Written in a Lady's Album
Grant me, I cried, some spell of art,To turn with all a lover's care,That spotless page, my Eva's heart,And write my burning wishes there.
But Love, by faithless Laia taughtHow frail is woman's holiest vow,Look'd down, while grace attempered thoughtSate serious on his baby brow.
"Go! blot her album," cried the sage,"There none but bards a place may claim;But woman's heart's a worthless page,Where every fool may write his name."
Until by time or fate decayed,That line and leaf shall never part;Ah! who can tell how soon shall fadeThe lines of love from woman's heart.
Words in this poem
- sate v. t.
- To satisfy the desire or appetite of; to satiate; to glut; to surfeit. [Probably shortened fr. satiate: cf. L. satus full. See Satiate.]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Written in a Lady's Album is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Culprit Fay, and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #317; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Joseph Rodman Drake, Written in a Lady's Album, in The Culprit Fay and Other Poems (1819), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #317, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/drake-culprit-fay/written-in-a-lady-s-album.html, id L10280.
Form and metre
Written in a Lady's Album is 16 lines in 4 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABAB. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 95%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.2 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 19% 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 ABAB artA · careB · heartA · thereB
- 2 ABAB taughtA · vowB · thoughtA · browB
- 3 ABAB sageA · claimB · pageA · nameB
- 4 ABAB decayedA · partB · fadeA · heartB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Grant me, I cried, some spell of art, | 8 | ········ |
| To turn with all a lover's care, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That spotless page, my Eva's heart, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And write my burning wishes there. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| But Love, by faithless Laia taught | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| How frail is woman's holiest vow, | 9 | ···/˘/˘˘· |
| Look'd down, while grace attempered thought | 9 | ·······˘· |
| Sate serious on his baby brow. | 9 | ·/˘˘··/˘· |
| "Go! blot her album," cried the sage, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| "There none but bards a place may claim; | 8 | ········ |
| But woman's heart's a worthless page, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Where every fool may write his name." | 9 | ·/˘˘····· |
| Until by time or fate decayed, | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| That line and leaf shall never part; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Ah! who can tell how soon shall fade | 8 | ········ |
| The lines of love from woman's heart. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
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.