To Mr Tilman after he had taken orders
Thou, whose diviner soule hath caus'd thee nowTo put thy hand unto the holy Plough,Making Lay-scornings of the Ministry,Not an impediment, but victory;What bringst thou home with thee? how is thy mindAffected since the vintage? Dost thou findeNew thoughts and stirrings in thee? and as SteeleToucht with a Loadstone, dost new motions feele?Or, as a Ship after much paine and care,For Iron and Cloth brings home rich Indian ware,Hast thou thus traffiqu'd, but with farre more gaineOf noble goods, and with lesse time and paine?Thou art the same materials, as before,Onely the stampe is changed; but no more.And as new crowned Kings alter the face,But not the monies substance; so hath graceChang'd onely Gods old Image by Creation,To Christs new stampe, at this thy Coronation;Or, as we paint Angels with wings, becauseThey beare Gods message, and proclaime his lawes,Since thou must doe the like, and so must move,Art thou new feather'd with cœlestiall love?Deare, tell me where thy purchase lies, and shewWhat thy advantage is above, below.But if thy gainings doe surmount expression,Why doth the foolish world scorne that profession,Whose joyes passe speech? Why do they think unfitThat Gentry should joyne families with it?As if their day were onely to be spentIn dressing, Mistressing and complement;Alas poore joyes, but poorer men, whose trustSeemes richly placed in sublimed dust;(For, such are cloathes and beauty, which though gay,Are, at the best, but of sublimed clay.)Let then the world thy calling disrespect,But goe thou on, and pitty their neglect.What function is so noble, as to beeEmbassadour to God and destinie?To open life, to give kingdomes to moreThan Kings give dignities; to keepe heavens doore?Maries prerogative was to beare Christ, so'Tis preachers to convey him, for they doeAs Angels out of clouds, from Pulpits speake;And blesse the poore beneath, the lame, the weake.If then th'Astronomers, whereas they spieA new-found Starre, their Opticks magnifie,How brave are those, who with their Engine, canBring man to heaven, and heaven againe to man?These are thy titles and preheminences,In whom must meet Gods graces, mens offences,And so the heavens which beget all things here,And the earth our mother, which these things doth beare,Both these in thee, are in thy Calling knit,And make thee now a blest Hermaphrodite.
Words in this poem
- loadstone n.
- A piece of magnetic iron ore possessing polarity like a magnetic needle. See Magnetite. [Load, lode + stone.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- farre n.
- A young pig, or a litter of pigs. [See Farrow.]
- coronation n.
- The act or solemnity of crowning a sovereign; the act of investing a prince with the insignia of royalty, on his succeeding to the sovereignty. [See Coronate.]
- deare
- variant of Dere, v. t. & n.
- shew n.
- Show. [Obs. except in shewbread.]
- passe a.
- Past; gone by; hence, past one's prime; worn; faded; as, a passée belle. Ld. Lytton. [F.]
- gentry n.
- Birth; condition; rank by birth. [OE. genterie, gentrie, noble birth, nobility, cf. gentrise, and OF. gentelise, genterise, E. gentilesse, also OE. genteleri high-mindedness. See Gent, a., Gentl]
- sublimed a.
- Having been subjected to the process of sublimation; hence, also, purified.
- embassadour n.
- A minister of the highest rank sent a foreign court to represent there his sovereign or country. [See Embassador.]
- whereas adv.
- At which place; where.
- starre n.
- One of the innumerable luminous bodies seen in the heavens; any heavenly body other than the sun, moon, comets, and nebulæ. [OE. sterre, AS. steorra; akin to OFries. stera, OS. sterro, D. ster, OHG. sterno, sterro, G. stern, Icel. stjarna, Sw. stjerna, Dan. stierne, Goth. staírno, Arm]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To Mr Tilman after he had taken orders 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 Tilman after he had taken orders, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/to-mr-tilman-after-he-had-taken-orders.html, id L19936.
Form and metre
To Mr Tilman after he had taken orders is 54 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 78% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%).
