Vpon the Birth of the Princesse Elizabeth
Bright starre of Majesty, oh shedd on mee,A precious influence, as sweet as thee.That with each word, my loaden pen letts fall,The fragrant Spring may be perfum'd withall.That Sol from them may suck an honied shower,To glutt the stomack of his darling flower.With such a sugred livery made fine,They shall proclaime to all, that they are thine.Lett none dare speake of thee, but such as thenceExtracted haue a balmy eloquence.But then, alas, my heart! oh how shall ICure thee of thy delightfull tympanie?I cannot hold; such a spring-tide of joyMust haue a passage, or 'twill force a way.Yet shall my loyall tongue keepe this command:But giue me leaue to ease it with my hand.And though these humble lines soare not soe high,As is thy birth; yet from thy flaming eyeDrop downe one sparke of glory, & they'l proueA praesent worthy of Apollo's loue.My quill to thee may not praesume to sing:Lett th' hallowed plume of a seraphick wingBee consecrated to this worke, while IChant to my selfe with rustick melodie.Rich, liberall heauen, what hath yor treasure storeOf such bright angells, that you giue vs more?Had you, like our great sunne, stamped but oneFor earth, t' had beene an ample portion.Had you but drawne one liuely coppy forth,That might interpret our faire Cynthia's worth,Y' had done enough to make the lazy groundDance, like the nimble spheres, a joyfull round.But such is the coelestiall excellence,That in the princely patterne shines, from whenceThe rest pourtraicted are, that 'tis noe paineTo ravish heauen to limbe them o're againe.Wittnesse this mapp of beauty; euery partOf wch doth show the quintessence of art.See! nothing's vulgar, every atome heereSpeakes the great wisdome of th' artificer.Poore Earth hath not enough perfection,To shaddow forth th' admired paragon.Those sparkling twinnes of light should I now stileRich diamonds, sett in a pure siluer foyle;Or call her cheeke a bed of new-blowne roses;And say that ivory her front composes;Or should I say, that with a scarlet waueThose plumpe soft rubies had bin drest soe braue;Or that the dying lilly did bestowVpon her neck the whitest of his snow;Or that the purple violets did laceThat hand of milky downe; all these are base;Her glories I should dimme with things soe grosse,And foule the cleare text with a muddy glosse.Goe on then, Heauen, & limbe forth such another,Draw to this sister miracle a brother;Compile a first glorious epitomeOf heauen, & Earth, & of all raritie;And sett it forth in the same happy place,And I'le not blurre it with my paraphrase.
Words in this poem 20
- 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]
- shedd v. t.
- To separate; to divide. Robert of Brunne. [OE. scheden, sch, to pour, to part, AS. scadan, sceádan, to pert, to separate; akin to OS. sk, OFries. skscheiden, OHG. sceidan, Goth. skaidan, and probably to ]
- letts n.
- An Indo-European people, allied to the Lithuanians and Old Prussians, and inhabiting a part of the Baltic provinces of Russia.
- withall adv.
- With this; with that. [With + all.]
- glutt v. t.
- To swallow, or to swallow greedlly; to gorge. [OE. glotten, fr. OF. glotir, gloutir, L. glutire, gluttire; cf. Gr. gar. Cf. Gluttion, Englut.]
- 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,]
- lett v. t.
- To retard; to hinder; to impede; to oppose. [OE.letten, AS. lettan to delay, to hinder, fr. læt slow; akin to D. letten to hinder, G. verletzen to hurt, Icel. letja to hold back, Goth. latjan. See Late.]
- balmy a.
- Having the qualities of balm; odoriferous; aromatic; assuaging; soothing; refreshing; mild.
- delightfull a.
- Highly pleasing; affording great pleasure and satisfaction.
- loyall a.
- Faithful to law; upholding the lawful authority; faithful and true to the lawful government; faithful to the prince or sovereign to whom one is subject; unswerving in allegiance. [F. loyal, OF. loial, leial, L. legalis, fr. lex, legis, law. See Legal, and cf. Leal.]
- liberall a.
- Free by birth; hence, befitting a freeman or gentleman; refined; noble; independent; free; not servile or mean; as, a liberal ancestry; a liberal spirit; liberal arts or studies. [F. libéral, L. liberalis, from liber free; perh. akin to libet, lubet,it pleases, E. lief. Cf. Deliver.]
- joyfull a.
- Full of joy; having or causing joy; very glad; as, a joyful heart.
- quintessence n.
- The fifth or last and highest essence or power in a natural body. [F., fr. L. quinta essentia fifth essence. See Quint, and Essence.]
- admired a.
- Regarded with wonder and delight; highly prized; as, an admired poem.
- paragon n.
- A companion; a match; an equal.
- stile n.
- A pin set on the face of a dial, to cast a shadow; a style. See Style. Moxon. [See Style.]
- dimme a.
- Not bright or distinct; wanting luminousness or clearness; obscure in luster or sound; dusky; darkish; obscure; indistinct; overcast; tarnished. [AS. dim; akin to OFries. dim, Icel. dimmr: cf. MHG. timmer, timber; of uncertain origin.]
