Foundations
Those lovers old had rare conceitsTo make persuasion beautiful,Or rail upon the pretty foolWho would not share those wanton sweetsThat, guarded, soon are bitterness.
But we, my love, can look on theseOld tournaments of wit, and sayWhat novices of love were they,Who loved by seasons and degrees,And in the rate of more and less.
We will not make of love a staleFor deft and nimble argument,Nor shall denial and consentBe processes whereof shall failOne surety that we possess.
Words in this poem
- deft a.
- Apt; fit; dexterous; clever; handy; spruce; neat. [OE. daft, deft, becoming, mild, gentle, stupid (cf. OE. daffe, deffe, fool, coward), AS. dæft (in derivatives only) mild, gentle, fitting, seasonable; akin to d]
- 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,]
- whereof adv.
- Of which; of whom; formerly, also, with which; -- used relatively.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Foundations is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, 1908-1919, Project Gutenberg ebook #51575; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Drinkwater, Foundations, in Poems, 1908-1919 (1919), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #51575, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/drinkwater-poems/foundations.html, id L23075.
Form and metre
Foundations is 15 lines in 3 stanzas of 5 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%).
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 -AA-- conceits · beautifulA · foolA · sweets · bitterness
- 2 ABBA- theseA · sayB · theyB · degreesA · less
- 3 ABBA- staleA · argumentB · consentB · failA · possess
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Those lovers old had rare conceits | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| To make persuasion beautiful, | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘˘ |
| Or rail upon the pretty fool | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Who would not share those wanton sweets | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That, guarded, soon are bitterness. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| But we, my love, can look on these | 8 | ········ |
| Old tournaments of wit, and say | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| What novices of love were they, | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Who loved by seasons and degrees, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| And in the rate of more and less. | 8 | ········ |
| We will not make of love a stale | 8 | ········ |
| For deft and nimble argument, | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| Nor shall denial and consent | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| Be processes whereof shall fail | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| One surety that we possess. | 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.