Ascention
Salute the last and everlasting day,Joy at the uprising of this Sunne, and Sonne,Yee whose just teares, or tribulationHave purely washt, or burnt your drossie clay;Behold the Highest, parting hence away,Lightens the darke clouds, which hee treads upon,Nor doth hee by ascending, show alone,But first hee, and hee first enters the way.O strong Ramme, which hast batter'd heaven for mee,Mild Lambe, which with thy blood, hast mark'd the path;Bright Torch, which shin'st, that I the way may see,Oh, with thy owne blood quench thy owne just wrath,And if thy holy Spirit, my Muse did raise,Deigne at my hands this crowne of prayer and praise.
Words in this poem
- uprising n.
- Act of rising; also, a steep place; an ascent.
- sonne n.
- A male child; the male issue, or offspring, of a parent, father or mother. [OE. sone, sune, AS. sunu; akin to D. zoon, OS., OFries., & OHG. sunu, G. sohn, Icel. sonr, Sw. son, Dan. sön, Goth. sunus, Lith. sunus, Russ. suin', Skr. sunu (]
- tribulation n.
- That which occasions distress, trouble, or vexation; severe affliction. [OE. tribulacium, F. tribulation, L. tribulatio, from tribulare to press, afflict, fr. tribulum a thrashing sledge, akin to terere, tritum, to rub. See Trite.]
- ramme n.
- The male of the sheep and allied animals. In some parts of England a ram is called a tup. [AS. ramm, ram; akin to OHG. & D. ram, Prov. G. ramm, and perh. to Icel. ramr strong.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Ascention 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, Ascention, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/ascention.html, id L05005.
Form and metre
Ascention is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABBAABBACDCDEE. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 100% 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 ABBAABBACDCDEE dayA · sonneB · tribulationB · clayA · awayA · uponB · aloneB · wayA · meeC · pathD · seeC · wrathD · raiseE · praiseE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Salute the last and everlasting day, | 10 | ˘/····˘/˘· |
| Joy at the uprising of this Sunne, and Sonne, | 11 | ···˘/˘····· |
| Yee whose just teares, or tribulation | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Have purely washt, or burnt your drossie clay; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Behold the Highest, parting hence away, | 10 | ˘/·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Lightens the darke clouds, which hee treads upon, | 10 | /˘········ |
| Nor doth hee by ascending, show alone, | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| But first hee, and hee first enters the way. | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| O strong Ramme, which hast batter'd heaven for mee, | 10 | ·····/˘/·· |
| Mild Lambe, which with thy blood, hast mark'd the path; | 10 | ·········· |
| Bright Torch, which shin'st, that I the way may see, | 10 | ·········· |
| Oh, with thy owne blood quench thy owne just wrath, | 10 | ·········· |
| And if thy holy Spirit, my Muse did raise, | 10 | ···/˘/···· |
| Deigne at my hands this crowne of prayer and praise. | 10 | ·········· |
Notes from the edition 3
Herbert Grierson's record of the readings of the early editions and manuscripts, from his Poems of John Donne (Oxford, 1912; Project Gutenberg #48688).
- Line 3 just 1633, A18, D, H49, N, TC: true 1635-69, B, S, S96, W
- Line 8 way.] way, 1633
- Line 10 Lambe, D, W: lambe 1633-69
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