- grosse n.
- A heavy silk with a dull finish; as, gros de Naples; gros de Tours. [F. See Gross.]
- compile v. t.
- To put together; to construct; to build. [F. compiler, fr.L. compilare to plunder, pillage; com- + pilare to plunder. See Pill, v. t., Pillage.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Vpon the Birth of the Princesse 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, Vpon the Birth of the Princesse Elizabeth, in Steps to the Temple and Other Poems (1646–1652), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #38549, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/crashaw-poems/vpon-the-birth-of-the-princesse-elizabeth.html, id L12129.
Form and metre
Vpon the Birth of the Princesse Elizabeth is 60 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 73% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 12 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 32% 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 AABBCCDDEE----FFGGHHII--JJKK--LLMMNNOO--PP--QQRRSSTTUUVV---- meeA · theeA · fallB · withallB · showerC · flowerC · fineD · thineD · thenceE · eloquenceE · i · tympanie · joy · way · commandF · handF · highG · eyeG · proueH · loueH · singI · wingI · i · melodie · storeJ · moreJ · oneK · portionK · forth · worth · groundL · roundL · excellenceM · whenceM · paineN · againeN · partO · artO · heere · artificer · perfectionP · paragonP · stile · foyle · rosesQ · composesQ · waueR · braueR · bestowS · snowS · laceT · baseT · grosseU · glosseU · anotherV · brotherV · epitome · raritie · place · paraphrase
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Bright starre of Majesty, oh shedd on mee, | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| A precious influence, as sweet as thee. | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘···· |
| That with each word, my loaden pen letts fall, | 10 | ·········· |
| The fragrant Spring may be perfum'd withall. | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| That Sol from them may suck an honied shower, | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| To glutt the stomack of his darling flower. | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| With such a sugred livery made fine, | 10 | ····˘/˘˘·· |
| They shall proclaime to all, that they are thine. | 10 | ·········· |
| Lett none dare speake of thee, but such as thence | 10 | ·········· |
| Extracted haue a balmy eloquence. | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| But then, alas, my heart! oh how shall I | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Cure thee of thy delightfull tympanie? | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| I cannot hold; such a spring-tide of joy | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Must haue a passage, or 'twill force a way. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Yet shall my loyall tongue keepe this command: | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| But giue me leaue to ease it with my hand. | 10 | ·········· |
| And though these humble lines soare not soe high, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| As is thy birth; yet from thy flaming eye | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Drop downe one sparke of glory, & they'l proue | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| A praesent worthy of Apollo's loue. | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| My quill to thee may not praesume to sing: | 10 | ·········· |
| Lett th' hallowed plume of a seraphick wing | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Bee consecrated to this worke, while I | 10 | ·/˘·˘····· |
| Chant to my selfe with rustick melodie. | 10 | ·········· |
| Rich, liberall heauen, what hath yor treasure store | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Of such bright angells, that you giue vs more? | 11 | ···/˘···//· |
| Had you, like our great sunne, stamped but one | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| For earth, t' had beene an ample portion. | 10 | ······/˘/˘ |
| Had you but drawne one liuely coppy forth, | 10 | ·········· |
| That might interpret our faire Cynthia's worth, | 10 | ··˘/˘/·/˘· |
| Y' had done enough to make the lazy ground | 11 | ···˘/···/˘· |
| Dance, like the nimble spheres, a joyfull round. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| But such is the coelestiall excellence, | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| That in the princely patterne shines, from whence | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| The rest pourtraicted are, that 'tis noe paine | 10 | ·········· |
| To ravish heauen to limbe them o're againe. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Wittnesse this mapp of beauty; euery part | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Of wch doth show the quintessence of art. | 10 | ·····˘/˘·· |
| See! nothing's vulgar, every atome heere | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| Speakes the great wisdome of th' artificer. | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
| Poore Earth hath not enough perfection, | 9 | ····˘/˘/˘ |
| To shaddow forth th' admired paragon. | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘· |
| Those sparkling twinnes of light should I now stile | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Rich diamonds, sett in a pure siluer foyle; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Or call her cheeke a bed of new-blowne roses; | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| And say that ivory her front composes; | 11 | ···/˘˘··˘/˘ |
| Or should I say, that with a scarlet waue | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Those plumpe soft rubies had bin drest soe braue; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Or that the dying lilly did bestow | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Vpon her neck the whitest of his snow; | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Or that the purple violets did lace | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘·· |
| That hand of milky downe; all these are base; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Her glories I should dimme with things soe grosse, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And foule the cleare text with a muddy glosse. | 11 | ·/˘·····/˘· |
| Goe on then, Heauen, & limbe forth such another, | 10 | ·······˘/˘ |
| Draw to this sister miracle a brother; | 11 | ···/˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| Compile a first glorious epitome | 11 | ˘/··/˘˘˘/˘˘ |
| Of heauen, & Earth, & of all raritie; | 8 | ········ |
| And sett it forth in the same happy place, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And I'le not blurre it with my paraphrase. | 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.