Laurel · John Davies · The Complete Poems, Volume I

From the Very Doubt and Disputation of Immortalitie

John Davies (1569–1626) · 1596–1599

iambic pentameter · ABAB · 28 lines · from The Complete Poems, Volume I

And though some impious wits do questions moue,And doubt if Soules immortall be, or no;That doubt their immortalitie doth proue,Because they seeme immortall things to know.

For he which reasons on both parts doth bring,Doth some things mortall, some immortall call;Now, if himselfe were but a mortall thing,He could not iudge immortall things at all.

For when we iudge, our minds we mirrors make:And as those glasses which materiall bee,Formes of materiall things doe onely take,For thoughts or minds in them we cannot see;

So, when we God and angels do conceiue,And thinke of truth, which is eternall too;Then doe our minds immortall formes receiue,Which if they mortall were, they could not doo:

And as, if beasts conceiu'd what Reason were,And that conception should distinctly show,They should the name of reasonable beare;For without Reason, none could Reason know:

So, when the Soule mounts with so high a wing,As of eternall things she doubts can moue;Shee proofes of her eternitie doth bring,Euen when she striues the contrary to proue.

For euen the thought of immortalitie,Being an act done without the bodie's ayde;Shewes, that her selfe alone could moue and bee,Although the body in the graue were layde.

Words in this poem

immortall a.: Not mortal; exempt from liability to die; undying; imperishable; lasting forever; having unlimited, or eternal, existance. [L. immortalis; pref. im- not + mortalis mortal: cf. F. immortel. See Mortal, and cf. Immortelle.]
mortall a.: Subject to death; destined to die; as, man is mortal. [F. mortel, L. mortalis, from mors, mortis, death, fr. moriri 8die; akin to E. murder. See Murder, and cf. Filemot, Mere a lake, Mortgage.]
materiall v. t.: To form from matter; to materialize. Sir T. Browne.
eternall a.: Without beginning or end of existence; always existing. [F. éternel, L. aeternalis, fr. aeternus. See Etern.]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

From the Very Doubt and Disputation of Immortalitie is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poems of Sir John Davies. Volume 1 of 2., Project Gutenberg ebook #44977; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: John Davies, From the Very Doubt and Disputation of Immortalitie, in The Complete Poems, Volume I (1596–1599), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #44977, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/davies-poems/from-the-very-doubt-and-disputation-of-immortalitie.html, id L08778.

Form and metre

From the Very Doubt and Disputation of Immortalitie is 28 lines in 7 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 5 of its 7 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables.

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 ABAB moue^A · no^B · proue^A · know^B
2 ABAB bring^A · call^B · thing^A · all^B
3 ABAB make^A · bee^B · take^A · see^B
4 ABAB conceiue^A · too^B · receiue^A · doo^B
5 -A-A were · show^A · beare · know^A
6 ABAB wing^A · moue^B · bring^A · proue^B
7 -A-A immortalitie · ayde^A · bee · layde^A

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
And though some impious wits do questions moue,	11	···˘/˘··/˘·
And doubt if Soules immortall be, or no;	10	····˘/˘···
That doubt their immortalitie doth proue,	10	··········
Because they seeme immortall things to know.	10	····˘/˘···
For he which reasons on both parts doth bring,	10	···/˘·····
Doth some things mortall, some immortall call;	10	···/˘·˘/˘·
Now, if himselfe were but a mortall thing,	10	·······/˘·
He could not iudge immortall things at all.	10	····˘/˘···
For when we iudge, our minds we mirrors make:	10	····/··/˘·
And as those glasses which materiall bee,	10	···/˘·˘/˘·
Formes of materiall things doe onely take,	10	··˘/˘··/˘·
For thoughts or minds in them we cannot see;	10	·······/˘·
So, when we God and angels do conceiue,	10	·····/˘···
And thinke of truth, which is eternall too;	10	······˘/˘·
Then doe our minds immortall formes receiue,	10	··/˘·˘/˘··
Which if they mortall were, they could not doo:	10	···/˘·····
And as, if beasts conceiu'd what Reason were,	10	·······/˘·
And that conception should distinctly show,	10	··˘/˘·˘/˘·
They should the name of reasonable beare;	10	·····/˘˘˘·
For without Reason, none could Reason know:	10	···/˘··/˘·
So, when the Soule mounts with so high a wing,	10	··········
As of eternall things she doubts can moue;	10	··˘/˘·····
Shee proofes of her eternitie doth bring,	10	··········
Euen when she striues the contrary to proue.	10	·····˘/˘··
For euen the thought of immortalitie,	10	··········
Being an act done without the bodie's ayde;	10	/······/˘·
Shewes, that her selfe alone could moue and bee,	10	····˘/····
Although the body in the graue were layde.	10	···/˘·····

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.

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The Complete Poems, Volume I