The Passions of Sense
But though the apprehensiue power doe pause,The motiue vertue then begins to moue;Which in the heart below doth PASSIONS cause,Ioy, griefe, and feare, and hope, and hate, and loue.
These passions haue a free commanding might,And diuers actions in our life doe breed;For, all acts done without true Reason's light,Doe from the passion of the Sense proceed.
But sith the braine doth lodge the powers of Sense,How makes it in the heart those passions spring?The mutuall loue, the kind intelligence'Twixt heart and braine, this sympathy doth bring.
From the kind heat, which in the heart doth raigne,The spirits of life doe their begining take;These spirits of life ascending to the braine,When they come there, the spirits of Sense do make.
These spirits of Sense, in Fantasie's High Court,Iudge of the formes of obiects, ill or well;And so they send a good or ill reportDowne to the heart, where all affections dwell.
If the report bee good, it causeth loue,And longing hope, and well-assurèd ioy:If it bee ill, then doth it hatred moue,And trembling feare, and vexing grief's annoy.
Yet were these naturall affections good:(For they which want them, blockes or deuils be)If Reason in her first perfection stood,That she might Nature's passions rectifie.
Words in this poem
- sith prep.
- Since; afterwards; seeing that. [See Since.]
- mutuall a.
- Reciprocally acting or related; reciprocally receiving and giving; reciprocally given and received; reciprocal; interchanged; as, a mutual love, advantage, assistance, aversion, etc. [F. mutuel, L. mutuus, orig., exchanged, borrowed, lent; akin to mutare to change. See Mutable.]
- 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]
- naturall n.
- A native; an aboriginal. Sir W. Raleigh.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Passions of Sense 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, The Passions of Sense, in The Complete Poems, Volume I (1596–1599), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #44977, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/davies-poems/the-passions-of-sense.html, id L08760.
Form and metre
The Passions of Sense is 28 lines in 7 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 4 of its 7 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%). 91% 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. 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 ABAB pauseA · moueB · causeA · loueB
- 2 ABAB mightA · breedB · lightA · proceedB
- 3 ABAB senseA · springB · intelligenceA · bringB
- 4 -A-A raigne · takeA · braine · makeA
- 5 ABAB courtA · wellB · reportA · dwellB
- 6 A-A- loueA · ioy · moueA · annoy
- 7 A-A- goodA · be · stoodA · rectifie
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 |
|---|---|---|
| But though the apprehensiue power doe pause, | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| The motiue vertue then begins to moue; | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Which in the heart below doth PASSIONS cause, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Ioy, griefe, and feare, and hope, and hate, and loue. | 10 | ·········· |
| These passions haue a free commanding might, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| And diuers actions in our life doe breed; | 10 | ···/˘·/··· |
| For, all acts done without true Reason's light, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Doe from the passion of the Sense proceed. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| But sith the braine doth lodge the powers of Sense, | 10 | ·······/·· |
| How makes it in the heart those passions spring? | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The mutuall loue, the kind intelligence | 11 | ·/˘˘···˘/˘˘ |
| 'Twixt heart and braine, this sympathy doth bring. | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| From the kind heat, which in the heart doth raigne, | 10 | ·········· |
| The spirits of life doe their begining take; | 11 | ·/˘····˘/˘· |
| These spirits of life ascending to the braine, | 11 | ·/˘··˘/˘··· |
| When they come there, the spirits of Sense do make. | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| These spirits of Sense, in Fantasie's High Court, | 10 | ·/˘···/˘·· |
| Iudge of the formes of obiects, ill or well; | 10 | ·········· |
| And so they send a good or ill report | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Downe to the heart, where all affections dwell. | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| If the report bee good, it causeth loue, | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| And longing hope, and well-assurèd ioy: | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| If it bee ill, then doth it hatred moue, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And trembling feare, and vexing grief's annoy. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Yet were these naturall affections good: | 10 | ···/˘˘˘/˘· |
| (For they which want them, blockes or deuils be) | 9 | ········· |
| If Reason in her first perfection stood, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| That she might Nature's passions rectifie. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
Notes from the edition 2
A. B. Grosart's notes to the Complete Poems of Sir John Davies (Project Gutenberg #44977).
- Stanza 1, line 1 Misprinted 'apprehension;' corrected in the errata of 1622 edition from 1599 and 1608 editions. G.
- Stanza 3, line 1 In 1599 and 1608 editions 'since,' as before. G.
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