Hope
Hope, whose weak beeing ruin'd isAlike if it succeed or if it misse!Whom ill and good doth equally confound,And both the hornes of Fate's dilemma wound.Vain shadow; that dost vanish quiteBoth at full noon and perfect night!The starres haue not a possibilityOf blessing thee.If thinges then from their end we happy call,'Tis Hope is the most hopelesse thing of all.
Hope, thou bold taster of delight!Who in stead of doing so, deuourst it quite.Thou bringst vs an estate, yet leau'st vs poorBy clogging it with legacyes before.The ioyes which we intire should wedCome deflour'd-virgins to our bed.Good fortunes without gain imported beSuch mighty custom's paid to theeFor ioy, like wine kep't close, doth better tast;If it take air before, his spirits wast.
Hope, Fortun's cheating lottery,Where for one prize, an hundred blankes there be.Fond anchor, Hope! who tak'st thine aime so farrThat still or short or wide thine arrows are;Thinne empty cloud which th' ey deceiuesWith shapes that our own fancy giues.A cloud which gilt and painted now appearesBut must drop presently in teares:When thy false beames o're reason's light preuail,By ignes fatvi for North starres we sail.
Brother of Fear, more gaily clad,The merryer fool o' th' two, yet quite as mad.Sire of Repentance, child of fond desireThat blow'st the chymick's and the louer's fire.Still leading them insensibly onWith the strong witchcraft of 'anon.'By thee the one does changing nature, throughHer endlesse labyrinths pursue;And th' other chases woman; while she goesMore wayes and turnes then hunted Nature knowes.
Words in this poem
- dilemma n.
- An argument which presents an antagonist with two or more alternatives, but is equally conclusive against him, whichever alternative he chooses. [L. dilemma, Gr. Lemma.]
- taster n.
- One who tastes; especially, one who first tastes food or drink to ascertain its quality.
- clogging n.
- Anything which clogs. Dr. H. More.
- wast
- The second person singular of the verb be, in the indicative mood, imperfect tense; -- now used only in solemn or poetical style.
- farr n.
- A young pig, or a litter of pigs. [See Farrow.]
- thinne a.
- Having little thickness or extent from one surface to its opposite; as, a thin plate of metal; thin paper; a thin board; a thin covering. [OE. thinne, thenne, thunne, AS. þynne; akin to D. dun, G. dünn, OHG. dunni, Icel. þunnr, Sw. tunn, Dan. tynd, Gael. & Ir. tana, W. teneu, L. tenuis, Gr. tanu th]
- presently adv.
- At present; at this time; now.
- gaily adv.
- Merrily; showily. See gaily. [From Gay.]
- clad v.
- To clothe. Holland.
- sire n.
- A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.]
- insensibly adv.
- In a manner not to be felt or perceived; imperceptibly; gradually.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Hope is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Works of Richard Crashaw, Volume I, Project Gutenberg ebook #38549; 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 Crashaw, Hope, in Steps to the Temple and Other Poems (1646–1652), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #38549, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/crashaw-poems/hope.html, id L12087.
Form and metre
Hope is 40 lines in 4 stanzas of 10 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 70% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.2 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 35% 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--CC is · misse · confoundA · woundA · quiteB · nightB · possibility · thee · callC · allC
- 2 AA--BBCCDD delightA · quiteA · poor · before · wedB · bedB · beC · theeC · tastD · wastD
- 3 --AABB--CC lottery · be · farrA · areA · deceiuesB · giuesB · appeares · teares · preuailC · sailC
- 4 AABB--CCDD cladA · madA · desireB · fireB · on · anon · throughC · pursueC · goesD · knowesD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Hope, whose weak beeing ruin'd is | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Alike if it succeed or if it misse! | 10 | ˘/··˘/···· |
| Whom ill and good doth equally confound, | 10 | ·····/˘˘˘/ |
| And both the hornes of Fate's dilemma wound. | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Vain shadow; that dost vanish quite | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| Both at full noon and perfect night! | 8 | ·····˘/· |
| The starres haue not a possibility | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
| Of blessing thee. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| If thinges then from their end we happy call, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| 'Tis Hope is the most hopelesse thing of all. | 11 | ··········· |
| Hope, thou bold taster of delight! | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Who in stead of doing so, deuourst it quite. | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Thou bringst vs an estate, yet leau'st vs poor | 12 | ··/˘·˘/··//· |
| By clogging it with legacyes before. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘·· |
| The ioyes which we intire should wed | 8 | ········ |
| Come deflour'd-virgins to our bed. | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| Good fortunes without gain imported be | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| Such mighty custom's paid to thee | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| For ioy, like wine kep't close, doth better tast; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| If it take air before, his spirits wast. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Hope, Fortun's cheating lottery, | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| Where for one prize, an hundred blankes there be. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Fond anchor, Hope! who tak'st thine aime so farr | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| That still or short or wide thine arrows are; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Thinne empty cloud which th' ey deceiues | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| With shapes that our own fancy giues. | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| A cloud which gilt and painted now appeares | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| But must drop presently in teares: | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| When thy false beames o're reason's light preuail, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| By ignes fatvi for North starres we sail. | 9 | ········· |
| Brother of Fear, more gaily clad, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| The merryer fool o' th' two, yet quite as mad. | 10 | ·········· |
| Sire of Repentance, child of fond desire | 11 | /·˘/˘···˘/˘ |
| That blow'st the chymick's and the louer's fire. | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Still leading them insensibly on | 9 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘· |
| With the strong witchcraft of 'anon.' | 8 | ···/··˘/ |
| By thee the one does changing nature, through | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Her endlesse labyrinths pursue; | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| And th' other chases woman; while she goes | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| More wayes and turnes then hunted Nature knowes. | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
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