Lady Elizabeth
These words scarce waken'd Heaven, when--lo!--our vowsSat crown'd upon the noble infant's brows.Th' art pair'd, sweet princesse: in this well-writ bookRead o're thy self; peruse each line, each look.And when th' hast summ'd up all those blooming blisses,Close up the book, and clasp it with thy kisses.So have I seen (to dresse their mistresse May)Two silken sister-flowers consult, and layTheir bashfull cheeks together: newly theyPeep't from their buds, show'd like the garden's eyesScarce wak't: like was the crimson of their joyes;Like were the tears they wept, so like, that oneSeem'd but the other's kind reflexion.
And now 'twere time to say, sweet queen, no more.Fair source of princes, is thy pretious storeNot yet exhaust? O no! Heavens have no bound,But in their infinite and endlesse roundEmbrace themselves. Our measure is not their's;Nor may the pov'rtie of man's narrow prayersSpan their immensitie. More princes come:Rebellion, stand thou by; Mischief, make room:War, blood, and death--names all averse from Ioy--Heare this, we have another bright-ey'd boy:That word's a warrant, by whose vertue IHave full authority to bid you dy.Dy, dy, foul misbegotten monsters! dy:Make haste away, or e'r the World's bright eyeBlush to a cloud of bloud. O farre from menFly hence, and in your Hyperborean denHide you for evermore, and murmure thereWhere none but Hell may heare, nor our soft aireShrink at the hatefull sound. Mean while we bearHigh as the brow of Heaven, the noble noiseAnd name of these our just and righteous joyes,Where Envie shall not reach them, nor those earesWhose tune keeps time to ought below the spheres.But thou, sweet supernumerary starre,Shine forth; nor fear the threats of boyst'rous Warre.The face of things has therefore frown'd a whileOn purpose, that to thee and thy pure smileThe World might ow an universall calm;While thou, fair halcyon, on a sea of balmShalt flote; where while thou layst thy lovely head,The angry billows shall but make thy bed:Storms, when they look on thee, shall straigt relent;And tempests, when they tast thy breath, repentTo whispers, soft as thine own slumbers be,Or souls of virgins which shall sigh for thee.Shine then, sweet supernumerary starre,Nor feare the boysterous names of bloud and warre:Thy birth-day is their death's nativitie;They've here no other businesse but to die.
Words in this poem 22
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- princesse a.
- A term applied to a lady's long, close-fitting dress made with waist and skirt in one. [F., a princess.]
- peruse v. t.
- To observe; to examine with care. [Pref. per- + use.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- consult n.
- The act of consulting or deliberating; consultation; also, the result of consulation; determination; decision.
- bashfull a.
- Abashed; daunted; dismayed. [See Bash.]
- averse a.
- Turned away or backward. [L. aversus, p. p. of avertere. See Avert.]
- misbegotten p. a.
- Unlawfully or irregularly begotten; of bad origin; pernicious.
- farre n.
- A young pig, or a litter of pigs. [See Farrow.]
- hyperborean a.
- Of or pertaining to the region beyond the North wind, or to its inhabitants. [L. hyperboreus, Gr. Boreas.]
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
- hatefull a.
- Manifesting hate or hatred; malignant; malevolent.
- envie v. i.
- To vie; to emulate; to strive. [See Vie.]
- 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,]
- 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.]
- supernumerary a.
- Exceeding the number stated or prescribed; as, a supernumerary officer in a regiment. [L. supernumerarius: cf. OF. supernuméraire, F. surnuméraire. See Super-, and Numerary, Number.]
- starre 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]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- flote v. t.
- To fleet; to skim. Tusser.
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
- relent v. i.
- To become less rigid or hard; to yield; to dissolve; to melt; to deliquesce. [F. ralentir, fr. L. pref. re- re- + ad to + lentus pliant, flexible, slow. See Lithe.]
- repent a.
- Prostrate and rooting; -- said of stems. Gray. [L. repens, -entis, creeping, p. pr. of repere to creep.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Lady Elizabeth 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, Lady Elizabeth, in Steps to the Temple and Other Poems (1646–1652), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #38549, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/crashaw-poems/lady-elizabeth.html, id L12122.
