Of the Worke and Translation
If in opinion of iudiciall wit,Primaleons sweet Invention well deserue:Then he (no lesse) which hath translated it,Which doth his sense, his forme, his phrase, obserue.And in true method of his home-borne stile,(Following the fashion of a French conceate)Hath brought him heere into this famous Ile,Where but a stranger, now hath made his seate.He liues a Prince, and comming in this sort,Shall to his Countrey of your fame report.
TO MY NOBLE Friend Mr. ROBERT DOVER, on his braue annuallAssemblies vpon Cotswold.
Douer, to doe thee Right, who will not striue,That dost in these dull yron Times reuiueThe golden Ages glories; which poore WeeHad not so much as dream't on but for Thee?As those braue Grecians in their happy dayes,On Mount Olympus to their HerculesOrdain'd their games Olimpick, and so nam'dOf that great Mountaine; for those pastimes fam'd:Where then their able Youth, Leapt, Wrestled, Ran,Threw the arm'd Dart; and honour'd was the ManThat was the Victor; In the Circute thereThe nimble Rider, and skill'd ChariotereStroue for the Garland; In those noble TimesThere to their Harpes the Poets sang their Rimes;That whilst Greece flourisht, and was onely thenNurse of all Arts, and of all famous men:Numbring their yeers, still their accounts they made,Either from this or that Olimpiade.So Douer, from these Games, by thee begun,Wee'l reckon Ours, as time away doth run.Wee'l haue thy Statue in some Rocke cut out,With braue Inscriptions garnished about;And vnder written, Loe, this was the man,DOVER, that first these noble Sports began.Ladds of the Hills, and Lasses of the Vale,In many a song, and many a merry TaleShall mention Thee; and hauing leaue to play,Vnto thy name shall make a Holy day.The Cosswold Shepheards as their flockes they keepe,To put off lazie drowsinesse and sleepe,Shall sit to tell, and heare thy Story tould,That night shall come ere they their flocks can fould.
Words in this poem
- stile n.
- A pin set on the face of a dial, to cast a shadow; a style. See Style. Moxon. [See Style.]
- 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,]
- annuall a.
- Of or pertaining to a year; returning every year; coming or happening once in the year; yearly. [OE. annuel, F. annuel, fr. L. annualis, fr. annus year. Cf. Annals.]
- chariotere n.
- One who drives a chariot.
- vale n.
- A tract of low ground, or of land between hills; a valley. [OE. val, F. val, L. vallis; perhaps akin to Gr. Avalanche, Vail to lower, Valley.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Of the Worke and Translation is in the public domain. This text is taken from Minor Poems of Michael Drayton, Project Gutenberg ebook #17873; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Michael Drayton, Of the Worke and Translation, in Minor Poems (1594–1619), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #17873, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/drayton-minor-poems/of-the-worke-and-translation.html, id L02774.
Form and metre
Of the Worke and Translation is 44 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 64% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 ABABCDCDEE witA · deserueB · itA · obserueB · stileC · conceateD · ileC · seateD · sortE · reportE
- 3 --AA--BBCC--DDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMM striue · reuiue · weeA · theeA · dayes · hercules · nam'dB · fam'dB · ranC · manC · there · chariotere · timesD · rimesD · thenE · menE · madeF · olimpiadeF · begunG · runG · outH · aboutH · manI · beganI · valeJ · taleJ · playK · dayK · keepeL · sleepeL · touldM · fouldM
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 |
|---|---|---|
| If in opinion of iudiciall wit, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Primaleons sweet Invention well deserue: | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Then he (no lesse) which hath translated it, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Which doth his sense, his forme, his phrase, obserue. | 11 | ·····/˘···· |
| And in true method of his home-borne stile, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| (Following the fashion of a French conceate) | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| Hath brought him heere into this famous Ile, | 11 | ·······/˘·· |
| Where but a stranger, now hath made his seate. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| He liues a Prince, and comming in this sort, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Shall to his Countrey of your fame report. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| TO MY NOBLE Friend Mr. ROBERT DOVER, on his braue annuall | 16 | ··/˘·/˘/˘/˘···/˘ |
| Assemblies vpon Cotswold. | 6 | ˘/˘·/˘ |
| Douer, to doe thee Right, who will not striue, | 9 | ········· |
| That dost in these dull yron Times reuiue | 9 | ········· |
| The golden Ages glories; which poore Wee | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| Had not so much as dream't on but for Thee? | 10 | ·········· |
| As those braue Grecians in their happy dayes, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| On Mount Olympus to their Hercules | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Ordain'd their games Olimpick, and so nam'd | 10 | ˘/········ |
| Of that great Mountaine; for those pastimes fam'd: | 10 | ·······/·· |
| Where then their able Youth, Leapt, Wrestled, Ran, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Threw the arm'd Dart; and honour'd was the Man | 10 | ·········· |
| That was the Victor; In the Circute there | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| The nimble Rider, and skill'd Chariotere | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Stroue for the Garland; In those noble Times | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| There to their Harpes the Poets sang their Rimes; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| That whilst Greece flourisht, and was onely then | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Nurse of all Arts, and of all famous men: | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Numbring their yeers, still their accounts they made, | 10 | /˘····˘/·· |
| Either from this or that Olimpiade. | 9 | /˘······· |
| So Douer, from these Games, by thee begun, | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Wee'l reckon Ours, as time away doth run. | 10 | ·/˘/··˘/·· |
| Wee'l haue thy Statue in some Rocke cut out, | 10 | ···/······ |
| With braue Inscriptions garnished about; | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘˘·· |
| And vnder written, Loe, this was the man, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| DOVER, that first these noble Sports began. | 10 | /˘···/˘·˘/ |
| Ladds of the Hills, and Lasses of the Vale, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| In many a song, and many a merry Tale | 10 | ·/···/·/˘· |
| Shall mention Thee; and hauing leaue to play, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Vnto thy name shall make a Holy day. | 9 | ······/˘· |
| The Cosswold Shepheards as their flockes they keepe, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| To put off lazie drowsinesse and sleepe, | 10 | ·········· |
| Shall sit to tell, and heare thy Story tould, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| That night shall come ere they their flocks can fould. | 10 | ·········· |
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