To Mr B. B
Is not thy sacred hunger of scienceYet satisfy'd? Is not thy braines rich hiveFulfil'd with hony which thou dost deriveFrom the Arts spirits and their Quintessence?Then weane thy selfe at last, and thee withdrawFrom Cambridge thy old nurse, and, as the rest,Here toughly chew, and sturdily digestTh'immense vast volumes of our common law;And begin soone, lest my griefe grieve thee too,Which is, that that which I should have begunIn my youthes morning, now late must be done;And I as Giddy Travellers must doe,Which stray or sleepe all day, and having lostLight and strength, darke and tir'd must then ride post.
If thou unto thy Muse be marryed,Embrace her ever, ever multiply,Be far from me that strange AdulterieTo tempt thee and procure her widowhed.My Muse, (for I had one,) because I'am cold,Divorc'd her selfe: the cause being in me,That I can take no new in Bigamye,Not my will only but power doth withhold.Hence comes it, that these Rymes which never hadMother, want matter, and they only haveA little forme, the which their Father gave;They are prophane, imperfect, oh, too badTo be counted Children of PoetryExcept confirm'd and Bishoped by thee.
Words in this poem
- derive v. t.
- To turn the course of, as water; to divert and distribute into subordinate channels; to diffuse; to communicate; to transmit; -- followed by to, into, on, upon. [F. dériver, L. derivare; de- + rivus stream, brook. See Rival.]
- quintessence n.
- The fifth or last and highest essence or power in a natural body. [F., fr. L. quinta essentia fifth essence. See Quint, and Essence.]
- toughly adv.
- In a tough manner.
- sturdily adv.
- In a sturdy manner.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To Mr B. B 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, To Mr B. B, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/to-mr-b-b.html, id L04977.
Form and metre
To Mr B. B is 28 lines in 2 stanzas of 14 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%). 86% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 5 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 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-BCCB-DD--- science · hiveA · deriveA · quintessence · withdrawB · restC · digestC · lawB · too · begunD · doneD · doe · lost · post
- 2 -A--BA-BCDDC-A marryed · multiplyA · adulterie · widowhed · coldB · meA · bigamye · withholdB · hadC · haveD · gaveD · badC · poetry · theeA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Is not thy sacred hunger of science | 10 | ···/˘/˘·/˘ |
| Yet satisfy'd? Is not thy braines rich hive | 10 | ·········· |
| Fulfil'd with hony which thou dost derive | 10 | ········˘/ |
| From the Arts spirits and their Quintessence? | 10 | ···/˘··˘/˘ |
| Then weane thy selfe at last, and thee withdraw | 10 | ········˘/ |
| From Cambridge thy old nurse, and, as the rest, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Here toughly chew, and sturdily digest | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘˘/ |
| Th'immense vast volumes of our common law; | 10 | ···/˘·//˘· |
| And begin soone, lest my griefe grieve thee too, | 10 | ·˘/······· |
| Which is, that that which I should have begun | 10 | ········˘/ |
| In my youthes morning, now late must be done; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And I as Giddy Travellers must doe, | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘·· |
| Which stray or sleepe all day, and having lost | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Light and strength, darke and tir'd must then ride post. | 10 | ·····/···· |
| If thou unto thy Muse be marryed, | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Embrace her ever, ever multiply, | 10 | ˘/·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Be far from me that strange Adulterie | 10 | ·········· |
| To tempt thee and procure her widowhed. | 10 | ····˘/···˘ |
| My Muse, (for I had one,) because I'am cold, | 10 | ·········· |
| Divorc'd her selfe: the cause being in me, | 10 | ˘/····/˘·· |
| That I can take no new in Bigamye, | 10 | ·········· |
| Not my will only but power doth withhold. | 10 | ···/˘·/·˘/ |
| Hence comes it, that these Rymes which never had | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Mother, want matter, and they only have | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| A little forme, the which their Father gave; | 11 | ·/˘/˘···/˘· |
| They are prophane, imperfect, oh, too bad | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| To be counted Children of Poetry | 10 | ··/˘/˘·/˘˘ |
| Except confirm'd and Bishoped by thee. | 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 12 I ... Travellers 1650-69: I, ... Travellers, 1633-39
- Stanza 1, line 13 stray] stay W: compare Sat. III. 78
- Stanza 2, line 2 ever, ever multiply, 1633-69, A18, N, O'F, TC: still: encrease and multiply; W
- Stanza 2, line 4 widowhed. W: widdowhood, 1633-39: widdowhood; 1650-69
- Stanza 2, line 5 Muse, A18, N, O'F, TC, W: nurse, 1633-69
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