Laurel · John Davies · The Complete Poems, Volume I

In What Manner the Soule Is United to the Body

John Davies (1569–1626) · 1596–1599

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

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"But how shall we this union well expresse?Nought ties the soule; her subtiltie is suchShe moues the bodie, which she doth possesse,Yet no part toucheth, but by Vertue's touch.

Then dwels shee not therein as in a tent,Nor as a pilot in his ship doth sit;Nor as the spider in his web is pent;Nor as the waxe retaines the print in it;

Nor as a vessell water doth containe;Nor as one liquor in another shed;Nor as the heat doth in the fire remaine;Nor as a voice throughout the ayre is spread:

But as the faire and cheerfull Morning light,Doth here and there her siluer beames impart,And in an instant doth herselfe vniteTo the transparent ayre, in all, and part:

Still resting whole, when blowes th' ayre diuide;Abiding pure, when th' ayre is most corrupted;Throughout the ayre, her beams dispersing wide,And when the ayre is tost, not interrupted:

So doth the piercing Soule the body fill,Being all in all, and all in part diffus'd;Indiuisible, incorruptible still,Not forc't, encountred, troubled or confus'd.

And as the sunne aboue, the light doth bring,Though we behold it in the ayre below;So from th' Eternall Light the Soule doth spring,Though in the body she her powers doe show.

Words in this poem

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,]
pent p. p.
Penned or shut up; confined; -- often with up. [From Pen, v. t.]
vessell v. t.
To put into a vessel.
cheerfull a.
Having or showing good spirits or joy; cheering; cheery; contented; happy; joyful; lively; animated; willing.
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

In What Manner the Soule Is United to the Body 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, In What Manner the Soule Is United to the Body, in The Complete Poems, Volume I (1596–1599), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #44977, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/davies-poems/in-what-manner-the-soule-is-united-to-the-body-2.html, id L08748.

Form and metre

In What Manner the Soule Is United to the Body is 28 lines in 7 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 7% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.

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. 1 ABAB expresseA · suchB · possesseA · touchB
  2. 2 ABAB tentA · sitB · pentA · itB
  3. 3 ABAB containeA · shedB · remaineA · spreadB
  4. 4 ABAB lightA · impartB · vniteA · partB
  5. 5 ABAB diuideA · corruptedB · wideA · interruptedB
  6. 6 ABAB fillA · diffus'dB · stillA · confus'dB
  7. 7 ABAB bringA · belowB · springA · showB
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.

LineSyl.Stress
"But how shall we this union well expresse?10·····/˘···
Nought ties the soule; her subtiltie is such10··········
She moues the bodie, which she doth possesse,10···/˘···/˘
Yet no part toucheth, but by Vertue's touch.9···/˘····
Then dwels shee not therein as in a tent,10··········
Nor as a pilot in his ship doth sit;10···/˘·····
Nor as the spider in his web is pent;10···/˘·····
Nor as the waxe retaines the print in it;10····˘/····
Nor as a vessell water doth containe;10···/˘/˘···
Nor as one liquor in another shed;10···/˘·˘/˘·
Nor as the heat doth in the fire remaine;10·······/··
Nor as a voice throughout the ayre is spread:10··········
But as the faire and cheerfull Morning light,10·····/˘/˘·
Doth here and there her siluer beames impart,10········˘/
And in an instant doth herselfe vnite9···/˘····
To the transparent ayre, in all, and part:10··˘/˘·····
Still resting whole, when blowes th' ayre diuide;8·/˘·····
Abiding pure, when th' ayre is most corrupted;11˘/˘·····˘/˘
Throughout the ayre, her beams dispersing wide,10······˘/˘·
And when the ayre is tost, not interrupted:11········˘/˘
So doth the piercing Soule the body fill,10···/˘··/˘·
Being all in all, and all in part diffus'd;10/·······˘/
Indiuisible, incorruptible still,10····/˘˘˘˘·
Not forc't, encountred, troubled or confus'd.10··˘/˘/˘·˘/
And as the sunne aboue, the light doth bring,10··········
Though we behold it in the ayre below;10··˘/······
So from th' Eternall Light the Soule doth spring,10··˘/˘·····
Though in the body she her powers doe show.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