Non Sum Qualis Eram Bonae Sub Regno Cynarae
Last night, ah, yesternight, betwixt her lips and mineThere fell thy shadow, Cynara! thy breath was shedUpon my soul between the kisses and the wine;And I was desolate and sick of an old passion,Yea, I was desolate and bowed my head:I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.
All night upon mine heart I felt her warm heart beat,Night-long within mine arms in love and sleep she lay;Surely the kisses of her bought red mouth were sweet;But I was desolate and sick of an old passion,When I awoke and found the dawn was gray:I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.
I have forgot much, Cynara! gone with the wind,Flung roses, roses riotously with the throng,Dancing, to put thy pale, lost lilies out of mind;But I was desolate and sick of an old passion,Yea, all the time, because the dance was long:I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.
I cried for madder music and for stronger wine,But when the feast is finished and the lamps expire,Then falls thy shadow, Cynara! the night is thine;And I am desolate and sick of an old passion,Yea, hungry for the lips of my desire:I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion.
Words in this poem
- yesternight n.
- The last night; the night last past.
- betwixt prep.
- In the space which separates; between. [OE. betwix, bitwix, rarely bitwixt, AS. betweox, betweohs, betweoh, betwih; pref. be- by + a form fr. AS. twa two. See Between.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Non Sum Qualis Eram Bonae Sub Regno Cynarae 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, Non Sum Qualis Eram Bonae Sub Regno Cynarae, in The Poems of Ernest Dowson (1896–1899), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8497, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dowson-poems/non-sum-qualis-eram-bonae-sub-regno-cynarae.html, id L01631.
Form and metre
Non Sum Qualis Eram Bonae Sub Regno Cynarae is 24 lines in 4 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABACBC, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic hexameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%). 78% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 12.0 syllables. 9 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 8% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic hexameter.
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 ABACBC mineA · shedB · wineA · passionC · headB · fashionC
- 2 ABACBC beatA · layB · sweetA · passionC · grayB · fashionC
- 3 ABACBC windA · throngB · mindA · passionC · longB · fashionC
- 4 A-AB-B wineA · expire · thineA · passionB · desire · fashionB
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 hexameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Last night, ah, yesternight, betwixt her lips and mine | 12 | ···/˘˘˘/···· |
| There fell thy shadow, Cynara! thy breath was shed | 12 | ···/·˘/˘···· |
| Upon my soul between the kisses and the wine; | 12 | ·······/˘··· |
| And I was desolate and sick of an old passion, | 12 | ···/˘·····/˘ |
| Yea, I was desolate and bowed my head: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion. | 14 | ···/˘··˘/˘··/˘ |
| All night upon mine heart I felt her warm heart beat, | 12 | ············ |
| Night-long within mine arms in love and sleep she lay; | 12 | ············ |
| Surely the kisses of her bought red mouth were sweet; | 12 | /˘·/˘······· |
| But I was desolate and sick of an old passion, | 12 | ···/˘·····/˘ |
| When I awoke and found the dawn was gray: | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion. | 14 | ···/˘··˘/˘··/˘ |
| I have forgot much, Cynara! gone with the wind, | 12 | ··˘/·˘/˘···· |
| Flung roses, roses riotously with the throng, | 11 | ·/˘/˘······ |
| Dancing, to put thy pale, lost lilies out of mind; | 12 | /˘·····/˘··· |
| But I was desolate and sick of an old passion, | 12 | ···/˘·····/˘ |
| Yea, all the time, because the dance was long: | 10 | ·········· |
| I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion. | 14 | ···/˘··˘/˘··/˘ |
| I cried for madder music and for stronger wine, | 12 | ···/˘/˘··/˘· |
| But when the feast is finished and the lamps expire, | 12 | ·····/˘···˘/ |
| Then falls thy shadow, Cynara! the night is thine; | 12 | ···/·˘/˘···· |
| And I am desolate and sick of an old passion, | 12 | ···/˘·····/˘ |
| Yea, hungry for the lips of my desire: | 11 | ·/˘·····˘/˘ |
| I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion. | 14 | ···/˘··˘/˘··/˘ |
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.