The undertaking
I have done one braver thingThen all the Worthies did,And yet a braver thence doth spring,Which is, to keepe that hid.
It were but madnes now t'impartThe skill of specular stone,When he which can have learn'd the artTo cut it, can finde none.
So, if I now should utter this,Others (because no moreSuch stuffe to worke upon, there is,)Would love but as before.
But he who lovelinesse withinHath found, all outward loathes,For he who colour loves, and skinne,Loves but their oldest clothes.
If, as I have, you also doeVertue'attir'd in woman see,And dare love that, and say so too,And forget the Hee and Shee;
And if this love, though placed so,From prophane men you hide,Which will no faith on this bestow,Or, if they doe, deride:
Then you have done a braver thingThen all the Worthies did;And a braver thence will spring,Which is, to keepe that hid.
Words in this poem
- specular a.
- Having the qualities of a speculum, or mirror; having a smooth, reflecting surface; as, a specular metal; a specular surface. [L. specularis (cf., from the same root, specula a lookout, watchtower): cf. F. spéculaire. See Speculum.]
- skinne n.
- The external membranous integument of an animal. [Icel. skinn; akin to Sw. skinn, Dan. skind, AS. scinn, G. schined to skin.]
- deride v. t.
- To laugh at with contempt; to laugh to scorn; to turn to ridicule or make sport of; to mock; to scoff at. [L. deridere, derisum; de- + rid to laugh. See Ridicule.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The undertaking 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 undertaking, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/the-undertaking.html, id L19840.
Form and metre
The undertaking is 28 lines in 7 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 6 of its 7 stanzas. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
See other poems in common measure.
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 ABAB thingA · didB · springA · hidB
- 2 ABAB t'impartA · stoneB · artA · noneB
- 3 ABAB thisA · moreB · isA · beforeB
- 4 ABAB withinA · loathesB · skinneA · clothesB
- 5 -A-A doe · seeA · too · sheeA
- 6 ABAB soA · hideB · bestowA · derideB
- 7 ABAB thingA · didB · springA · hidB
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I have done one braver thing | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Then all the Worthies did, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And yet a braver thence doth spring, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Which is, to keepe that hid. | 6 | ······ |
| It were but madnes now t'impart | 7 | ······· |
| The skill of specular stone, | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| When he which can have learn'd the art | 8 | ········ |
| To cut it, can finde none. | 6 | ······ |
| So, if I now should utter this, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Others (because no more | 6 | /˘···· |
| Such stuffe to worke upon, there is,) | 8 | ········ |
| Would love but as before. | 6 | ······ |
| But he who lovelinesse within | 9 | ········· |
| Hath found, all outward loathes, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| For he who colour loves, and skinne, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Loves but their oldest clothes. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| If, as I have, you also doe | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Vertue'attir'd in woman see, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And dare love that, and say so too, | 8 | ········ |
| And forget the Hee and Shee; | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| And if this love, though placed so, | 7 | ······· |
| From prophane men you hide, | 6 | ·˘/··· |
| Which will no faith on this bestow, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Or, if they doe, deride: | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Then you have done a braver thing | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Then all the Worthies did; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And a braver thence will spring, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Which is, to keepe that hid. | 6 | ······ |
Notes from the edition 7
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 2 Worthies] worthies 1633
- Stanza 1, line 3 And yet] Yet B, D, H49, Lec
- Stanza 2, line 3 art ... it, 1669: art, ... it 1633-54
- Stanza 4, line 4 their] her B
- Stanza 5, line 2 Vertue'attir'd in 1633, A18, B, D, H40, H49, JC, Lec, N, S, TC: Vertue in 1635-69, O'F, Chambers
- Stanza 7, line 2 did; Ed: did. 1633-39: did, 1650-69
- Stanza 7, line 3 spring,] spring 1633-39
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