The Close
(Dread Sweet!) lo thusAt last by vs,The delegated eye of DayDoes first his scepter, then himself, in solemne tribute pay.Thus he vndressesHis sacred vnshorn tresses;At Thy adored feet, thus he layes down
Chorus. To which he now has no pretence:For being show'd by this Day's light, how farrHe is from sun enough to make Thy starr,His best ambition now is but to beSomthing a brighter shadow, Sweet, of Thee.Or on Heaun's azure forhead high to standThy golden index; with a duteous handPointing vs home to our own sunThe World's and his Hyperion.
Words in this poem
- pretence n.
- The act of laying claim; the claim laid; assumption; pretension. [LL. praetensus, for L. praetentus, p. p. of praetendere. See Pretend, and cf. Tension.]
- farr n.
- A young pig, or a litter of pigs. [See Farrow.]
- 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]
- duteous a.
- Fulfilling duty; dutiful; having the sentiments due to a superior, or to one to whom respect or service is owed; obedient; as, a duteous son or daughter. [From Duty.]
- hyperion n.
- The god of the sun; in the later mythology identified with Apollo, and distinguished for his beauty.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Close 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, The Close, in Steps to the Temple and Other Poems (1646–1652), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #38549, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/crashaw-poems/the-close.html, id L12067.
Form and metre
The Close is 16 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 75% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.8 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 56% 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- thus · — · dayA · payA · vndressesB · tressesB · down
- 2 -AABBCCDD pretence · farrA · starrA · beB · theeB · standC · handC · sunD · hyperionD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| (Dread Sweet!) lo thus | 4 | ···· |
| At last by vs, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| The delegated eye of Day | 8 | ·/˘·˘··· |
| Does first his scepter, then himself, in solemne tribute pay. | 14 | ······˘/···/˘· |
| Thus he vndresses | 4 | ···· |
| His sacred vnshorn tresses; | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| At Thy adored feet, thus he layes down | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Chorus. To which he now has no pretence: | 10 | /˘········ |
| For being show'd by this Day's light, how farr | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| He is from sun enough to make Thy starr, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| His best ambition now is but to be | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Somthing a brighter shadow, Sweet, of Thee. | 10 | ···/˘/···· |
| Or on Heaun's azure forhead high to stand | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Thy golden index; with a duteous hand | 11 | ·/˘/˘··/˘˘· |
| Pointing vs home to our own sun | 10 | /˘/˘··/˘·· |
| The World's and his Hyperion. | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
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.