To Mr R. W
Zealously my Muse doth salute all thee,Enquiring of that mistique triniteeWhereof thou,'and all to whom heavens do infuseLike fyer, are made; thy body, mind, and Muse.Dost thou recover sicknes, or prevent?Or is thy Mind travail'd with discontent?Or art thou parted from the world and mee,In a good skorn of the worlds vanitee?Or is thy devout Muse retyr'd to singVpon her tender Elegiaque string?Our Minds part not, joyne then thy Muse with myne,For myne is barren thus devorc'd from thyne.
Mvse not that by thy mind thy body is led:For by thy mind, my mind's distempered.So thy Care lives long, for I bearing partIt eates not only thyne, but my swolne hart.And when it gives us intermissionWe take new harts for it to feede upon.But as a Lay Mans Genius doth controuleBody and mind; the Muse beeing the Soules SouleOf Poets, that methinks should ease our anguish,Although our bodyes wither and minds languish.Wright then, that my griefes which thine got may beeCured by thy charming soveraigne melodee.
Words in this poem
- whereof adv.
- Of which; of whom; formerly, also, with which; -- used relatively.
- methinks v.
- It seems to me; I think. See Me. [AS. þyncan to seem, me þynceedh, me þuhte, OE. me thinketh, me thoughte; akin to G. dünken to seem, denken to think, and E. think. See Me, and Think.]
- languish v. i.
- To cause to dr Shak.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To Mr R. W 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 R. W, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/to-mr-r-w.html, id L04971.
Form and metre
To Mr R. W is 24 lines in 2 stanzas of 12 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 77%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 33% 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 ABCCDDABEEFF theeA · triniteeB · infuseC · museC · preventD · discontentD · meeA · vaniteeB · singE · stringE · myneF · thyneF
- 2 AABBCCDDEEFF ledA · distemperedA · partB · hartB · intermissionC · uponC · controuleD · souleD · anguishE · languishE · beeF · melodeeF
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Zealously my Muse doth salute all thee, | 10 | /˘˘···˘/·· |
| Enquiring of that mistique trinitee | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| Whereof thou,'and all to whom heavens do infuse | 12 | ·······/˘·˘/ |
| Like fyer, are made; thy body, mind, and Muse. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Dost thou recover sicknes, or prevent? | 9 | ··˘/˘··˘/ |
| Or is thy Mind travail'd with discontent? | 10 | ·······˘˘/ |
| Or art thou parted from the world and mee, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| In a good skorn of the worlds vanitee? | 10 | ·········· |
| Or is thy devout Muse retyr'd to sing | 10 | ···˘/····· |
| Vpon her tender Elegiaque string? | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Our Minds part not, joyne then thy Muse with myne, | 10 | /········· |
| For myne is barren thus devorc'd from thyne. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Mvse not that by thy mind thy body is led: | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| For by thy mind, my mind's distempered. | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
| So thy Care lives long, for I bearing part | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| It eates not only thyne, but my swolne hart. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And when it gives us intermission | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| We take new harts for it to feede upon. | 10 | ·········· |
| But as a Lay Mans Genius doth controule | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| Body and mind; the Muse beeing the Soules Soule | 10 | /˘········ |
| Of Poets, that methinks should ease our anguish, | 11 | ·/˘·˘/··//˘ |
| Although our bodyes wither and minds languish. | 11 | ··//˘/˘··/˘ |
| Wright then, that my griefes which thine got may bee | 10 | ·········· |
| Cured by thy charming soveraigne melodee. | 11 | ···/˘······ |
Notes from the edition 1
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 1 thee,] thee W
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