Three Kinds of Life Answerable to the Three Powers of the Soule
For as the soule's essentiall powers are three,The quickning power, the power of sense and reason;Three kinds of life to her designèd bee,Which perfect these three powers in their due season.
The first life, in the mother's wombe is spent,Where she her nursing power doth onely vse;Where, when she finds defect of nourishment,Sh' expels her body, and this world she viewes.
This we call Birth; but if the child could speake,He Death would call it; and of Nature plaine,That she would thrust him out naked and weake,And in his passage pinch him with such paine.
Yet, out he comes, and in this world is plac't,Where all his Senses in perfection bee;Where he finds flowers to smell, and fruits to taste;And sounds to heare, and sundry formes to see.
When he hath past some time vpon this stage,His Reason then a litle seemes to wake;Which, thogh she spring, when sense doth fade with age,Yet can she here no perfect practise make.
Then doth th' aspiring Soule the body leaue,Which we call Death; but were it knowne to all,What life our soules do by this death receiue,Men would it birth or gaole deliuery call.
In this third life, Reason will be so bright,As that her sparke will like the sun-beames shine;And shall of God enioy the reall sight.Being still increast by influence diuine.
Words in this poem
- essentiall n.
- Existence; being.
- sundry a.
- Several; divers; more than one or two; various. [OE. sundry, sondry, AS. syndrig, fr. sundor asunder. See Sunder, v. t.]
- aspiring a.
- That aspires; as, an Aspiring mind.
- 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,]
- reall a.
- Royal; regal; kingly.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Three Kinds of Life Answerable to the Three Powers of the Soule 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, Three Kinds of Life Answerable to the Three Powers of the Soule, in The Complete Poems, Volume I (1596–1599), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #44977, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/davies-poems/three-kinds-of-life-answerable-to-the-three-powers-of-the-so.html, id L08793.
Form and metre
Three Kinds of Life Answerable to the Three Powers of the Soule 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 80%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 3 lines end 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 ABAB threeA · reasonB · beeA · seasonB
- 2 A-A- spentA · vse · nourishmentA · viewes
- 3 ABAB speakeA · plaineB · weakeA · paineB
- 4 -A-A plac't · beeA · taste · seeA
- 5 ABAB stageA · wakeB · ageA · makeB
- 6 -A-A leaue · allA · receiue · callA
- 7 ABAB brightA · shineB · sightA · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| For as the soule's essentiall powers are three, | 10 | ····˘/˘/·· |
| The quickning power, the power of sense and reason; | 11 | ···/·/···/˘ |
| Three kinds of life to her designèd bee, | 9 | ········· |
| Which perfect these three powers in their due season. | 11 | ·/···/···/˘ |
| The first life, in the mother's wombe is spent, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Where she her nursing power doth onely vse; | 10 | ···/˘/·/˘· |
| Where, when she finds defect of nourishment, | 10 | ····˘/·/˘˘ |
| Sh' expels her body, and this world she viewes. | 12 | //˘/·/˘····· |
| This we call Birth; but if the child could speake, | 10 | ·········· |
| He Death would call it; and of Nature plaine, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| That she would thrust him out naked and weake, | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| And in his passage pinch him with such paine. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Yet, out he comes, and in this world is plac't, | 10 | ·········· |
| Where all his Senses in perfection bee; | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Where he finds flowers to smell, and fruits to taste; | 10 | ···/······ |
| And sounds to heare, and sundry formes to see. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| When he hath past some time vpon this stage, | 9 | ········· |
| His Reason then a litle seemes to wake; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Which, thogh she spring, when sense doth fade with age, | 10 | ·········· |
| Yet can she here no perfect practise make. | 10 | ·····/·/˘· |
| Then doth th' aspiring Soule the body leaue, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Which we call Death; but were it knowne to all, | 10 | ·········· |
| What life our soules do by this death receiue, | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| Men would it birth or gaole deliuery call. | 11 | ··········· |
| In this third life, Reason will be so bright, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| As that her sparke will like the sun-beames shine; | 10 | ·········· |
| And shall of God enioy the reall sight. | 9 | ········· |
| Being still increast by influence diuine. | 10 | /˘····/˘˘· |
Notes from the edition 3
A. B. Grosart's notes to the Complete Poems of Sir John Davies (Project Gutenberg #44977).
- Stanza 1, line 4 Numeral '3,' as before, in 1622 edition. G.
- Stanza 3, line 2 Id est 'complain.' G.
- Stanza 6, line 4 'Goale' in 1608 edition. G.
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.