1017. The Vision
Methought I saw, as I did dream in bed,A crawling vine about Anacreon's head.Flushed was his face; his hairs with oil did shine;And, as he spake, his mouth ran o'er with wine.Tippled he was, and tippling lisped withal;And lisping reeled, and reeling like to fall.A young enchantress close by him did stand,Tapping his plump thighs with a myrtle wand:She smil'd; he kiss'd; and kissing, cull'd her too,And being cup-shot, more he could not do.For which, methought, in pretty anger sheSnatched off his crown, and gave the wreath to me;Since when, methinks, my brains about do swim,And I am wild and wanton like to him.
Words in this poem
- tippled a.
- Intoxicated; inebriated; tipsy; drunk.
- withal adv.
- With this; with that. [With + all.]
- enchantress n.
- A woman versed in magical arts; a sorceress; also, a woman who fascinates. [Cf. F. enchanteresse.]
- methinks v.
- It seems to me; I think. See Me. [AS. þyncan to seem, me þynceedh, me þuhte, OE. me thinketh, me thoughte; akin to G. dünken to seem, denken to think, and E. think. See Me, and Think.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
1017. The Vision is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Hesperides & Noble Numbers: Vol. 1 and 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #22421; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Herrick, 1017. The Vision, in Hesperides (1648), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22421, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herrick-hesperides/1017-the-vision.html, id L05919.
Form and metre
1017. The Vision is 14 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 86% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 7% 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 AABBCC--DDEEFF bedA · headA · shineB · wineB · withalC · fallC · stand · wand · tooD · doD · sheE · meE · swimF · himF
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Methought I saw, as I did dream in bed, | 10 | ˘/········ |
| A crawling vine about Anacreon's head. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Flushed was his face; his hairs with oil did shine; | 10 | ·········· |
| And, as he spake, his mouth ran o'er with wine. | 10 | ·········· |
| Tippled he was, and tippling lisped withal; | 10 | /˘···/˘·˘/ |
| And lisping reeled, and reeling like to fall. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| A young enchantress close by him did stand, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Tapping his plump thighs with a myrtle wand: | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| She smil'd; he kiss'd; and kissing, cull'd her too, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And being cup-shot, more he could not do. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| For which, methought, in pretty anger she | 10 | ··˘/·/˘/˘· |
| Snatched off his crown, and gave the wreath to me; | 10 | ·········· |
| Since when, methinks, my brains about do swim, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| And I am wild and wanton like to him. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
Notes from the edition 1
Word-glosses from Pollard's edition (Muses' Library, 1891; Project Gutenberg #22421).
- Cull'd: embraced · Cup-shot: drunk
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.