On the Birth of the Young Prince Charles
When private men gett sonnes they get a spoone,Without ecclypse, or any starr at noone:When kings gett sonnes, they get withall supplyesAnd succours, farr beyond all subsedyes.Wellcome, Gods loane! thou tribute to the State,Thou mony newly coyn’d, thou fleete of plate!Thrice happy childe! whome God thy father sentTo make him rich without a parliament!
What I shall leave thee none can tell,But all shall say I wish thee well;I wish thee, Vin, before all wealth,Both bodily and ghostly health:Nor too much wealth, nor wit, come to thee,So much of either may undo thee.I wish thee learning, not for show,Enough for to instruct, and know;Not such as gentlemen require,To prate at table, or at fire.I wish thee all thy mothers graces,Thy fathers fortunes, and his places.I wish thee friends, and one at court,Not to build on, but support;To keep thee, not in doing manyOppressions, but from suffering any.I wish thee peace in all thy ways,Nor lazy nor contentious days;And when thy soul and body part,As innocent as now thou art.
Words in this poem
- gett n.
- Jet, the mineral.
- starr n.
- One of the innumerable luminous bodies seen in the heavens; any heavenly body other than the sun, moon, comets, and nebulæ. [OE. sterre, AS. steorra; akin to OFries. stera, OS. sterro, D. ster, OHG. sterno, sterro, G. stern, Icel. stjarna, Sw. stjerna, Dan. stierne, Goth. staírno, Arm]
- withall adv.
- With this; with that. [With + all.]
- farr n.
- A young pig, or a litter of pigs. [See Farrow.]
- childe n.
- A cognomen formerly prefixed to his name by the oldest son, until he succeeded to his ancestral titles, or was knighted; as, Childe Roland.
- parliament n.
- A parleying; a discussion; a conference. [OE. parlement, F. parlement, fr. parler to speak; cf. LL. parlamentum, parliamentum. See Parley.]
- 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,]
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- ghostly a.
- Relating to the soul; not carnal or secular; spiritual; as, a ghostly confessor. [OE. gastlich, gostlich, AS. gastlic. See Ghost.]
- instruct a.
- Arranged; furnished; provided. [L. instructus, p. p. of instruere to furnish, provide, construct, instruct; pref. in- in, struere. See Structure.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On the Birth of the Young Prince Charles 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 the Birth of the Young Prince Charles, in Poems (1647), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #65375, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/corbet-poems/on-the-birth-of-the-young-prince-charles.html, id L08905.
Form and metre
On the Birth of the Young Prince Charles is 28 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.8 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 11% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 spooneA · nooneA · supplyesB · subsedyesB · stateC · plateC · sentD · parliamentD
- 2 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJ tellA · wellA · wealthB · healthB · theeC · theeC · showD · knowD · requireE · fireE · gracesF · placesF · courtG · supportG · manyH · anyH · waysI · daysI · partJ · artJ
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When private men gett sonnes they get a spoone, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Without ecclypse, or any starr at noone: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| When kings gett sonnes, they get withall supplyes | 10 | ········˘/ |
| And succours, farr beyond all subsedyes. | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Wellcome, Gods loane! thou tribute to the State, | 10 | /····/˘··· |
| Thou mony newly coyn’d, thou fleete of plate! | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Thrice happy childe! whome God thy father sent | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| To make him rich without a parliament! | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| What I shall leave thee none can tell, | 8 | ········ |
| But all shall say I wish thee well; | 8 | ········ |
| I wish thee, Vin, before all wealth, | 8 | ········ |
| Both bodily and ghostly health: | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| Nor too much wealth, nor wit, come to thee, | 9 | ········· |
| So much of either may undo thee. | 9 | ···/˘·˘/· |
| I wish thee learning, not for show, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Enough for to instruct, and know; | 8 | ˘/··˘/·· |
| Not such as gentlemen require, | 9 | ···/˘˘˘/˘ |
| To prate at table, or at fire. | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| I wish thee all thy mothers graces, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Thy fathers fortunes, and his places. | 9 | ·/˘/˘··/˘ |
| I wish thee friends, and one at court, | 8 | ········ |
| Not to build on, but support; | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| To keep thee, not in doing many | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Oppressions, but from suffering any. | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘˘/˘ |
| I wish thee peace in all thy ways, | 8 | ········ |
| Nor lazy nor contentious days; | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| And when thy soul and body part, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| As innocent as now thou art. | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
Notes from the edition 2
The notes to the Poems of Richard Corbet (Project Gutenberg #65375).
- Stanza 1, line 1 If any one is at this time ignorant of the practice alluded to in this line, of the sponsors at christenings giving spoons to the child as a baptismal present, it is not the fault of the commentators on Shakespeare, who have multiplied examples of the custom in their notes on Henry the Eighth, vol. xv. p. 197. edit. 1803.
- Stanza 2, line 20 Cartwright has not unhappily imitated this poem in his address “To Mr. W. B. at the Birth of his first Child:” a few lines may be given: I wish religion timely be Taught him with his A B C. I wish him good and constant health, His father’s learning, but more wealth, And that to use, not hoard; a purse Open to bless, not shut to curse. May he have many and fast friends Meaning good will, not private ends!—&c. Poem, p. 208. 8vo. 1651.
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