shall-be-given-unto-you."
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.