To Mrs M. H
Mad paper stay, and grudge not here to burneWith all those sonnes whom my braine did create,At lest lye hid with mee, till thou returneTo rags againe, which is thy native state.
What though thou have enough unworthinesseTo come unto great place as others doe,That's much; emboldens, pulls, thrusts I confesse,But'tis not all; Thou should'st be wicked too.
And, that thou canst not learne, or not of mee;Yet thou wilt goe? Goe, since thou goest to herWho lacks but faults to be a Prince, for shee,Truth, whom they dare not pardon, dares preferre.
But when thou com'st to that perplexing eyeWhich equally claimes love and reverence,Thou wilt not long dispute it, thou wilt die;And, having little now, have then no sense.
Yet when her warme redeeming hand, which isA miracle; and made such to worke more,Doth touch thee (saples leafe) thou grow'st by thisHer creature; glorify'd more then before.
Then as a mother which delights to heareHer early child mis-speake halfe uttered words,Or, because majesty doth never feareIll or bold speech, she Audience affords.
And then, cold speechlesse wretch, thou diest againe,And wisely; what discourse is left for thee?For, speech of ill, and her, thou must abstaine,And is there any good which is not shee?
Yet maist thou praise her servants, though not her,And wit, and vertue,'and honour her attend,And since they'are but her cloathes, thou shalt not erre,If thou her shape and beauty'and grace commend.
Who knowes thy destiny? when thou hast done,Perchance her Cabinet may harbour thee,Whither all noble ambitious wits doe runne,A nest almost as full of Good as shee.
When thou art there, if any, whom wee know,Were sav'd before, and did that heaven partake,When she revolves his papers, marke what showOf favour, she alone, to them doth make.
Marke, if to get them, she o'r skip the rest,Marke, if shee read them twice, or kisse the name;Marke, if she doe the same that they protest,Marke, if she marke whether her woman came.
Marke, if slight things be'objected, and o'r blowne,Marke, if her oathes against him be not stillReserv'd, and that shee grieves she's not her owne,And chides the doctrine that denies Freewill.
I bid thee not doe this to be my spie;Nor to make my selfe her familiar;But so much I doe love her choyce, that IWould faine love him that shall be lov'd of her.
Words in this poem
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- harbour n.
- A station for rest and entertainment; a place of security and comfort; a refuge; a shelter. [OE herbor, herberwe, herberge, Icel. herbergi (cf. OHG. heriberga), orig., a shelter for soldiers; herr army + bjarga to save, help, defend; akin to AS. here ar]
- whither adv.
- To what place; -- used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou [OE. whider. AS. hwider; akin to E. where, who; cf. Goth. hvadre whither. See Who, and cf. Hither, Thither.]
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- freewill a.
- Of or pertaining to free will; voluntary; spontaneous; as, a freewill offering. Frewill Baptists. See under Baptist.
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To Mrs M. H 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 Mrs M. H, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/to-mrs-m-h.html, id L04979.
