In Poetam Exauctoratum Et Emeritum
Nor is it griev’d, grave youth, the memoryOf such a story, such a booke as hee,That such a copy through the world were read;Henry yet lives, though he be buried.It could be wish’d that every eye might beareHis eare good witnesse that he still were here;That sorrowe ruled the yeare, and by that sunneEach man could tell you how the day had runne:O ’twere an honest boast, for him could sayI have been busy, and wept out the dayRemembring him. An epitaph would lastWere such a trophee, such a banner placedUpon his corse as this: Here a man lyesWas slaine by Henrye’s dart, not Destinie’s.Why this were med’cinable, and would heale,Though the whole languish’d, halfe the commonweale.But for a Cobler to goe burn his cappe,And cry, The Prince, the Prince! O dire mishappe!Or a Geneva-bridegroom, after grace,To throw his spouse i’ th’ fire; or scratch her faceTo the tune of the Lamentation; or delayHis Friday capon till the Sabbath day:Or an old Popish lady half vow’d deadTo fast away the day in gingerbread:For him to write such annals; all these thingsDo open laughter’s and shutt up griefe’s springs.Tell me, what juster or more congruous peereThan Ale, to judge of workes begott of beere?Wherefore forbeare—or, if thou print the next,Bring better notes, or take a meaner text.
Words in this poem
- corse n.
- A living body or its bulk. [OF. cors, F. corps. See Corpse.]
- languish v. i.
- To cause to dr Shak.
- cappe n.
- A covering for the head; esp. [OE. cappe, AS. cæppe, cap, cape, hood, fr. LL, cappa, capa; perhaps of Iberian origin, as Isidorus of Seville mentions it first: "Capa, quia quasi totum capiat ]
- dire a.
- Ill-boding; portentous; as, dire omens. [L. dirus; of uncertain origin.]
- mishappe v. i.
- To happen unluckily; -- used impersonally.
- bridegroom n.
- A man newly married, or just about to be married. [OE. bridegome, brudgume, AS. br (akin to OS. br, D. bruidegom, bruigom, OHG. pr, MHG. briutegome, G. bräutigam); AS. br bride + guma man, akin to Goth. guma, Ic]
- spouse v. t.
- To wed; to espouse. [See Espouse, and Spouse, n.]
- capon n.
- A castrated cock, esp. when fattened; a male chicken gelded to improve his flesh for the table. [OE. capon, chapoun, AS. cap (cf. F. chapon), L. capo, fr. Gr. skopiti to casrate. CF. Comma.]
- popish a.
- Of or pertaining to the pope; taught or ordained by the pope; hence, of or pertaining to the Roman Catholic Church; -- often used opprobriously.
- gingerbread n.
- A kind of plain sweet cake seasoned with ginger, and sometimes made in fanciful shapes.
- annals n.
- A relation of events in chronological order, each event being recorded under the year in which it happened. [L. annalis (sc. liber), and more frequently in the pl. annales (sc. libri), chronicles, fr. annus year. Cf. Annual.]
- shutt v. t.
- To close so as to hinder ingress or egress; as, to shut a door or a gate; to shut one's eyes or mouth. [OE. shutten, schutten, shetten, schitten, AS. scyttan to shut or lock up (akin to D. schutten, G. schützen to protect), properly, to fasten with a bolt or bar s]
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
In Poetam Exauctoratum Et Emeritum is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Richard Corbet, late bishop of Oxford and of Norwich 4th edition, Project Gutenberg ebook #65375; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Richard Corbet, In Poetam Exauctoratum Et Emeritum, in Poems (1647), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #65375, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/corbet-poems/in-poetam-exauctoratum-et-emeritum.html, id L08890.
Form and metre
In Poetam Exauctoratum Et Emeritum is 30 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 80% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 43% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 --AABBCCDD----EEFFGGDDAAHHBBII memory · hee · readA · buriedA · beareB · hereB · sunneC · runneC · sayD · dayD · last · placed · lyes · destinie's · healeE · commonwealeE · cappeF · mishappeF · graceG · faceG · delayD · dayD · deadA · gingerbreadA · thingsH · springsH · peereB · beereB · nextI · textI
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Nor is it griev’d, grave youth, the memory | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Of such a story, such a booke as hee, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| That such a copy through the world were read; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Henry yet lives, though he be buried. | 9 | /˘·····/˘ |
| It could be wish’d that every eye might beare | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| His eare good witnesse that he still were here; | 10 | ·········· |
| That sorrowe ruled the yeare, and by that sunne | 10 | ·········· |
| Each man could tell you how the day had runne: | 10 | ·········· |
| O ’twere an honest boast, for him could say | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| I have been busy, and wept out the day | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Remembring him. An epitaph would last | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘··· |
| Were such a trophee, such a banner placed | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Upon his corse as this: Here a man lyes | 10 | ·········· |
| Was slaine by Henrye’s dart, not Destinie’s. | 9 | ······/˘˘ |
| Why this were med’cinable, and would heale, | 11 | ··········· |
| Though the whole languish’d, halfe the commonweale. | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| But for a Cobler to goe burn his cappe, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And cry, The Prince, the Prince! O dire mishappe! | 10 | ········/· |
| Or a Geneva-bridegroom, after grace, | 10 | ··˘/˘/···· |
| To throw his spouse i’ th’ fire; or scratch her face | 10 | ·····/···· |
| To the tune of the Lamentation; or delay | 12 | ··········˘/ |
| His Friday capon till the Sabbath day: | 10 | ·/˘/···/˘· |
| Or an old Popish lady half vow’d dead | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| To fast away the day in gingerbread: | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| For him to write such annals; all these things | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Do open laughter’s and shutt up griefe’s springs. | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Tell me, what juster or more congruous peere | 11 | ···/˘··/˘˘· |
| Than Ale, to judge of workes begott of beere? | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Wherefore forbeare—or, if thou print the next, | 10 | /˘········ |
| Bring better notes, or take a meaner text. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
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.