Laurel · John Davies · The Complete Poems, Volume I

Hearing

John Davies (1569–1626) · 1596–1599

iambic pentameter · ABAB · 36 lines · from The Complete Poems, Volume I

Now let vs heare how she the Eares imployes:Their office is the troubled ayre to take,Which in their mazes formes a sound or noyse,Whereof her selfe doth true distinction make.

These wickets of the Soule are plac't on hieBecause all sounds doe lightly mount aloft;And that they may not pierce too violently,They are delaied with turnes, and windings oft.

For should the voice directly strike the braine,It would astonish and confuse it much;Therfore these plaits and folds the sound restraine,That it the organ may more gently touch.

As streames, which with their winding banks doe play,Stopt by their creeks, run softly through the plaine;So in th' Eares' labyrinth the voice doth stray,And doth with easie motion touch the braine.

It is the slowest, yet the daintiest sense;For euen the Eares of such as haue no skill,Perceiue a discord, and conceiue offence;And knowing not what is good, yet find the ill.

And though this sense first gentle Musicke found,Her proper obiect is the speech of men;But that speech chiefely which God's heraulds sound,When their tongs vtter what His Spirit did pen.

Our Eyes haue lids, our Eares still ope we see,Quickly to heare how euery tale is proouèd;Our Eyes still moue, our Eares vnmouèd bee,That though we hear quick we be not quickly mouèd.

Thus by the organs of the Eye and Eare,The Soule with knowledge doth her selfe endue;"Thus she her prison, may with pleasure beare,"Hauing such prospects, all the world to view.

These conduit-pipes of knowledge feed the Mind,But th' other three attend the Body still;For by their seruices the Soule doth find,What things are to the body, good or ill.

Words in this poem

whereof adv.: Of which; of whom; formerly, also, with which; -- used relatively.
astonish v. t.: To stun; to render senseless, as by a blow. [OE. astonien, astunian, astonen, OF. estoner, F. étonner, fr. L. ex out + tonare to thunder, but perhaps influenced by E. stun. See Thunder, Astound, Astony.]
creeks n.: A tribe or confederacy of North American Indians, including the Muskogees, Seminoles, Uchees, and other subordinate tribes. They formerly inhabited Georgia, Florida, and Alabama.
offence n.: The act of offending in any sense; esp., a crime or a sin, an affront or an injury. [F., fr. L. offensa. See Offend.]
endue v. t.: To invest. Latham. [L. induere, prob. confused with E. endow. See Indue.]

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

About this text

Hearing 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, Hearing, in The Complete Poems, Volume I (1596–1599), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #44977, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/davies-poems/hearing.html, id L08753.

Form and metre

Hearing is 36 lines in 9 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 6 of its 9 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.

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 -A-A imployes · take^A · noyse · make^A
2 -A-A hie · aloft^A · violently · oft^A
3 ABAB braine^A · much^B · restraine^A · touch^B
4 ABAB play^A · plaine^B · stray^A · braine^B
5 ABAB sense^A · skill^B · offence^A · ill^B
6 ABAB found^A · men^B · sound^A · pen^B
7 A-A- see^A · proouèd · bee^A · mouèd
8 ABAB eare^A · endue^B · beare^A · view^B
9 ABAB mind^A · still^B · find^A · ill^B

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
Now let vs heare how she the Eares imployes:	10	··/˘······
Their office is the troubled ayre to take,	10	·/˘··/˘···
Which in their mazes formes a sound or noyse,	10	···/˘·····
Whereof her selfe doth true distinction make.	10	······˘/˘·
These wickets of the Soule are plac't on hie	10	·/˘·······
Because all sounds doe lightly mount aloft;	10	·····/˘·˘/
And that they may not pierce too violently,	11	·······/˘˘˘
They are delaied with turnes, and windings oft.	9	······/˘·
For should the voice directly strike the braine,	10	····˘/˘···
It would astonish and confuse it much;	10	··˘/˘·˘/··
Therfore these plaits and folds the sound restraine,	10	··········
That it the organ may more gently touch.	10	···/˘··/˘·
As streames, which with their winding banks doe play,	10	·····/˘···
Stopt by their creeks, run softly through the plaine;	10	·····/˘···
So in th' Eares' labyrinth the voice doth stray,	10	···/˘·····
And doth with easie motion touch the braine.	10	·····/˘···
It is the slowest, yet the daintiest sense;	10	···/˘·····
For euen the Eares of such as haue no skill,	10	··········
Perceiue a discord, and conceiue offence;	9	··/˘···˘/
And knowing not what is good, yet find the ill.	10	·/········
And though this sense first gentle Musicke found,	10	·····/˘···
Her proper obiect is the speech of men;	10	·/˘·······
But that speech chiefely which God's heraulds sound,	11	···········
When their tongs vtter what His Spirit did pen.	10	······/˘··
Our Eyes haue lids, our Eares still ope we see,	10	/···/·····
Quickly to heare how euery tale is proouèd;	10	/˘········
Our Eyes still moue, our Eares vnmouèd bee,	10	/˘···/˘···
That though we hear quick we be not quickly mouèd.	11	········/˘·
Thus by the organs of the Eye and Eare,	10	···/˘·····
The Soule with knowledge doth her selfe endue;	10	···/˘···˘/
"Thus she her prison, may with pleasure beare,	10	···/˘··/˘·
"Hauing such prospects, all the world to view.	9	··/˘·····
These conduit-pipes of knowledge feed the Mind,	10	·/˘··/˘···
But th' other three attend the Body still;	10	·/˘·˘/·/˘·
For by their seruices the Soule doth find,	10	··········
What things are to the body, good or ill.	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