De Amore
Shall one be sorrowful because of love,Which hath no earthly crown,Which lives and dies, unknown?Because no words of his shall ever moveHer maiden heart to ownHim lord and destined master of her own:Is Love so weak a thing as this,Who can not lie awake,Solely for his own sake,For lack of the dear hands to hold, the lips to kiss,A mere heart-ache?
Nay, though love's victories be great and sweet,Nor vain and foolish toys,His crowned, earthly joys,Is there no comfort then in love's defeat?Because he shall defer,For some short span of years all part in her,Submitting to foregoThe certain peace which happier lovers know;Because he shall be utterly disowned,Nor length of service bringHer least awakening:Foiled, frustrate and alone, misunderstood, discrowned,Is Love less King?
Grows not the world to him a fairer place,How far soever his daysPass from his lady's ways,From mere encounter with her golden face?Though all his sighing be vain,Shall he be heavy-hearted and complain?Is she not still a star,Deeply to be desired, worshipped afar,A beacon-light to aidFrom bitter-sweet delights, Love's masquerade?Though he lose many things,Though much he miss:The heart upon his heart, the hand that clings,The memorable first kiss;Love that is love at all,Needs not an earthly coronal;Love is himself his own exceeding great reward,A mighty lord!
Lord over life and all the ways of breath,Mighty and strong to saveFrom the devouring grave;Yea, whose dominion doth out-tyrant death,Thou who art life and death in one,The night, the sun;Who art, when all things seem:Foiled, frustrate and forlorn, rejected of to-dayGo with me all my way,And let me not blaspheme.
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,]
- defeat v. t.
- To undo; to disfigure; to destroy. [From F. défait, OF. desfait, p. p. ofe défaire, OF. desfaire, to undo; L. dis- + facere to do. See Feat, Fact, and cf. Disfashion.]
- forego v. t.
- To quit; to relinquish; to leave. [See Forgo.]
- afar adv.
- At, to, or from a great distance; far away; -- often used with from preceding, or off following; as, he was seen from afar; I saw him afar off. [Pref. a-.(for on or of) + far.]
- memorable a.
- Worthy to be remembered; very important or remarkable. [L. memorabilis, fr. memorare to bring to remembrance, fr. memor mindful, remembering. See Memory, and cf. Memorabilia.]
- needs adv.
- Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need. [Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. - wards.]
- coronal a.
- Of or pertaining to a corona (in any of the senses). [L. coronalis: cf. F. coronal.]
- forlorn a.
- Deserted abandoned; lost. [OE., p.p. of forlesen to lose utterly, AS. forleósan (p.p. forloren); pref. for- + leósan (in comp.) to lose; cf. D. verliezen to lose, G. verlieren, Sw. förlor]
- blaspheme v. t.
- To speak of, or address, with impious irreverence; to revile impiously (anything sacred); as, to blaspheme the Holy Spirit. [OE. blasfem, L. blasphemare, fr. Gr. : cf. F. blasphémer. See Blame, v.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
De Amore is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems and Prose of Ernest Dowson, With a Memoir by Arthur Symons, Project Gutenberg ebook #8497; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Ernest Dowson, De Amore, in The Poems of Ernest Dowson (1896–1899), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8497, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dowson-poems/de-amore.html, id L01663.
Form and metre
De Amore is 52 lines in 4 stanzas. 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.7 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 15% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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-BABBCDDCD loveA · crown · unknownB · moveA · ownB · ownB · thisC · awakeD · sakeD · kissC · acheD
- 2 ABBACCDD-EE-E sweetA · toysB · joysB · defeatA · deferC · herC · foregoD · knowD · disowned · bringE · awakeningE · discrowned · kingE
- 3 ABBACCDDEEFGFG--HH placeA · daysB · waysB · faceA · vainC · complainC · starD · afarD · aidE · masqueradeE · thingsF · missG · clingsF · kissG · all · coronal · rewardH · lordH
- 4 ABBACCDEED breathA · saveB · graveB · deathA · oneC · sunC · seemD · dayE · wayE · blasphemeD
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Shall one be sorrowful because of love, | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Which hath no earthly crown, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Which lives and dies, unknown? | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Because no words of his shall ever move | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Her maiden heart to own | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Him lord and destined master of her own: | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Is Love so weak a thing as this, | 8 | ········ |
| Who can not lie awake, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Solely for his own sake, | 6 | /˘···· |
| For lack of the dear hands to hold, the lips to kiss, | 12 | ············ |
| A mere heart-ache? | 4 | ···· |
| Nay, though love's victories be great and sweet, | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Nor vain and foolish toys, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| His crowned, earthly joys, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Is there no comfort then in love's defeat? | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Because he shall defer, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| For some short span of years all part in her, | 10 | ·········· |
| Submitting to forego | 6 | ˘/˘·˘/ |
| The certain peace which happier lovers know; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Because he shall be utterly disowned, | 10 | ·····/˘˘˘/ |
| Nor length of service bring | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Her least awakening: | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| Foiled, frustrate and alone, misunderstood, discrowned, | 11 | ·/··˘/·˘/·· |
| Is Love less King? | 4 | ···· |
| Grows not the world to him a fairer place, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| How far soever his days | 7 | ··˘/˘·· |
| Pass from his lady's ways, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| From mere encounter with her golden face? | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Though all his sighing be vain, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Shall he be heavy-hearted and complain? | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Is she not still a star, | 6 | ······ |
| Deeply to be desired, worshipped afar, | 10 | /˘··˘//˘˘/ |
| A beacon-light to aid | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| From bitter-sweet delights, Love's masquerade? | 10 | ·/˘·˘/··˘/ |
| Though he lose many things, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Though much he miss: | 4 | ···· |
| The heart upon his heart, the hand that clings, | 10 | ·········· |
| The memorable first kiss; | 7 | ·/˘˘˘·· |
| Love that is love at all, | 6 | ······ |
| Needs not an earthly coronal; | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| Love is himself his own exceeding great reward, | 12 | ··˘/··˘/˘·˘/ |
| A mighty lord! | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Lord over life and all the ways of breath, | 10 | ·········· |
| Mighty and strong to save | 6 | /˘···· |
| From the devouring grave; | 7 | ··˘/˘˘· |
| Yea, whose dominion doth out-tyrant death, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Thou who art life and death in one, | 8 | ········ |
| The night, the sun; | 4 | ···· |
| Who art, when all things seem: | 6 | ······ |
| Foiled, frustrate and forlorn, rejected of to-day | 12 | ·/··˘/˘/˘··· |
| Go with me all my way, | 6 | ······ |
| And let me not blaspheme. | 6 | ····˘/ |
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.