On Christ-Church Play at Woodstock
If wee, at Woodstock, have not pleased those,Whose clamorous judgments lye in urging noes,And, for the want of whifflers, have destroy’dTh’ applause, which wee with vizards hadd enjoy’d,Wee are not sorry; for such witts as theseLibell our windowes oft’ner then our playes;Or, if their patience be moov’d, whose lippsDeserve the knowledge of the proctorships,Or judge by houses, as their howses goe,Not caring if their cause be good or noe;Nor by desert or fortune can be drawneTo credit us, for feare they loose their pawne;Wee are not greatly sorry; but if any,Free from the yoake of the ingaged many,That dare speake truth even when their head stands by,Or when the seniors spoone is in the pye;Nor to commend the worthy will forbeare,Though he of Cambridge, or of Christ-church were,And not of his owne colledge; and will shameTo wrong the person, for his howse, or name;If any such be greiv’d, then downe proud spirit;If not, know, number never conquer’d merit.
Words in this poem
- witts n.
- Tin ore freed from earthy matter by stamping. Knight.
- libell n.
- A brief writing of any kind, esp. a declaration, bill, certificate, request, supplication, etc. [L. libellus a little book, pamphlet, libel, lampoon, dim. of liber the liber or inner bark of a tree; also (because the ancients wrote on this bark), paper, par]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On Christ-Church Play at Woodstock 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, On Christ-Church Play at Woodstock, in Poems (1647), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #65375, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/corbet-poems/on-christ-church-play-at-woodstock.html, id L08901.
Form and metre
On Christ-Church Play at Woodstock is 22 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 73% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 23% 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--CCDDEEFFGG--HH-- thoseA · noesA · destroy'dB · enjoy'dB · these · playes · lippsC · proctorshipsC · goeD · noeD · drawneE · pawneE · anyF · manyF · byG · pyeG · forbeare · were · shameH · nameH · spirit · merit
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 |
|---|---|---|
| If wee, at Woodstock, have not pleased those, | 10 | ···/····˘· |
| Whose clamorous judgments lye in urging noes, | 11 | ·/˘˘/˘··/˘· |
| And, for the want of whifflers, have destroy’d | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Th’ applause, which wee with vizards hadd enjoy’d, | 10 | ˘/······˘/ |
| Wee are not sorry; for such witts as these | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Libell our windowes oft’ner then our playes; | 10 | /˘//˘···/· |
| Or, if their patience be moov’d, whose lipps | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Deserve the knowledge of the proctorships, | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| Or judge by houses, as their howses goe, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Not caring if their cause be good or noe; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Nor by desert or fortune can be drawne | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| To credit us, for feare they loose their pawne; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Wee are not greatly sorry; but if any, | 11 | ···/˘/˘··/˘ |
| Free from the yoake of the ingaged many, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| That dare speake truth even when their head stands by, | 10 | ····/····· |
| Or when the seniors spoone is in the pye; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Nor to commend the worthy will forbeare, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| Though he of Cambridge, or of Christ-church were, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And not of his owne colledge; and will shame | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| To wrong the person, for his howse, or name; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| If any such be greiv’d, then downe proud spirit; | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| If not, know, number never conquer’d merit. | 11 | ···/˘/˘/˘/˘ |
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.