Smelling
Next, in the nosthrils she doth vse the smell:As God the breath of life in them did giue,So makes He now this power in them to dwell,To iudge all ayres, whereby we breath and liue.
This sense is also mistresse of an Art,Which to soft people sweete perfumes doth sell;Though this deare Art doth little good impart,"Sith they smell best, that doe of nothing smell.
And yet good sents doe purifie the braine,Awake the fancie, and the wits refine;Hence old Deuotion, incense did ordaineTo make mens' spirits apt for thoughts diuine.
Words in this poem
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- deare
- variant of Dere, v. t. & n.
- sith prep.
- Since; afterwards; seeing that. [See Since.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Smelling 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, Smelling, in The Complete Poems, Volume I (1596–1599), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #44977, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/davies-poems/smelling.html, id L08755.
Form and metre
Smelling is 12 lines in 3 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.8 syllables. 8% 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 ABAB smellA · giueB · dwellA · liueB
- 2 ABAB artA · sellB · impartA · smellB
- 3 ABAB braineA · refineB · ordaineA · diuineB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Next, in the nosthrils she doth vse the smell: | 10 | ·········· |
| As God the breath of life in them did giue, | 10 | ·········· |
| So makes He now this power in them to dwell, | 10 | ·····/···· |
| To iudge all ayres, whereby we breath and liue. | 10 | ·········· |
| This sense is also mistresse of an Art, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Which to soft people sweete perfumes doth sell; | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| Though this deare Art doth little good impart, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| "Sith they smell best, that doe of nothing smell. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And yet good sents doe purifie the braine, | 10 | ·········· |
| Awake the fancie, and the wits refine; | 10 | ˘/······˘/ |
| Hence old Deuotion, incense did ordaine | 9 | ····˘/··· |
| To make mens' spirits apt for thoughts diuine. | 9 | ···/˘···· |
Notes from the edition 2
A. B. Grosart's notes to the Complete Poems of Sir John Davies (Project Gutenberg #44977).
- Stanza 2, line 4 In 1599 and 1608 editions, 'since,' as before. G.
- Stanza 3, line 1 Scents. G.
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