Elegie VII
Natures lay Ideot, I taught thee to love,And in that sophistrie, Oh, thou dost proveToo subtile: Foole, thou didst not understandThe mystique language of the eye nor hand:Nor couldst thou judge the difference of the aireOf sighes, and say, this lies, this sounds despaire:Nor by the'eyes water call a maladieDesperately hot, or changing feaverously.I had not taught thee then, the AlphabetOf flowers, how they devisefully being setAnd bound up, might with speechlesse secrecieDeliver arrands mutely, and mutually.Remember since all thy words us'd to beeTo every suitor; I, if my friends agree;Since, household charmes, thy husbands name to teach,Were all the love trickes, that thy wit could reach;And since, an houres discourse could scarce have madeOne answer in thee, and that ill arraidIn broken proverbs, and torne sentences.Thou art not by so many duties his,That from the worlds Common having sever'd thee,Inlaid thee, neither to be seene, nor see,As mine: who have with amorous delicaciesRefin'd thee'into a blis-full Paradise.Thy graces and good words my creatures bee;I planted knowledge and lifes tree in thee,Which Oh, shall strangers taste? Must I alasFrame and enamell Plate, and drinke in Glasse?Chafe waxe for others seales? breake a colts forceAnd leave him then, beeing made a ready horse?
Words in this poem
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- desperately adv.
- In a desperate manner; without regard to danger or safety; recklessly; extremely; as, the troops fought desperately.
- mutely adv.
- Without uttering words or sounds; in a mute manner; silently.
- suitor n.
- One who sues, petitions, or entreats; a petitioner; an applicant.
- 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]
- 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,]
- enamell n.
- A variety of glass, used in ornament, to cover a surface, as of metal or pottery, and admitting of after decoration in color, or used itself for inlaying or application in varied colors. [Pref. en- + amel. See Amel, Smelt, v. t.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Elegie VII 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, Elegie VII, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/elegie-vii.html, id L04925.
Form and metre
Elegie VII is 30 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 80% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 43% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 AABBCCD-EED-FFGGHHIIFFI-FFJJKK loveA · proveA · understandB · handB · aireC · despaireC · maladieD · feaverously · alphabetE · setE · secrecieD · mutually · beeF · agreeF · teachG · reachG · madeH · arraidH · sentencesI · hisI · theeF · seeF · delicaciesI · paradise · beeF · theeF · alasJ · glasseJ · forceK · horseK
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Natures lay Ideot, I taught thee to love, | 10 | /˘········ |
| And in that sophistrie, Oh, thou dost prove | 10 | ·········· |
| Too subtile: Foole, thou didst not understand | 11 | ·/˘······˘/ |
| The mystique language of the eye nor hand: | 10 | ·˘//˘····· |
| Nor couldst thou judge the difference of the aire | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Of sighes, and say, this lies, this sounds despaire: | 10 | ·········· |
| Nor by the'eyes water call a maladie | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Desperately hot, or changing feaverously. | 10 | /˘··/˘···· |
| I had not taught thee then, the Alphabet | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Of flowers, how they devisefully being set | 11 | ·/·······/· |
| And bound up, might with speechlesse secrecie | 10 | ·········· |
| Deliver arrands mutely, and mutually. | 11 | ˘/˘··/˘·/˘˘ |
| Remember since all thy words us'd to bee | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| To every suitor; I, if my friends agree; | 11 | ·/˘/˘····˘/ |
| Since, household charmes, thy husbands name to teach, | 10 | ·/···/˘··· |
| Were all the love trickes, that thy wit could reach; | 10 | ·········· |
| And since, an houres discourse could scarce have made | 10 | ···//˘···· |
| One answer in thee, and that ill arraid | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| In broken proverbs, and torne sentences. | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘˘ |
| Thou art not by so many duties his, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| That from the worlds Common having sever'd thee, | 11 | ····/˘/˘/˘· |
| Inlaid thee, neither to be seene, nor see, | 10 | /··/˘····· |
| As mine: who have with amorous delicacies | 11 | ·····/˘/˘˘˘ |
| Refin'd thee'into a blis-full Paradise. | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| Thy graces and good words my creatures bee; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| I planted knowledge and lifes tree in thee, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Which Oh, shall strangers taste? Must I alas | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Frame and enamell Plate, and drinke in Glasse? | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Chafe waxe for others seales? breake a colts force | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And leave him then, beeing made a ready horse? | 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).
- Line 2 Oh, ... prove] Oh, how ... prove 1669
- Line 6 despaire: 1635-69: despaire. 1633
- Line 7 call 1633, A18, A25, B, Cy, D, H49, JC, Lec, M, N, O'F (corrected from know), P, TC, W: know 1635-69: cast S, Chambers and Grosart
- Line 10 they devisefully being set] their devise in being set Cy, P
- Line 12 arrands 1633: errands 1635-69: meet errands B
- Line 14 agree; Ed: agree. 1633-69
- Line 21 That ... nor see,] in brackets 1669
- Line 24 Paradise] paradise 1633
- Line 26 thee, 1633: thee: 1635-69
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