A Ieat Ring Sent
Thou art not so black, as my heart,Nor halfe so brittle, as her heart, thou art;What would'st thou say? shall both our properties by thee bee spoke,Nothing more endlesse, nothing sooner broke?
Marriage rings are not of this stuffe;Oh, why should ought lesse precious, or lesse toughFigure our loves? Except in thy name thou have bid it say,I'am cheap, and nought but fashion, fling me'away.
Yet stay with mee since thou art come,Circle this fingers top, which did'st her thombe.Be justly proud, and gladly safe, that thou dost dwell with me,She that, Oh, broke her faith, would soon breake thee.
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,]
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- ought p. p.
- Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
- gladly adv.
- Preferably; by choice. [From Glad, a.]
- 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]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Ieat Ring Sent 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 Ieat Ring Sent, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/a-ieat-ring-sent.html, id L19870.
Form and metre
A Ieat Ring Sent is 12 lines in 3 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABB. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.1 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 23% 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 AABB heartA · artA · spokeB · brokeB
- 2 AABB stuffeA · toughA · sayB · me'awayB
- 3 AABB comeA · thombeA · meB · theeB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Thou art not so black, as my heart, | 8 | ········ |
| Nor halfe so brittle, as her heart, thou art; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| What would'st thou say? shall both our properties by thee bee spoke, | 13 | ······//˘···· |
| Nothing more endlesse, nothing sooner broke? | 10 | /˘···/˘/˘· |
| Marriage rings are not of this stuffe; | 8 | /˘······ |
| Oh, why should ought lesse precious, or lesse tough | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Figure our loves? Except in thy name thou have bid it say, | 14 | /˘/··········· |
| I'am cheap, and nought but fashion, fling me'away. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Yet stay with mee since thou art come, | 8 | ········ |
| Circle this fingers top, which did'st her thombe. | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| Be justly proud, and gladly safe, that thou dost dwell with me, | 14 | ·/˘··/˘······· |
| She that, Oh, broke her faith, would soon breake thee. | 10 | ·········· |
Notes from the edition 1
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 3 loves] love O'F say, Ed: say 1633-69
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