Form and metre
To Mrs M. H is 52 lines in 13 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 12 of its 13 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 23% 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 ABAB burneA · createB · returneA · stateB
- 2 A-A- unworthinesseA · doe · confesseA · too
- 3 ABAB meeA · herB · sheeA · preferreB
- 4 ABAB eyeA · reverenceB · dieA · senseB
- 5 ABAB isA · moreB · thisA · beforeB
- 6 ABAB heareA · wordsB · feareA · affordsB
- 7 ABAB againeA · theeB · abstaineA · sheeB
- 8 ABAB herA · attendB · erreA · commendB
- 9 ABAB doneA · theeB · runneA · sheeB
- 10 ABAB knowA · partakeB · showA · makeB
- 11 ABAB restA · nameB · protestA · cameB
- 12 ABAB blowneA · stillB · owneA · freewillB
- 13 ABAB spieA · familiarB · iA · herB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Mad paper stay, and grudge not here to burne | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| With all those sonnes whom my braine did create, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| At lest lye hid with mee, till thou returne | 10 | ·········· |
| To rags againe, which is thy native state. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| What though thou have enough unworthinesse | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| To come unto great place as others doe, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| That's much; emboldens, pulls, thrusts I confesse, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| But'tis not all; Thou should'st be wicked too. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And, that thou canst not learne, or not of mee; | 10 | ·········· |
| Yet thou wilt goe? Goe, since thou goest to her | 10 | ·········· |
| Who lacks but faults to be a Prince, for shee, | 10 | ·········· |
| Truth, whom they dare not pardon, dares preferre. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| But when thou com'st to that perplexing eye | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Which equally claimes love and reverence, | 10 | ·/˘˘···/˘˘ |
| Thou wilt not long dispute it, thou wilt die; | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| And, having little now, have then no sense. | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Yet when her warme redeeming hand, which is | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| A miracle; and made such to worke more, | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| Doth touch thee (saples leafe) thou grow'st by this | 9 | ········· |
| Her creature; glorify'd more then before. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Then as a mother which delights to heare | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| Her early child mis-speake halfe uttered words, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Or, because majesty doth never feare | 10 | ···/˘˘·/˘· |
| Ill or bold speech, she Audience affords. | 10 | ·····/˘˘˘/ |
| And then, cold speechlesse wretch, thou diest againe, | 10 | ·········· |
| And wisely; what discourse is left for thee? | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···· |
| For, speech of ill, and her, thou must abstaine, | 10 | ·········· |
| And is there any good which is not shee? | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Yet maist thou praise her servants, though not her, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And wit, and vertue,'and honour her attend, | 11 | ······/˘·˘/ |
| And since they'are but her cloathes, thou shalt not erre, | 10 | ·········· |
| If thou her shape and beauty'and grace commend. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Who knowes thy destiny? when thou hast done, | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Perchance her Cabinet may harbour thee, | 10 | ˘/·/˘˘·/˘· |
| Whither all noble ambitious wits doe runne, | 11 | /˘·/˘˘/˘··· |
| A nest almost as full of Good as shee. | 10 | ··/······· |
| When thou art there, if any, whom wee know, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Were sav'd before, and did that heaven partake, | 10 | ·······/˘/ |
| When she revolves his papers, marke what show | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| Of favour, she alone, to them doth make. | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| Marke, if to get them, she o'r skip the rest, | 10 | ·········· |
| Marke, if shee read them twice, or kisse the name; | 10 | ·········· |
| Marke, if she doe the same that they protest, | 10 | ········/· |
| Marke, if she marke whether her woman came. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Marke, if slight things be'objected, and o'r blowne, | 10 | ·········· |
| Marke, if her oathes against him be not still | 10 | ·········· |
| Reserv'd, and that shee grieves she's not her owne, | 10 | ˘/········ |
| And chides the doctrine that denies Freewill. | 10 | ···/˘·˘//˘ |
| I bid thee not doe this to be my spie; | 10 | ·········· |
| Nor to make my selfe her familiar; | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| But so much I doe love her choyce, that I | 10 | ·········· |
| Would faine love him that shall be lov'd of her. | 10 | ·········· |
Notes from the edition 11
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 sonnes] Sunnes B, S96
- Stanza 1, line 3 returne] returne. 1633
- Stanza 2, line 3 That's much; emboldens, A18, N, TC: That's much, emboldens, 1633-54: That's much emboldness, 1669: That's much, it emboldens, B, P
- Stanza 2, line 4 all; Thou A18, N, TC: all, thou 1633-69
- Stanza 4, line 2 reverence, Ed: reverence. 1633: reverence: 1635-69
- Stanza 6, line 2 mis-speake] mispeake 1633
- Stanza 8, line 3 erre, 1669: erre 1633-54
- Stanza 10, line 4 she alone, 1633: she, alone, 1635-69
- Stanza 11, line 1 get them, she o'r skip] get them, she do skip A18 (doth), N, TC: get them, she skip oare A25, C, O'F (skips): get to them, shee skipp B, P
- Stanza 11, line 4 whether 1633: whither 1635-69
- Stanza 12, line 3 grieves 1633: grieve 1635-69
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