The Himn, o Gloriosa Domina
Hail, most high, most humble one!Aboue the world, below thy Son;Whose blush the moon beauteously marresAnd staines the timerous light of stares.He that made all things, had not doneTill He had made Himself thy Son:The whole World's host would be thy guestAnd board Himself at thy rich brest.O boundles hospitality!The Feast of all things feeds on thee.The first Eue, mother of our Fall,E're she bore any one, slew all.Of her vnkind gift might we haueTh' inheritance of a hasty grave:Quick-burye'd in the wanton tombOf one forbidden bitt;Had not a better frvit forbidden it.Had not thy healthfull wombThe World's new eastern window bin,And giuen vs heau'n again, in giuing Him.Thine was the rosy dawn, that spring the DayWhich renders all the starres she stole away.Let then the aged World be wise, and allProue nobly here vnnaturall;'Tis gratitude to forgett that otherAnd call the maiden Eue their mother.Yee redeem'd nations farr and near,Applaud your happy selues in her;(All you to whom this loue belongs)And keep't aliue with lasting songs.Let hearts and lippes speak lowd; and sayHail, door of life: and sourse of Day!The door was shut, the fountain seal'd;Yet Light was seen and Life reueal'd.The door was shut, yet let in day,The fountain seal'd, yet life found way.Glory to Thee, great virgin's SonIn bosom of Thy Father's blisse.The same to Thee, sweet Spirit be done;As euer shall be, was, and is. Amen.
Words in this poem
- bitt v. t.
- To put round the bitts; as, to bitt the cable, in order to fasten it or to slacken it gradually, which is called veering away. [See Bitts.]
- healthfull a.
- Full of health; free from illness or disease; well; whole; sound; healthy; as, a healthful body or mind; a healthful plant.
- womb n.
- The belly; the abdomen. [OE. wombe, wambe, AS. wamb, womb; akin to D. wam belly, OS. & OHG. wamba, G. wamme, wampe, Icel. vömb, Sw. v&mb, Dan. vom, Goth. wamba.]
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
- nobly adv.
- Of noble extraction; as, nobly born or descended.
- forgett v. t.
- To lose the remembrance of; to let go from the memory; to cease to have in mind; not to think of; also, to lose the power of; to cease from doing. [OE. forgeten, foryeten, AS. forgietan, forgitan; pref. for- + gietan, gitan (only in comp.), to get; cf. D. vergeten, G. vergessen, Sw. förgäta, Dan. forgiette.]
- farr n.
- A young pig, or a litter of pigs. [See Farrow.]
- 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,]
- amen interj.
- An expression used at the end of prayers, and meaning, So be it. At the end of a creed, it is a solemn asseveration of belief. [L. amen, Gr. am certainly, truly.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Himn, o Gloriosa Domina 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 Himn, o Gloriosa Domina, in Steps to the Temple and Other Poems (1646–1652), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #38549, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/crashaw-poems/the-himn-o-gloriosa-domina.html, id L12086.
Form and metre
The Himn, o Gloriosa Domina is 40 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 55% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 28% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 AA--AABB--CC--DEED--FFGGHH--IIJJKKJJL-L- oneA · sonA · marres · stares · doneA · sonA · guestB · brestB · hospitality · thee · fallC · allC · haue · grave · tombD · bittE · itE · wombD · bin · him · dayF · awayF · allG · vnnaturallG · otherH · motherH · near · her · belongsI · songsI · sayJ · dayJ · seal'dK · reueal'dK · dayJ · wayJ · sonL · blisse · doneL · amen
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Hail, most high, most humble one! | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Aboue the world, below thy Son; | 7 | ······· |
| Whose blush the moon beauteously marres | 8 | ········ |
| And staines the timerous light of stares. | 9 | ········· |
| He that made all things, had not done | 8 | ········ |
| Till He had made Himself thy Son: | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| The whole World's host would be thy guest | 8 | ········ |
| And board Himself at thy rich brest. | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| O boundles hospitality! | 7 | ···˘/˘˘ |
| The Feast of all things feeds on thee. | 8 | ········ |
| The first Eue, mother of our Fall, | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| E're she bore any one, slew all. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Of her vnkind gift might we haue | 7 | ······· |
| Th' inheritance of a hasty grave: | 9 | ˘/˘˘··/˘· |
| Quick-burye'd in the wanton tomb | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Of one forbidden bitt; | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Had not a better frvit forbidden it. | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Had not thy healthfull womb | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The World's new eastern window bin, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And giuen vs heau'n again, in giuing Him. | 10 | ··/˘·˘/··· |
| Thine was the rosy dawn, that spring the Day | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Which renders all the starres she stole away. | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Let then the aged World be wise, and all | 9 | ········· |
| Proue nobly here vnnaturall; | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| 'Tis gratitude to forgett that other | 10 | ·/˘··˘/·/˘ |
| And call the maiden Eue their mother. | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Yee redeem'd nations farr and near, | 8 | ·˘//˘··· |
| Applaud your happy selues in her; | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| (All you to whom this loue belongs) | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And keep't aliue with lasting songs. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Let hearts and lippes speak lowd; and say | 8 | ········ |
| Hail, door of life: and sourse of Day! | 8 | ········ |
| The door was shut, the fountain seal'd; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Yet Light was seen and Life reueal'd. | 7 | ······· |
| The door was shut, yet let in day, | 8 | ········ |
| The fountain seal'd, yet life found way. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Glory to Thee, great virgin's Son | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| In bosom of Thy Father's blisse. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The same to Thee, sweet Spirit be done; | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| As euer shall be, was, and is. Amen. | 9 | ·······˘/ |
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.