A Feaver
Oh doe not die, for I shall hateAll women so, when thou art gone,That thee I shall not celebrate,When I remember, thou wast one.
But yet thou canst not die, I know;To leave this world behinde, is death,But when thou from this world wilt goe,The whole world vapors with thy breath.
Or if, when thou, the worlds soule, goest,It stay, tis but thy carkasse then,The fairest woman, but thy ghost,But corrupt wormes, the worthyest men.
O wrangling schooles, that search what fireShall burne this world, had none the witUnto this knowledge to aspire,That this her feaver might be it?
And yet she cannot wast by this,Nor long beare this torturing wrong,For much corruption needfull isTo fuell such a feaver long.
These burning fits but meteors bee,Whose matter in thee is soone spent.Thy beauty,'and all parts, which are thee,Are unchangeable firmament.
Yet t'was of my minde, seising thee,Though it in thee cannot persever.For I had rather owner beeOf thee one houre, then all else ever.
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,]
- wast
- The second person singular of the verb be, in the indicative mood, imperfect tense; -- now used only in solemn or poetical style.
- ghost n.
- The spirit; the soul of man. [OE. gast, gost, soul, spirit, AS. gast breath, spirit, soul; akin to OS. g spirit, soul, D. geest, G. geist, and prob. to E. gaze, ghastly.]
- aspire v. t.
- To aspire to; to long for; to try to reach; to mount to.
- needfull a.
- Full of need; in need or want; needy; distressing.
- fuell v. t.
- To feed with fuel.
- firmament n.
- Fixed foundation; established basis. [L. firmamentum, fr. firmare to make firm: cf. F. firmament. See Firm, v. & a.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Feaver is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of John Donne, Volume 1 (of 2) Edited from the Old Editions and Numerous Manuscripts, Project Gutenberg ebook #48688; 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 Donne, A Feaver, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/a-feaver.html, id L04887.
Form and metre
A Feaver 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 tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.2 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 18% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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- hateA · gone · celebrateA · one
- 2 ABAB knowA · deathB · goeA · breathB
- 3 ABAB goestA · thenB · ghostA · menB
- 4 ABAB fireA · witB · aspireA · itB
- 5 -A-A this · wrongA · is · longA
- 6 ABAB beeA · spentB · theeA · firmamentB
- 7 A-A- theeA · persever · beeA · ever
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Oh doe not die, for I shall hate | 8 | ········ |
| All women so, when thou art gone, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| That thee I shall not celebrate, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| When I remember, thou wast one. | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| But yet thou canst not die, I know; | 8 | ········ |
| To leave this world behinde, is death, | 8 | ········ |
| But when thou from this world wilt goe, | 8 | ········ |
| The whole world vapors with thy breath. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Or if, when thou, the worlds soule, goest, | 8 | ········ |
| It stay, tis but thy carkasse then, | 8 | ········ |
| The fairest woman, but thy ghost, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| But corrupt wormes, the worthyest men. | 9 | ·˘/··/˘˘· |
| O wrangling schooles, that search what fire | 10 | ·/˘˘····/˘ |
| Shall burne this world, had none the wit | 8 | ········ |
| Unto this knowledge to aspire, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| That this her feaver might be it? | 8 | ········ |
| And yet she cannot wast by this, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Nor long beare this torturing wrong, | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| For much corruption needfull is | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| To fuell such a feaver long. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| These burning fits but meteors bee, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘˘· |
| Whose matter in thee is soone spent. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Thy beauty,'and all parts, which are thee, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Are unchangeable firmament. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Yet t'was of my minde, seising thee, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Though it in thee cannot persever. | 9 | ····˘/˘/˘ |
| For I had rather owner bee | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Of thee one houre, then all else ever. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
Notes from the edition 9
Herbert Grierson's record of the readings of the early editions and manuscripts, from his Poems of John Donne (Oxford, 1912; Project Gutenberg #48688).
- Stanza 2, line 1 know; Ed: know, 1633-69
- Stanza 2, line 4 with] in 1669
- Stanza 4, line 4 might] must TCC
- Stanza 5, line 2 beare] endure 1669
- Stanza 5, line 3 For much 1633, A18, B, D, H40, H49, JC, L74, Lec, N, S, S96, TC: For more 1635-69, O'F: Far more Cy, P
- Stanza 6, line 2 is soon] soon is 1669
- Stanza 6, line 4 Are] Are an 1669, P, S96
- Stanza 7, line 1 Yet 'twas of 1633-54: And here as 1669
- Stanza 7, line 3 For] Yet 1669
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