Villanelle of His Lady's Treasures
I took her dainty eyes, as wellAs silken tendrils of her hair:And so I made a Villanelle!
I took her voice, a silver bell,As clear as song, as soft as prayer;I took her dainty eyes as well.
It may be, said I, who can tell,These things shall be my less despair?And so I made a Villanelle!
I took her whiteness virginalAnd from her cheek two roses rare:I took her dainty eyes as well.
I said: "It may be possibleHer image from my heart to tear!"And so I made a Villanelle.
I stole her laugh, most musical:I wrought it in with artful care;I took her dainty eyes as well;And so I made a Villanelle.
Words in this poem
- dainty n.
- Value; estimation; the gratification or pleasure taken in anything. [OE. deinie, dainte, deintie, deyntee, OF. deintié delicacy, orig., dignity, honor, fr. L. dignitas, fr. dignus worthy. See Deign, and cf. Dignity.]
- villanelle n.
- A poem written in tercets with but two rhymes, the first and third verse of the first stanza alternating as the third verse in each successive stanza and forming a couplet at the close. E. W. [F.]
- 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,]
- virginal a.
- Of or pertaining to a virgin; becoming a virgin; maidenly. [L. virginalis: cf. F. virginal.]
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
- artful a.
- Performed with, or characterized by, art or skill. [From Art.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Villanelle of His Lady's Treasures 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, Villanelle of His Lady's Treasures, in The Poems of Ernest Dowson (1896–1899), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #8497, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dowson-poems/villanelle-of-his-lady-s-treasures.html, id L01643.
Form and metre
Villanelle of His Lady's Treasures is 19 lines in 6 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABA, complete in 3 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.2 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 16% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 ABA wellA · hairB · villanelleA
- 2 ABA bellA · prayerB · wellA
- 3 ABA tellA · despairB · villanelleA
- 4 -BA virginal · rareB · wellA
- 5 -BA possible · tearB · villanelleA
- 6 -BAA musical · careB · wellA · villanelleA
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I took her dainty eyes, as well | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| As silken tendrils of her hair: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And so I made a Villanelle! | 9 | ········· |
| I took her voice, a silver bell, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| As clear as song, as soft as prayer; | 8 | ········ |
| I took her dainty eyes as well. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| It may be, said I, who can tell, | 8 | ········ |
| These things shall be my less despair? | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And so I made a Villanelle! | 9 | ········· |
| I took her whiteness virginal | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| And from her cheek two roses rare: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I took her dainty eyes as well. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I said: "It may be possible | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Her image from my heart to tear!" | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And so I made a Villanelle. | 9 | ········· |
| I stole her laugh, most musical: | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| I wrought it in with artful care; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I took her dainty eyes as well; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And so I made a Villanelle. | 9 | ········· |
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.