Form and metre
Lady Elizabeth is 52 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 42% 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 AABBCCDDDC--- vowsA · browsA · bookB · lookB · blissesC · kissesC · mayD · layD · theyD · eyesC · joyes · one · reflexion
- 2 AABBCC----D--DEEFFFGGHH--IIJJKKLLMM---M moreA · storeA · boundB · roundB · their'sC · prayersC · come · room · ioy · boy · iD · dy · dy · eyeD · menE · denE · thereF · aireF · bearF · noiseG · joyesG · earesH · spheresH · starre · warre · whileI · smileI · calmJ · balmJ · headK · bedK · relentL · repentL · beM · theeM · starre · warre · nativitie · dieM
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 |
|---|---|---|
| These words scarce waken'd Heaven, when--lo!--our vows | 10 | ·····/··/· |
| Sat crown'd upon the noble infant's brows. | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Th' art pair'd, sweet princesse: in this well-writ book | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Read o're thy self; peruse each line, each look. | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| And when th' hast summ'd up all those blooming blisses, | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| Close up the book, and clasp it with thy kisses. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| So have I seen (to dresse their mistresse May) | 10 | ·········· |
| Two silken sister-flowers consult, and lay | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘/·· |
| Their bashfull cheeks together: newly they | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘/˘· |
| Peep't from their buds, show'd like the garden's eyes | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Scarce wak't: like was the crimson of their joyes; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Like were the tears they wept, so like, that one | 10 | ·········· |
| Seem'd but the other's kind reflexion. | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| And now 'twere time to say, sweet queen, no more. | 10 | ·········· |
| Fair source of princes, is thy pretious store | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Not yet exhaust? O no! Heavens have no bound, | 11 | ··˘/··/˘··· |
| But in their infinite and endlesse round | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Embrace themselves. Our measure is not their's; | 10 | ˘/˘///˘··· |
| Nor may the pov'rtie of man's narrow prayers | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Span their immensitie. More princes come: | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Rebellion, stand thou by; Mischief, make room: | 10 | ˘/˘···/˘·· |
| War, blood, and death--names all averse from Ioy-- | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Heare this, we have another bright-ey'd boy: | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| That word's a warrant, by whose vertue I | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Have full authority to bid you dy. | 10 | ··˘/˘˘···· |
| Dy, dy, foul misbegotten monsters! dy: | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘· |
| Make haste away, or e'r the World's bright eye | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Blush to a cloud of bloud. O farre from men | 10 | ·········· |
| Fly hence, and in your Hyperborean den | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Hide you for evermore, and murmure there | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Where none but Hell may heare, nor our soft aire | 10 | ·······/·· |
| Shrink at the hatefull sound. Mean while we bear | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| High as the brow of Heaven, the noble noise | 10 | ·····/·/˘· |
| And name of these our just and righteous joyes, | 10 | ····/··/˘· |
| Where Envie shall not reach them, nor those eares | 10 | ·˘/······· |
| Whose tune keeps time to ought below the spheres. | 10 | ·········· |
| But thou, sweet supernumerary starre, | 10 | ·········· |
| Shine forth; nor fear the threats of boyst'rous Warre. | 10 | ·········· |
| The face of things has therefore frown'd a while | 10 | ·········· |
| On purpose, that to thee and thy pure smile | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| The World might ow an universall calm; | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| While thou, fair halcyon, on a sea of balm | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Shalt flote; where while thou layst thy lovely head, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The angry billows shall but make thy bed: | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Storms, when they look on thee, shall straigt relent; | 10 | ········˘/ |
| And tempests, when they tast thy breath, repent | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| To whispers, soft as thine own slumbers be, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Or souls of virgins which shall sigh for thee. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Shine then, sweet supernumerary starre, | 10 | ·········· |
| Nor feare the boysterous names of bloud and warre: | 11 | ··········· |
| Thy birth-day is their death's nativitie; | 10 | ·········· |
| They've here no other businesse but to die. | 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.