The triple Foole
I am two fooles, I know,For loving, and for saying soIn whining Poëtry;But where's that wiseman, that would not be I,If she would not deny?Then as th'earths inward narrow crooked lanesDo purge sea waters fretfull salt away,I thought, if I could draw my paines,Through Rimes vexation, I should them allay,Griefe brought to numbers cannot be so fierce,For, he tames it, that fetters it in verse.
But when I have done so,Some man, his art and voice to show,Doth Set and sing my paine,And, by delighting many, frees againeGriefe, which verse did restraine.To Love, and Griefe tribute of Verse belongs,But not of such as pleases when'tis read,Both are increased by such songs:For both their triumphs so are published,And I, which was two fooles, do so grow three;Who are a little wise, the best fooles bee.
Words in this poem
- fretfull a.
- Disposed to fret; ill-humored; peevish; angry; in a state of vexation; as, a fretful temper. [See 2d Fret.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The triple Foole 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, The triple Foole, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/the-triple-foole.html, id L19843.
Form and metre
The triple Foole is 22 lines in 2 stanzas of 11 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
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 AA-BBCDCD-- knowA · soA · poëtry · iB · denyB · lanesC · awayD · painesC · allayD · fierce · verse
- 2 AABBBC-C-DD soA · showA · paineB · againeB · restraineB · belongsC · read · songsC · published · threeD · beeD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I am two fooles, I know, | 6 | ······ |
| For loving, and for saying so | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| In whining Poëtry; | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| But where's that wiseman, that would not be I, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| If she would not deny? | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Then as th'earths inward narrow crooked lanes | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Do purge sea waters fretfull salt away, | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| I thought, if I could draw my paines, | 8 | ········ |
| Through Rimes vexation, I should them allay, | 10 | ··˘/˘···˘/ |
| Griefe brought to numbers cannot be so fierce, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| For, he tames it, that fetters it in verse. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| But when I have done so, | 6 | ······ |
| Some man, his art and voice to show, | 8 | ········ |
| Doth Set and sing my paine, | 6 | ······ |
| And, by delighting many, frees againe | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| Griefe, which verse did restraine. | 6 | ······ |
| To Love, and Griefe tribute of Verse belongs, | 10 | ····/˘··˘/ |
| But not of such as pleases when'tis read, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Both are increased by such songs: | 7 | ··˘/··· |
| For both their triumphs so are published, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| And I, which was two fooles, do so grow three; | 10 | ·········· |
| Who are a little wise, the best fooles bee. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
Notes from the edition 5
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 5 If he should not deny? P
- Stanza 1, line 9 allay, 1633-39: allay. 1650-69, Chambers
- Stanza 1, line 10 numbers] number 1669
- Stanza 1, line 11 For, he tames it] He tames it much B
- Stanza 2, line 2 and] or 1669
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