Begun in France but never perfected
Though I be dead, and buried, yet I have(Living in you,) Court enough in my grave,As oft as there I thinke my selfe to bee,So many resurrections waken mee.That thankfullnesse your favours have begotIn mee, embalmes mee, that I doe not rot.This season as 'tis Easter, as 'tis spring,Must both to growth and to confession bringMy thoughts dispos'd unto your influence; so,These verses bud, so these confessions grow.First I confesse I have to others lentYour flock, and over prodigally spentYour treasure, for since I had never knowneVertue or beautie, but as they are growneIn you, I should not thinke or say they shine,(So as I have) in any other Mine.Next I confesse this my confession,For, 'tis some fault thus much to touch uponYour praise to you, where half rights seeme too much,And make your minds sincere complexion blush.Next I confesse my'impenitence, for ICan scarce repent my first fault, since therebyRemote low Spirits, which shall ne'r read you,May in lesse lessons finde enough to doe,By studying copies, not Originals,Desunt cætera.
Words in this poem
- waken v. i.
- To wake; to cease to sleep; to be awakened. [OE. waknen, AS. wæcnan; akin to Goth. gawaknan. See Wake, v. i.]
- prodigally adv.
- In a prodigal manner; with profusion of expense; extravagantly; wasteful; profusely; lavishly; as, an estate prodigally dissipated.
- complexion n.
- The state of being complex; complexity. [F. complexion, fr. L. complexio. See Complex, a.]
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- repent a.
- Prostrate and rooting; -- said of stems. Gray. [L. repens, -entis, creeping, p. pr. of repere to creep.]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Begun in France but never perfected 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, Begun in France but never perfected, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/begun-in-france-but-never-perfected.html, id L19914.
Form and metre
Begun in France but never perfected is 26 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 69% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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--CCDDEEFFGGGG--HH-D-- haveA · graveA · beeB · meeB · begot · rot · springC · bringC · soD · growD · lentE · spentE · knowneF · growneF · shineG · mineG · confessionG · uponG · much · blush · iH · therebyH · you · doeD · originals · cætera
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Though I be dead, and buried, yet I have | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| (Living in you,) Court enough in my grave, | 10 | /˘···˘/··· |
| As oft as there I thinke my selfe to bee, | 10 | ·········· |
| So many resurrections waken mee. | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘/˘· |
| That thankfullnesse your favours have begot | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| In mee, embalmes mee, that I doe not rot. | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| This season as 'tis Easter, as 'tis spring, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Must both to growth and to confession bring | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| My thoughts dispos'd unto your influence; so, | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| These verses bud, so these confessions grow. | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| First I confesse I have to others lent | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Your flock, and over prodigally spent | 10 | ·····/˘˘˘· |
| Your treasure, for since I had never knowne | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Vertue or beautie, but as they are growne | 10 | ·········· |
| In you, I should not thinke or say they shine, | 10 | ·········· |
| (So as I have) in any other Mine. | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Next I confesse this my confession, | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| For, 'tis some fault thus much to touch upon | 10 | ·········· |
| Your praise to you, where half rights seeme too much, | 10 | ·········· |
| And make your minds sincere complexion blush. | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘· |
| Next I confesse my'impenitence, for I | 10 | ·········· |
| Can scarce repent my first fault, since thereby | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Remote low Spirits, which shall ne'r read you, | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| May in lesse lessons finde enough to doe, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| By studying copies, not Originals, | 11 | ·/˘˘/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| Desunt cætera. | 5 | ····· |
Notes from the edition 6
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 5 begot] forgot 1633 some copies
- Line 9 influence; Ed: influence, 1633-69
- Line 10 grow. Ed: grow; 1633-69
- Line 14 or 1633-39: and 1650-69
- Line 16 Mine. Ed: Mine; 1633-69
- Line 18 upon Ed: upon, 1633-69
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.