To the Lady Donna Maria De Cardona, Marchioness of Padula XXXVII
Fair Naiads of the river, that resideHappy in grottos of rock crystal veinedWith shining gems, and loftily sustainedOn columns of pure glass! if now ye glideOn duteous errands, or weave side by sideWebs of fine net-work, or in groups removeTo hear and tell romantic tales of love,Of Genii, Fays, and Tritons of the tide,--Awhile remit your labours, and upraiseYour rosy heads to look on me--not longWill it detain you. Sweet'ners of my song!For pity hear me, watering as I goWith tears your borders, and for such short space,In heavenly notes sing solace to my woe!
Words in this poem
- loftily adv.
- In a lofty manner or position; haughtily. [From Lofty.]
- duteous a.
- Fulfilling duty; dutiful; having the sentiments due to a superior, or to one to whom respect or service is owed; obedient; as, a duteous son or daughter. [From Duty.]
- awhile adv.
- For a while; for some time; for a short time. [Adj. a + while time, interval.]
- remit v. t.
- To send back; to give up; to surrender; to resign. [L. remittere, remissum, to send back, to slacken, relax; pref. re- re- + mittere to send. See Mission, and cf. Remise, Remiss.]
- upraise v. t.
- To raise; to lift up.
- solace n.
- Comfort in grief; alleviation of grief or anxiety; also, that which relieves in distress; that which cheers or consoles; relief. [OF. solas, ssoulaz, L. solacium, solatium, fr. solari to comfort, console. Cf. Console, v. t.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To the Lady Donna Maria De Cardona, Marchioness of Padula XXXVII is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Works of Garcilasso de la Vega, Project Gutenberg ebook #49410, the J. H. Wiffen translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Garcilaso de la Vega, To the Lady Donna Maria De Cardona, Marchioness of Padula XXXVII, in The Works of Garcilasso de la Vega (1823), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #49410, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/garcilaso-works/to-the-lady-donna-maria-de-cardona-marchioness-of-padula-xxx.html, id L18734.
Form and metre
To the Lady Donna Maria De Cardona, Marchioness of Padula XXXVII is 14 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 57% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 64% 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 ABBAACCA-DDE-E resideA · veinedB · sustainedB · glideA · sideA · removeC · loveC · tideA · upraise · longD · songD · goE · space · woeE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Fair Naiads of the river, that reside | 9 | ····/˘·˘/ |
| Happy in grottos of rock crystal veined | 10 | /˘·/···/˘· |
| With shining gems, and loftily sustained | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘˘/ |
| On columns of pure glass! if now ye glide | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| On duteous errands, or weave side by side | 11 | ·/˘˘/˘····· |
| Webs of fine net-work, or in groups remove | 10 | ········˘/ |
| To hear and tell romantic tales of love, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Of Genii, Fays, and Tritons of the tide,-- | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Awhile remit your labours, and upraise | 10 | ˘/˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| Your rosy heads to look on me--not long | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Will it detain you. Sweet'ners of my song! | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| For pity hear me, watering as I go | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| With tears your borders, and for such short space, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| In heavenly notes sing solace to my woe! | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
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.