To the Lady Magdalen Herbert: Of St. Mary Magdalen
Her of your name, whose fair inheritanceBethina was, and jointure Magdalo:An active faith so highly did advance,That she once knew, more than the Church did know,The Resurrection; so much good there isDeliver'd of her, that some Fathers beLoth to believe one Woman could do this;But, think these Magdalens were two or three.Increase their number, Lady, and their fame:To their Devotion, add your Innocence;Take so much of th'example, as of the name;The latter half; and in some recompenceThat they did harbour Christ himself, a Guest,Harbour these Hymns, to his dear name addrest.
Words in this poem
- jointure n.
- A joining; a joint. [F. jointure a joint, orig., a joining, L. junctura, fr. jungere to join. See Join, and cf. Juncture.]
- resurrection n.
- A rising again; the resumption of vigor. [F. résurrection, L. resurrectio, fr. resurgere, resurrectum, to rise again; pref. re- re- + surgere to rise. See Source.]
- 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]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To the Lady Magdalen Herbert: Of St. Mary Magdalen 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 the Lady Magdalen Herbert: Of St. Mary Magdalen, in Poems (1633), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #48688, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/donne-poems/to-the-lady-magdalen-herbert-of-st-mary-magdalen.html, id L04998.
Form and metre
To the Lady Magdalen Herbert: Of St. Mary Magdalen is 14 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 3 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 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-A--B-BCDCDEE inheritanceA · magdalo · advanceA · know · is · beB · this · threeB · fameC · innocenceD · nameC · recompenceD · guestE · addrestE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Her of your name, whose fair inheritance | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
| Bethina was, and jointure Magdalo: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| An active faith so highly did advance, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| That she once knew, more than the Church did know, | 10 | ·········· |
| The Resurrection; so much good there is | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Deliver'd of her, that some Fathers be | 10 | ˘/˘····/˘· |
| Loth to believe one Woman could do this; | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| But, think these Magdalens were two or three. | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Increase their number, Lady, and their fame: | 10 | ˘/·/˘/˘··· |
| To their Devotion, add your Innocence; | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘˘ |
| Take so much of th'example, as of the name; | 11 | ··········· |
| The latter half; and in some recompence | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| That they did harbour Christ himself, a Guest, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| Harbour these Hymns, to his dear name addrest. | 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).
- Line 4 know, 1675: know 1670
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