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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--BBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJ--KKLLMMNNOOPP----QQRR--SSTTUU-- nowA · ploughA · ministry · victory · mindB · findeB · steeleC · feeleC · careD · wareD · gaineE · paineE · beforeF · moreF · faceG · graceG · creationH · coronationH · becauseI · lawesI · moveJ · loveJ · shew · below · expressionK · professionK · unfitL · itL · spentM · complementM · trustN · dustN · gayO · clayO · disrespectP · neglectP · bee · destinie · more · doore · soQ · doeQ · speakeR · weakeR · spie · magnifie · canS · manS · preheminencesT · offencesT · hereU · beareU · knit · hermaphrodite
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Thou, whose diviner soule hath caus'd thee now | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| To put thy hand unto the holy Plough, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Making Lay-scornings of the Ministry, | 10 | /˘·····/˘˘ |
| Not an impediment, but victory; | 10 | ··˘/˘˘·/˘˘ |
| What bringst thou home with thee? how is thy mind | 10 | ·········· |
| Affected since the vintage? Dost thou finde | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘··· |
| New thoughts and stirrings in thee? and as Steele | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Toucht with a Loadstone, dost new motions feele? | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| Or, as a Ship after much paine and care, | 10 | ·········· |
| For Iron and Cloth brings home rich Indian ware, | 10 | ·/·····/˘· |
| Hast thou thus traffiqu'd, but with farre more gaine | 11 | ··········· |
| Of noble goods, and with lesse time and paine? | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Thou art the same materials, as before, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Onely the stampe is changed; but no more. | 10 | /˘····˘··· |
| And as new crowned Kings alter the face, | 10 | ····˘·/˘·· |
| But not the monies substance; so hath grace | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Chang'd onely Gods old Image by Creation, | 11 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/˘ |
| To Christs new stampe, at this thy Coronation; | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| Or, as we paint Angels with wings, because | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| They beare Gods message, and proclaime his lawes, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Since thou must doe the like, and so must move, | 10 | ·········· |
| Art thou new feather'd with cœlestiall love? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Deare, tell me where thy purchase lies, and shew | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| What thy advantage is above, below. | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| But if thy gainings doe surmount expression, | 11 | ···/˘·˘/˘/˘ |
| Why doth the foolish world scorne that profession, | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| Whose joyes passe speech? Why do they think unfit | 11 | ···/·····˘/ |
| That Gentry should joyne families with it? | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘·· |
| As if their day were onely to be spent | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| In dressing, Mistressing and complement; | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘·/˘˘ |
| Alas poore joyes, but poorer men, whose trust | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| Seemes richly placed in sublimed dust; | 10 | ·/˘·˘·˘/˘· |
| (For, such are cloathes and beauty, which though gay, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Are, at the best, but of sublimed clay.) | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Let then the world thy calling disrespect, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| But goe thou on, and pitty their neglect. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| What function is so noble, as to bee | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Embassadour to God and destinie? | 10 | ·········· |
| To open life, to give kingdomes to more | 10 | ·/˘···/˘·· |
| Than Kings give dignities; to keepe heavens doore? | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Maries prerogative was to beare Christ, so | 10 | /˘˘/˘····· |
| 'Tis preachers to convey him, for they doe | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| As Angels out of clouds, from Pulpits speake; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And blesse the poore beneath, the lame, the weake. | 10 | ·········· |
| If then th'Astronomers, whereas they spie | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| A new-found Starre, their Opticks magnifie, | 10 | ·········· |
| How brave are those, who with their Engine, can | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Bring man to heaven, and heaven againe to man? | 10 | ···/·/···· |
| These are thy titles and preheminences, | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| In whom must meet Gods graces, mens offences, | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| And so the heavens which beget all things here, | 11 | ···/˘·˘/··· |
| And the earth our mother, which these things doth beare, | 11 | ···//˘····· |
| Both these in thee, are in thy Calling knit, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And make thee now a blest Hermaphrodite. | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
Notes from the edition 2
Herbert Grierson's record of the readings of the early editions and manuscripts, from his Poems of John Donne (Oxford, 1912; Project Gutenberg #48688).
- Line 18 Christs] Chists 1635
- Line 52 beare, 1650-69: beare 1635-39
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.