Nonsence
Like to the thundring tone of unspoke speeches,Or like a lobster clad in logicke breeches,Or like the graye-furre of a crimson catt,Or like the moone-calfe in a slip-shodde hatt:Even such is hee who never was begottenUntill his children were both dead and rotten.
Like to the fiery tombstone of a cabbage,Or like a crabbe-louse with its bag and baggage,Or like the four square circle of a ring,Or like to hey dinge, dingea dingea dinge:Even such is he who spake, and yet no doubtSpake to small purpose, when his tongue was out.
Like to a fairs, fresh, faiding, withered rose,Or lyke to rhyming verse that runs in prose,Or lyke the stumbles of a tynder box,Or lyke a man that’s sound yet hath the pox:Even such is he who dyed, and yet did laughTo see these lines writt for his epitaph.
Words in this poem
- clad v.
- To clothe. Holland.
- hatt
- sing. pres. of Hote to be called. Cf. Hatte.
- untill prep.
- To; unto; towards; -- used of material objects. [OE. until, ontil; un- (as in unto) + til till; cf. Dan. indtil, Sw. intill. See Unto, and Till, prep.]
- tombstone n.
- A stone erected over a grave, to preserve the memory of the deceased.
- writt
- 3d pers. sing. pres. of Write, for writeth.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Nonsence 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, Nonsence, in Poems (1647), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #65375, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/corbet-poems/nonsence.html, id L08913.
Form and metre
Nonsence is 18 lines in 3 stanzas of 6 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 78% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.3 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 17% 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 AABB-- speechesA · breechesA · cattB · hattB · begotten · rotten
- 2 --AABB cabbage · baggage · ringA · dingeA · doubtB · outB
- 3 AABBCC roseA · proseA · boxB · poxB · laughC · epitaphC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Like to the thundring tone of unspoke speeches, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Or like a lobster clad in logicke breeches, | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Or like the graye-furre of a crimson catt, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Or like the moone-calfe in a slip-shodde hatt: | 10 | ·········· |
| Even such is hee who never was begotten | 11 | /····/˘·˘/˘ |
| Untill his children were both dead and rotten. | 11 | ˘/·/˘····/˘ |
| Like to the fiery tombstone of a cabbage, | 11 | ···/˘/···/˘ |
| Or like a crabbe-louse with its bag and baggage, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Or like the four square circle of a ring, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Or like to hey dinge, dingea dingea dinge: | 10 | ·········· |
| Even such is he who spake, and yet no doubt | 10 | /········· |
| Spake to small purpose, when his tongue was out. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Like to a fairs, fresh, faiding, withered rose, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Or lyke to rhyming verse that runs in prose, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Or lyke the stumbles of a tynder box, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Or lyke a man that’s sound yet hath the pox: | 10 | ·········· |
| Even such is he who dyed, and yet did laugh | 10 | /········· |
| To see these lines writt for his epitaph. | 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.