Now the Worthy Bishop of Norwich
Still to be silent, or to write in prose,Were alike sloth, such as I leave to thoseWho either want the grace of wit, or haveUntoward arguments: like him that gaveLife to the flea, or who without a guestWould prove that famine was the only feast;Self tyrants, who their braines doubly torment,Both for their matter and their ornament.If these do stutter sometimes, and confesseThat they are tired, we could expect no lesse.But when my matter is prepared and fit,When nothing’s wanting but an equal wit,I need no Muse’s help to ayde me on,Since that my subject is my Helicon.And such are you: O give me leave, dear sir,(He that is thankful is no flatterer,)To speak full truth: Wherever I find worth,I shew I have it if I set it forth:You read yourself in these; here you may seeA ruder draft of Corbet’s infancy.For I professe, if ever I had thoughtNeeded not blush if publish’d, were there oughtWhich was call’d mine durst beare a critic’s view,I was the instrument, but the author you.I need not tell you of our health, which hereMust be presum’d, nor yet shall our good cheareSwell up my paper, as it has done me,Or as the Mayor’s feast does Stowe’s History:Without an early bell to make us rise,Health calls us up and novelty; our eyesHave divers objects still on the same ground,As if the Earth had each night walk’d her roundTo bring her best things hither: ’tis a placeNot more the pride of shires then the disgrace,Which I’de not leave, had I my Dean to boot,For the large offers of the cloven-footUnto our Saviour, but you not being here’Tis to me, though a rare one, but a shire;A place of good earth, if compared with worse,Which hath a lesser part in Adam’s curse:Or, for to draw a simile from the High’st,Tis like unto salvation without Christ,A fairly situate prison: When againShall I enjoy that friendship, and that braine?When shall I once more hear, in a few words,What all the learning of past times affords?Austin epitomiz’d, and him that canTo make him clear contract Tertullian.But I detain you from them: Sir, adieu!You read their works, but let me study you.
Words in this poem 16
- untoward a.
- Froward; perverse. [Pref. un- not + toward.]
- famine n.
- General scarcity of food; dearth; a want of provisions; destitution. [F. famine, fr. L. fames hunger; cf. Gr. hani loss, lack, ha to leave.]
- stutter v. t.
- To hesitate or stumble in uttering words; to speak with spasmodic repetition or pauses; to stammer. [Freq. of stut, OE. stoten; probably of Dutch or Low German origin; cf. D. & LG. stotteren, G. stottern, D. stooten to push, to strike; akin to G. stossen, Icel.]
- expect v. t.
- To wait for; to await. [L. expectatum, to look out for, await, expect; ex + out spectare to look at. See Spectacle.]
- helicon n.
- A mountain in Boeotia, in Greece, supposed by the Greeks to be the residence of Apollo and the Muses.
- thankful a.
- Obtaining or deserving thanks; thankworthy. [AS. Þancfull.]
- wherever adv.
- At or in whatever place; wheresoever.
- shew n.
- Show. [Obs. except in shewbread.]
- ought p. p.
- Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
- 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,]
- divers a.
- Different in kind or species; diverse. [F. divers, L. diversus turned in different directions, different, p. p. of divertere. See Divert, and cf. Diverse.]
- saviour n.
- One who saves, preserves, or delivers from destruction or danger. [OE. saveour, OF. salveor, F. sauveur, fr. L. salvator to save. See Save, v.]
- simile n.
- A word or phrase by which anything is likened, in one or more of its aspects, to something else; a similitude; a poetical or imaginative comparison. [L., from similis. See Similar.]
- fairly adv.
- In a fairmanner; clearly; openly; plainly; fully; distinctly; frankly.
- situate a.
- Having a site, situation, or location; being in a relative position; permanently fixed; placed; located; as, a town situated, or situate, on a hill or on the seashore. [LL. situatus, from situare to place, fr. L. situs situation, site. See Site.]
- austin a.
- Augustinian; as, Austin friars.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Now the Worthy Bishop of Norwich 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, Now the Worthy Bishop of Norwich, in Poems (1647), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #65375, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/corbet-poems/now-the-worthy-bishop-of-norwich.html, id L26165.
Form and metre
Now the Worthy Bishop of Norwich is 50 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 64% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%).
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--CCDDEEFF------GGHHII--JJKKLL----MMNNOO----PP proseA · thoseA · haveB · gaveB · guest · feast · tormentC · ornamentC · confesseD · lesseD · fitE · witE · onF · heliconF · sir · flatterer · worth · forth · see · infancy · thoughtG · oughtG · viewH · youH · hereI · cheareI · me · history · riseJ · eyesJ · groundK · roundK · placeL · disgraceL · boot · foot · here · shire · worseM · curseM · high'stN · christN · againO · braineO · words · affords · can · tertullian · adieuP · youP
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Still to be silent, or to write in prose, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Were alike sloth, such as I leave to those | 10 | ·˘/······· |
| Who either want the grace of wit, or have | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Untoward arguments: like him that gave | 10 | ˘˘//˘˘···· |
| Life to the flea, or who without a guest | 10 | ·········· |
| Would prove that famine was the only feast; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Self tyrants, who their braines doubly torment, | 10 | ·/˘···/˘˘/ |
| Both for their matter and their ornament. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| If these do stutter sometimes, and confesse | 10 | ···/˘/···· |
| That they are tired, we could expect no lesse. | 10 | ···/··˘/·· |
| But when my matter is prepared and fit, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| When nothing’s wanting but an equal wit, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| I need no Muse’s help to ayde me on, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Since that my subject is my Helicon. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And such are you: O give me leave, dear sir, | 10 | ·········· |
| (He that is thankful is no flatterer,) | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| To speak full truth: Wherever I find worth, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| I shew I have it if I set it forth: | 10 | ·········· |
| You read yourself in these; here you may see | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| A ruder draft of Corbet’s infancy. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| For I professe, if ever I had thought | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Needed not blush if publish’d, were there ought | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| Which was call’d mine durst beare a critic’s view, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I was the instrument, but the author you. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| I need not tell you of our health, which here | 10 | ······/··· |
| Must be presum’d, nor yet shall our good cheare | 10 | ··˘/···/·· |
| Swell up my paper, as it has done me, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Or as the Mayor’s feast does Stowe’s History: | 11 | ···/˘···/˘˘ |
| Without an early bell to make us rise, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Health calls us up and novelty; our eyes | 10 | ·····/˘˘/· |
| Have divers objects still on the same ground, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| As if the Earth had each night walk’d her round | 10 | ·········· |
| To bring her best things hither: ’tis a place | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Not more the pride of shires then the disgrace, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Which I’de not leave, had I my Dean to boot, | 10 | ·········· |
| For the large offers of the cloven-foot | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Unto our Saviour, but you not being here | 10 | ··//˘···/· |
| ’Tis to me, though a rare one, but a shire; | 10 | ·········· |
| A place of good earth, if compared with worse, | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Which hath a lesser part in Adam’s curse: | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Or, for to draw a simile from the High’st, | 11 | ·····/˘··/˘ |
| Tis like unto salvation without Christ, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| A fairly situate prison: When again | 11 | ·/˘/˘·/˘·˘/ |
| Shall I enjoy that friendship, and that braine? | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| When shall I once more hear, in a few words, | 10 | ·········· |
| What all the learning of past times affords? | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Austin epitomiz’d, and him that can | 10 | /˘˘/˘····· |
| To make him clear contract Tertullian. | 9 | ····/···· |
| But I detain you from them: Sir, adieu! | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| You read their works, but let me study you. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
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