Aire and Angels
Twice or thrice had I loved thee,Before I knew thy face or name;So in a voice, so in a shapelesse flame,Angells affect us oft, and worship'd bee;Still when, to where thou wert, I came,Some lovely glorious nothing I did see.But since my soule, whose child love is,Takes limmes of flesh, and else could nothing doe,More subtile then the parent is,Love must not be, but take a body too,And therefore what thou wert, and who,I bid Love aske, and nowThat it assume thy body, I allow,And fixe it selfe in thy lip, eye, and brow.
Whilst thus to ballast love, I thought,And so more steddily to have gone,With wares which would sinke admiration,I saw, I had loves pinnace overfraught,Ev'ry thy haire for love to worke uponIs much too much, some fitter must be sought;For, nor in nothing, nor in thingsExtreme, and scatt'ring bright, can love inhere;Then as an Angell, face, and wingsOf aire, not pure as it, yet pure doth weare,So thy love may be my loves spheare;Just such disparitieAs is twixt Aire and Angells puritie,'Twixt womens love, and mens will ever bee.
Words in this poem
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- admiration n.
- Wonder; astonishment. [F., fr. L. admiratio. See Admire.]
- fitter n.
- A little piece; a flitter; a flinder.
- inhere v. i.
- To be inherent; to stick (in); to be fixed or permanently incorporated with something; to cleave (to); to belong, as attributes or qualities. [L. inhaerere; pref. in- in + haerere to stick, hang. See Hesitate.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Aire and Angels 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, Aire and Angels, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/aire-and-angels.html, id L19846.
Form and metre
Aire and Angels is 28 lines in 2 stanzas of 14 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.9 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 15% 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 ABBABAC-CDDEEE theeA · nameB · flameB · beeA · cameB · seeA · isC · doe · isC · tooD · whoD · nowE · allowE · browE
- 2 ABBABACDCDDEE- thoughtA · goneB · admirationB · overfraughtA · uponB · soughtA · thingsC · inhereD · wingsC · weareD · spheareD · disparitieE · puritieE · bee
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Twice or thrice had I loved thee, | 7 | ······· |
| Before I knew thy face or name; | 8 | ········ |
| So in a voice, so in a shapelesse flame, | 11 | ··········· |
| Angells affect us oft, and worship'd bee; | 10 | /˘˘/···/˘· |
| Still when, to where thou wert, I came, | 8 | ········ |
| Some lovely glorious nothing I did see. | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| But since my soule, whose child love is, | 8 | ········ |
| Takes limmes of flesh, and else could nothing doe, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| More subtile then the parent is, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Love must not be, but take a body too, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And therefore what thou wert, and who, | 8 | ········ |
| I bid Love aske, and now | 6 | ······ |
| That it assume thy body, I allow, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| And fixe it selfe in thy lip, eye, and brow. | 10 | ·········· |
| Whilst thus to ballast love, I thought, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And so more steddily to have gone, | 9 | ········· |
| With wares which would sinke admiration, | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| I saw, I had loves pinnace overfraught, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Ev'ry thy haire for love to worke upon | 10 | ·········· |
| Is much too much, some fitter must be sought; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| For, nor in nothing, nor in things | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Extreme, and scatt'ring bright, can love inhere; | 10 | ˘/······˘/ |
| Then as an Angell, face, and wings | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Of aire, not pure as it, yet pure doth weare, | 10 | ·········· |
| So thy love may be my loves spheare; | 8 | ········ |
| Just such disparitie | 6 | ······ |
| As is twixt Aire and Angells puritie, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| 'Twixt womens love, and mens will ever bee. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
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 1, line 4 bee; Ed: bee, 1633-69
- Stanza 1, line 5 came,] came 1633
- Stanza 1, line 6 I did] did I 1669
- Stanza 1, line 7 since Ed: since, 1633-69
- Stanza 1, line 11 who, Ed: who 1633-69
- Stanza 1, line 14 lip, eye,] lips, eyes, 1669, Chambers
- Stanza 2, line 5 Ev'ry thy 1633-39, A18, B (Even), D, H40, H49, JC, Lec, N, O'F, S (Ever), S96, TC: Thy every 1650-69
- Stanza 2, line 8 scatt'ring Ed: scattring, 1633-35: scattering 1639-69
- Stanza 2, line 13 Aire 1633-54 and all MSS.: Airs 1669, Chambers
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