103. To Dianeme
Dear, though to part it be a hell,Yet, Dianeme, now farewell:Thy frown last night did bid me go,But whither only grief does know.I do beseech thee ere we part,If merciful as fair thou art,Or else desir'st that maids should tellThy pity by love's chronicle,O Dianeme, rather killMe, than to make me languish still!'Tis cruelty in thee to th' heightThus, thus to wound, not kill outright;Yet there's a way found, if you please,By sudden death to give me ease;And thus devis'd, do thou but this--Bequeath to me one parting kiss,So sup'rabundant joy shall beThe executioner of me.
Words in this poem
- whither adv.
- To what place; -- used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou [OE. whider. AS. hwider; akin to E. where, who; cf. Goth. hvadre whither. See Who, and cf. Hither, Thither.]
- languish v. i.
- To cause to dr Shak.
- outright adv.
- Immediately; without delay; at once; as, he was killed outright.
- bequeath v. t.
- To give or leave by will; to give by testament; -- said especially of personal property. [OE. biquethen, AS. becwe to say, affirm, bequeath; pref. be- + cwe to say, speak. See Quoth.]
- 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
103. To Dianeme 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, 103. To Dianeme, in Hesperides (1648), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22421, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herrick-hesperides/103-to-dianeme.html, id L05163.
Form and metre
103. To Dianeme is 18 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.7 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 22% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, 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 AABBCCAADDEEFFGGHH hellA · farewellA · goB · knowB · partC · artC · tellA · chronicleA · killD · stillD · heightE · outrightE · pleaseF · easeF · thisG · kissG · beH · meH
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Dear, though to part it be a hell, | 8 | ········ |
| Yet, Dianeme, now farewell: | 6 | ·····/ |
| Thy frown last night did bid me go, | 8 | ········ |
| But whither only grief does know. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| I do beseech thee ere we part, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| If merciful as fair thou art, | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Or else desir'st that maids should tell | 8 | ········ |
| Thy pity by love's chronicle, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| O Dianeme, rather kill | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Me, than to make me languish still! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| 'Tis cruelty in thee to th' height | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Thus, thus to wound, not kill outright; | 8 | ······// |
| Yet there's a way found, if you please, | 8 | ········ |
| By sudden death to give me ease; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And thus devis'd, do thou but this-- | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Bequeath to me one parting kiss, | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| So sup'rabundant joy shall be | 8 | ········ |
| The executioner of me. | 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.