To Mr T. W
All haile sweet Poët, more full of more strong fire,Then hath or shall enkindle any spirit,I lov'd what nature gave thee, but this meritOf wit and Art I love not but admire;Who have before or shall write after thee,Their workes, though toughly laboured, will beeLike infancie or age to mans firme stay,Or earely and late twilights to mid-day.
Men say, and truly, that they better beWhich be envyed then pittied: therefore I,Because I wish thee best, doe thee envie:O wouldst thou, by like reason, pitty mee!But care not for mee: I, that ever wasIn Natures, and in Fortunes gifts, alas,(Before thy grace got in the Muses SchooleA monster and a begger,) am now a foole.
Oh how I grieve, that late borne modestyHath got such root in easie waxen hearts,That men may not themselves, their owne good partsExtoll, without suspect of surquedrie,For, but thy selfe, no subject can be foundWorthy thy quill, nor any quill resoundThy worth but thine: how good it were to seeA Poëm in thy praise, and writ by thee.
Now if this song be too'harsh for rime, yet, asThe Painters bad god made a good devill,'Twill be good prose, although the verse be evill,If thou forget the rime as thou dost passe.Then write, that I may follow, and so beeThy debter, thy'eccho, thy foyle, thy zanee.I shall be thought, if mine like thine I shape,All the worlds Lyon, though I be thy Ape.
In Natures, and in Fortunes gifts, alas,(Before ... and a begger,)
In Natures, and in fortunes gifts, (alas,Before thy grace got in the Muses Schoole)A monster and a begger,
1633 (some copies: others read 15 Before by thy gracehave no brackets):
In Natures, and in fortunes gifts, alas,(But for thy grace got in the Muses Schoole)A Monster and a beggar,
But by thy grace, &c.
Words in this poem
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- enkindle v. t.
- To set on fire; to inflame; to kindle.
- admire v. t.
- To regard with wonder or astonishment; to view with surprise; to marvel at. [F. admirer, fr. L. admirari; ad + mirari to wonder, for smirari, akin to Gr. smi, and E. smile.]
- toughly adv.
- In a tough manner.
- laboured a.
- Bearing marks of labor and effort; elaborately wrought; not easy or natural; as, labored poetry; a labored style.
- envie v. i.
- To vie; to emulate; to strive. [See Vie.]
- extoll v. t.
- To place on high; to lift up; to elevate. [L. extollere; ex out + tollere to lift, take up, or raise: cf. OF. extoller. See Tollerate, and cf. Flate.]
- rime n.
- A rent or long aperture; a chink; a fissure; a crack. Sir T. [L. rima.]
- devill n.
- The Evil One; Satan, represented as the tempter and spiritual of mankind. [AS. deófol, deóful; akin to G. , Goth. diabaúlus; all fr. L. diabolus the devil, Gr. gal to fall. Cf. Diabolic.]
- passe a.
- Past; gone by; hence, past one's prime; worn; faded; as, a passée belle. Ld. Lytton. [F.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To Mr T. 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 T. W, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/to-mr-t-w.html, id L04968.
Form and metre
To Mr T. W is 43 lines in 9 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.8 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 30% 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 A--ABBCC fireA · spirit · merit · admireA · theeB · beeB · stayC · dayC
- 2 AA-A--BB beA · iA · envie · meeA · was · alas · schooleB · fooleB
- 3 -AA-BBCC modesty · heartsA · partsA · surquedrie · foundB · resoundB · seeC · theeC
- 4 ----AABB as · devill · evill · passe · beeA · zaneeA · shapeB · apeB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| All haile sweet Poët, more full of more strong fire, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Then hath or shall enkindle any spirit, | 11 | ····˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| I lov'd what nature gave thee, but this merit | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Of wit and Art I love not but admire; | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Who have before or shall write after thee, | 10 | ·········· |
| Their workes, though toughly laboured, will bee | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘·· |
| Like infancie or age to mans firme stay, | 10 | ·········· |
| Or earely and late twilights to mid-day. | 11 | ······/···· |
| Men say, and truly, that they better be | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Which be envyed then pittied: therefore I, | 10 | ··/˘˘····· |
| Because I wish thee best, doe thee envie: | 10 | ········˘/ |
| O wouldst thou, by like reason, pitty mee! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| But care not for mee: I, that ever was | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| In Natures, and in Fortunes gifts, alas, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| (Before thy grace got in the Muses Schoole | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| A monster and a begger,) am now a foole. | 12 | ·/˘········· |
| Oh how I grieve, that late borne modesty | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Hath got such root in easie waxen hearts, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| That men may not themselves, their owne good parts | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Extoll, without suspect of surquedrie, | 10 | ˘/··˘/···· |
| For, but thy selfe, no subject can be found | 10 | ·····˘/··· |
| Worthy thy quill, nor any quill resound | 10 | /˘···/˘··/ |
| Thy worth but thine: how good it were to see | 10 | ·········· |
| A Poëm in thy praise, and writ by thee. | 9 | ········· |
| Now if this song be too'harsh for rime, yet, as | 11 | ··········· |
| The Painters bad god made a good devill, | 10 | ·/˘·····/˘ |
| 'Twill be good prose, although the verse be evill, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| If thou forget the rime as thou dost passe. | 11 | ··˘/······/ |
| Then write, that I may follow, and so bee | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Thy debter, thy'eccho, thy foyle, thy zanee. | 10 | ·········· |
| I shall be thought, if mine like thine I shape, | 10 | ·········· |
| All the worlds Lyon, though I be thy Ape. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| In Natures, and in Fortunes gifts, alas, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| (Before ... and a begger,) | 6 | ······ |
| In Natures, and in fortunes gifts, (alas, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Before thy grace got in the Muses Schoole) | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| A monster and a begger, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| 1633 (some copies: others read 15 Before by thy grace | 11 | ·/˘/˘······ |
| have no brackets): | 4 | ··/˘ |
| In Natures, and in fortunes gifts, alas, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| (But for thy grace got in the Muses Schoole) | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| A Monster and a beggar, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| But by thy grace, &c. | 5 | ····· |
Notes from the edition 10
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 more full] and full 1669
- Stanza 1, line 2 any spirit, 1633, A18, Cy, N, P, TC, W: my dull spirit, 1635-69, B, O'F, S
- Stanza 1, line 3 this merit 1633, A18, Cy, N, P, S, TC, W: thy merit 1635-69, B, O'F, Chambers
- Stanza 2, line 3 thee ... thee] the ... the 1669
- Stanza 2, line 8 am now a foole. Cy, O'F, P, S, S96, W: am a foole. 1633-69, A18, B, N, TC
- Stanza 3, line 7 worth 1669, B, Cy, O'F, P, S, S96, W: worke 1633-54, A18, N, TC
- Stanza 4, line 3 evill, W: evill. 1633-69, Chambers
- Stanza 4, line 4 passe. W: passe, 1633-69, Chambers
- Stanza 4, line 5 that I 1669, B, Cy, N, O'F, P, S, W: then I 1633-54, A18, N, TC
- Stanza 4, line 7 if ... shape] brackets 1635-69
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