1067. Gentleness
That prince must govern with a gentle handWho will have love comply with his command.
Her. My dearest love, since thou wilt go,And leave me here behind thee,For love or pity let me knowThe place where I may find thee.
Ama. In country meadows pearl'd with dew,And set about with lilies,There, filling maunds with cowslips, youMay find your Amaryllis.
Her. What have the meads to do with thee,Or with thy youthful hours?Live thou at Court, where thou mayst beThe queen of men, not flowers.
Let country wenches make 'em fineWith posies, since 'tis fitterFor thee with richest gems to shine,And like the stars to glitter.
Ama. You set too high a rate uponA shepherdess so homely.Her. Believe it, dearest, there's not oneI' th' Court that's half so comely.
I prithee stay. Ama. I must away;Let's kiss first, then we'll sever.Ambo. And though we bid adieu to-day,We shall not part for ever.
Words in this poem
- amaryllis n.
- A pastoral sweetheart.
- fitter n.
- A little piece; a flitter; a flinder.
- shepherdess n.
- A woman who tends sheep; hence, a rural lass.
- homely a.
- Belonging to, or having the characteristics of, home; domestic; familiar; intimate. [From Home, n.]
- prithee interj.
- A corruption of pray thee; as, I prithee; generally used without I.
- ambo n.
- A large pulpit or reading desk, in the early Christian churches. Gwilt. [LL. ambo, Gr. ambon.]
- 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
1067. Gentleness 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, 1067. Gentleness, in Hesperides (1648), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22421, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herrick-hesperides/1067-gentleness.html, id L05966.
Form and metre
1067. Gentleness is 26 lines in 7 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 4 of its 7 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 10 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 31% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 handA · commandA
- 2 ABAB goA · theeB · knowA · theeB
- 3 A-A- dewA · lilies · youA · amaryllis
- 4 ABAB theeA · hoursB · beA · flowersB
- 5 ABAB fineA · fitterB · shineA · glitterB
- 7 ABAB awayA · severB · dayA · everB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| That prince must govern with a gentle hand | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Who will have love comply with his command. | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| Her. My dearest love, since thou wilt go, | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| And leave me here behind thee, | 7 | ······· |
| For love or pity let me know | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The place where I may find thee. | 7 | ······· |
| Ama. In country meadows pearl'd with dew, | 10 | ···/˘/···· |
| And set about with lilies, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| There, filling maunds with cowslips, you | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| May find your Amaryllis. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Her. What have the meads to do with thee, | 9 | ········· |
| Or with thy youthful hours? | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Live thou at Court, where thou mayst be | 8 | ········ |
| The queen of men, not flowers. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Let country wenches make 'em fine | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| With posies, since 'tis fitter | 6 | ····/˘ |
| For thee with richest gems to shine, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And like the stars to glitter. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Ama. You set too high a rate upon | 10 | ·········· |
| A shepherdess so homely. | 7 | ·/˘˘·/˘ |
| Her. Believe it, dearest, there's not one | 9 | ·˘/·/˘··· |
| I' th' Court that's half so comely. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| I prithee stay. Ama. I must away; | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Let's kiss first, then we'll sever. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Ambo. And though we bid adieu to-day, | 10 | /˘····˘/·· |
| We shall not part for ever. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
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.