To Sr Henry Wootton

John Donne (1572–1631) · 1633

iambic pentameter · heroic couplets · 27 lines · from Poems

Here's no more newes, then vertue,'I may as wellTell you Cales, or St Michaels tale for newes, as tellThat vice doth here habitually dwell.

Yet, as to'get stomachs, we walke up and downe,And toyle to sweeten rest, so, may God frowne,If, but to loth both, I haunt Court, or Towne.

For here no one is from the'extremitieOf vice, by any other reason free,But that the next to'him, still, is worse then hee.

In this worlds warfare, they whom rugged Fate,(Gods Commissary,) doth so throughly hate,As in'the Courts Squadron to marshall their state:

If they stand arm'd with seely honesty,With wishing prayers, and neat integritie,Like Indians'gainst Spanish hosts they bee.

Suspitious boldnesse to this place belongs,And to'have as many eares as all have tongues;Tender to know, tough to acknowledge wrongs.

Beleeve mee Sir, in my youths giddiest dayes,When to be like the Court, was a playes praise,Playes were not so like Courts, as Courts'are like playes.

Then let us at these mimicke antiques jeast,Whose deepest projects, and egregious gestsAre but dull Moralls of a game at Chests.

But now'tis incongruity to smile,Therefore I end; and bid farewell a while,At Court; though From Court, were the better stile.

Words in this poem

dwell v. i.: To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
commissary n.: One to whom is committed some charge, duty, or office, by a superior power; a commissioner. [LL. commissarius, fr. L. commissus, p. p. of committere to commit, intrust to. See Commit.]
squadron n.: Primarily, a square; hence, a square body of troops; a body of troops drawn up in a square. [F. escadron, formerly also esquadron, or It. squadrone. See Squad.]
stile n.: A pin set on the face of a dial, to cast a shadow; a style. See Style. Moxon. [See Style.]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

To Sr Henry Wootton 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 Sr Henry Wootton, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/to-sr-henry-wootton.html, id L19904.

Form and metre

To Sr Henry Wootton is 27 lines in 9 stanzas of 3 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 52% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.4 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.

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 AAA well^A · tell^A · dwell^A
2 AAA downe^A · frowne^A · towne^A
3 AAA the'extremitie^A · free^A · hee^A
4 AAA fate^A · hate^A · state^A
6 AAA belongs^A · tongues^A · wrongs^A
7 AAA dayes^A · praise^A · playes^A
9 AAA smile^A · while^A · stile^A

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
Here's no more newes, then vertue,'I may as well	11	···········
Tell you Cales, or St Michaels tale for newes, as tell	12	·····/˘·····
That vice doth here habitually dwell.	10	····˘/˘˘˘·
Yet, as to'get stomachs, we walke up and downe,	11	····/˘·····
And toyle to sweeten rest, so, may God frowne,	11	····/˘·····
If, but to loth both, I haunt Court, or Towne.	10	··········
For here no one is from the'extremitie	10	··········
Of vice, by any other reason free,	10	···/˘/˘/˘·
But that the next to'him, still, is worse then hee.	11	···········
In this worlds warfare, they whom rugged Fate,	10	···/···/˘·
(Gods Commissary,) doth so throughly hate,	10	·/˘·˘··/˘·
As in'the Courts Squadron to marshall their state:	10	···/˘·/˘··
If they stand arm'd with seely honesty,	10	·····/˘/˘˘
With wishing prayers, and neat integritie,	10	·/˘·······
Like Indians'gainst Spanish hosts they bee.	9	····/˘···
Suspitious boldnesse to this place belongs,	10	········˘/
And to'have as many eares as all have tongues;	10	····/·····
Tender to know, tough to acknowledge wrongs.	10	/˘····˘/˘·
Beleeve mee Sir, in my youths giddiest dayes,	10	··········
When to be like the Court, was a playes praise,	10	··········
Playes were not so like Courts, as Courts'are like playes.	11	···········
Then let us at these mimicke antiques jeast,	10	·······˘/·
Whose deepest projects, and egregious gests	10	·/˘/˘·˘/˘·
Are but dull Moralls of a game at Chests.	10	···/˘·····
But now'tis incongruity to smile,	10	····˘/˘˘··
Therefore I end; and bid farewell a while,	10	·······/··
At Court; though From Court, were the better stile.	10	·······/˘·

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 newes] new 1669
Stanza 1, line 2 Tell you Cales, (Calis, 1633) or S^t Michaels tale for newes, as tell 1633, A18, B (tales), Cy (and S^t Michaels tales), D, H49, JC, L74, N, O'F (tales), P, S, S96 (tales), TC, W (MSS. waver in spelling--but Cales Cy, HN, P:) Tell you Calis, or Saint Michaels tales, as tell 1635-54, Chambers (Calais): Tell Calis, or Saint Michaels Mount, as tell 1669: Tell you Calais, or Saint Michaels Mount as tell 1719: All modern editions read Calais
Stanza 2, line 3 or] and 1669
Stanza 3, line 3 to'him, still, 1633: to him, still, 1635-69: to him is still A18, L74, N, O'F, TC
Stanza 4, line 3 state: 1635-69: state 1633
Stanza 5, line 2 wishing prayers, 1633, A18, D, H49, JC, L74, Lec, N, S, S96, TC, W: wishing, prayers, 1669, HN: wishes, prayers, 1635-54, B, Cy, O'F, P, Chambers
Stanza 7, line 2 playes] players 1639-69
Stanza 7, line 3 are like 1633, A18, D, H49, L74, Lec, N, S, S96 (are now like), TC, W: are om. (metri causa) 1635-69, B, Cy, JC, O'F
Stanza 9, line 1 now'tis] 'tis an 1669
Stanza 9, line 3 At Court; though, From Court, &c. W: At Court, though from Court, &c. 1633-69

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