Loves diet
To what a combersome unwieldinesseAnd burdenous corpulence my love had growne,But that I did, to make it lesse,And keepe it in proportion,Give it a diet, made it feed uponThat which love worst endures, discretion.
Above one sigh a day I'allow'd him not,Of which my fortune, and my faults had part;And if sometimes by stealth he gotA she sigh from my mistresse heart,And thought to feast on that, I let him see'Twas neither very sound, nor meant to mee.
If he wroung from mee'a teare, I brin'd it soWith scorne or shame, that him it nourish'd not;If he suck'd hers, I let him know'Twas not a teare, which hee had got,His drinke was counterfeit, as was his meat;For, eyes which rowle towards all, weepe not, but sweat.
What ever he would dictate, I writ that,But burnt my letters; When she writ to me,And that that favour made him fat,I said, if any title beeConvey'd by this, Ah, what doth it availe,To be the fortieth name in an entaile?
Thus I reclaim'd my buzard love, to flyeAt what, and when, and how, and where I chuse;Now negligent of sport I lye,And now as other Fawkners use,I spring a mistresse, sweare, write, sigh and weepe:And the game kill'd, or lost, goe talke, and sleepe.
Words in this poem
- corpulence n.
- Excessive fatness; fleshiness; obesity. [L. corpulentia: cf. F. corpulence.]
- discretion n.
- Disjunction; separation. Mede. [F. discrétion, L. discretio separation, difference, discernment, fr. discernere, discretum. See Discreet, Discern.]
- stealth n.
- The act of stealing; theft. [OE. staple. See Steal, v. t.]
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- fortieth a.
- Following the thirty-ninth, or preceded by thirty-nine units, things, or parts. [AS. feówertigo. See Forty.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Loves diet 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, Loves diet, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/loves-diet.html, id L19867.
Form and metre
Loves diet is 30 lines in 5 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCC, complete in 4 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%).
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 A-ABBB unwieldinesseA · growne · lesseA · proportionB · uponB · discretionB
- 2 ABABCC notA · partB · gotA · heartB · seeC · meeC
- 3 ABABCC soA · notB · knowA · gotB · meatC · sweatC
- 4 ABABCC thatA · meB · fatA · beeB · availeC · entaileC
- 5 ABABCC flyeA · chuseB · lyeA · useB · weepeC · sleepeC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| To what a combersome unwieldinesse | 10 | ·········· |
| And burdenous corpulence my love had growne, | 11 | ·/˘˘······· |
| But that I did, to make it lesse, | 8 | ········ |
| And keepe it in proportion, | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Give it a diet, made it feed upon | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| That which love worst endures, discretion. | 9 | ····˘/˘/˘ |
| Above one sigh a day I'allow'd him not, | 10 | ·········· |
| Of which my fortune, and my faults had part; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And if sometimes by stealth he got | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| A she sigh from my mistresse heart, | 8 | ········ |
| And thought to feast on that, I let him see | 10 | ·········· |
| 'Twas neither very sound, nor meant to mee. | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| If he wroung from mee'a teare, I brin'd it so | 10 | ·········· |
| With scorne or shame, that him it nourish'd not; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| If he suck'd hers, I let him know | 8 | ········ |
| 'Twas not a teare, which hee had got, | 8 | ········ |
| His drinke was counterfeit, as was his meat; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| For, eyes which rowle towards all, weepe not, but sweat. | 11 | ··········· |
| What ever he would dictate, I writ that, | 10 | ·/˘··/···· |
| But burnt my letters; When she writ to me, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And that that favour made him fat, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I said, if any title bee | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Convey'd by this, Ah, what doth it availe, | 11 | ˘/········· |
| To be the fortieth name in an entaile? | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| Thus I reclaim'd my buzard love, to flye | 10 | ··˘/·˘/··· |
| At what, and when, and how, and where I chuse; | 10 | ·········· |
| Now negligent of sport I lye, | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| And now as other Fawkners use, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I spring a mistresse, sweare, write, sigh and weepe: | 10 | ·········· |
| And the game kill'd, or lost, goe talke, and sleepe. | 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 2, line 6 mee. Ed: mee; 1633-35: mee: 1639-69
- Stanza 3, line 6 For,] Her 1669
- Stanza 4, line 2 But burnt my letters; When she writ to me, 1633: But burnt her letters when she writ to me, 1635: But burnt her letters when she writ to me; 1639-54, Chambers: But burnt my letters which she writ to me; 1669
- Stanza 4, line 3 that that 1633: if that 1635-69. See note
- Stanza 4, line 6 name] man 1669
- Stanza 5, line 1 reclaim'd 1635-69, A18, A25, B, D, H40, H49, L74, N, O'F, S, TCC: redeem'd 1633, Lec
- Stanza 5, line 2 chuse] chose 1669
- Stanza 5, line 3 sport 1635-69, A18, B, D, H40, H49, L74, Lec, S, S96, TCC: sports, 1633
- Stanza 5, line 6 and 1633 and most MSS.: or 1635-69, Cy, O'F, S
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