1076. Upon Trap
Trap of a player turn'd a priest now is:Behold a sudden metamorphosis.If tithe-pigs fail, then will he shift the scene,And from a priest turn player once again.
Whether I was myself, or else did seeOut of myself that glorious hierarchy;Or whether those, in orders rare, or theseMade up one state of sixty Venuses;Or whether fairies, syrens, nymphs they were,Or muses on their mountain sitting there;Or some enchanted place, I do not know,Or Sharon, where eternal roses grow.This I am sure: I ravished stood, as oneConfus'd in utter admiration.Methought I saw them stir, and gently move,And look as all were capable of love;And in their motion smelt much like to flowersInspir'd by th' sunbeams after dews and showers.There did I see the reverend rectress stand,Who with her eye's gleam, or a glance of hand,Those spirits raised; and with like precepts then,As with a magic, laid them all again.A happy realm! When no compulsive law,Or fear of it, but love keeps all in awe.Live you, great mistress of your arts, and beA nursing mother so to majesty,As those your ladies may in time be seen,For grace and carriage, everyone a queen.One birth their parents gave them; but their new,And better being, they receive from you.Man's former birth is graceless; but the stateOf life comes in, when he's regenerate.
Words in this poem
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- enchanted a.
- Under the power of enchantment; possessed or exercised by enchanters; as, an enchanted castle.
- admiration n.
- Wonder; astonishment. [F., fr. L. admiratio. See Admire.]
- reverend a.
- Worthy of reverence; entitled to respect mingled with fear and affection; venerable. [F. révérend, L. reverendus, fr. revereri. See Revere.]
- rectress n.
- A rectoress. B. Jonson.
- compulsive a.
- Having power to compel; exercising or applying compulsion.
- everyone n.
- Everybody; -- commonly separated, every one. [OE. everychon.]
- graceless a.
- Wanting in grace or excellence; departed from, or deprived of, divine grace; hence, depraved; corrupt.
- regenerate v. t.
- To generate or produce anew; to reproduce; to give new life, strength, or vigor to.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
1076. Upon Trap 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, 1076. Upon Trap, in Hesperides (1648), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22421, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herrick-hesperides/1076-upon-trap.html, id L05973.
Form and metre
1076. Upon Trap is 32 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 69% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 19% 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.
- 2 A-BB--CCDDEEFFGGHHIIA-JJKKLL seeA · hierarchy · theseB · venusesB · were · there · knowC · growC · oneD · admirationD · moveE · loveE · flowersF · showersF · standG · handG · thenH · againH · lawI · aweI · beA · majesty · seenJ · queenJ · newK · youK · stateL · regenerateL
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Trap of a player turn'd a priest now is: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Behold a sudden metamorphosis. | 10 | ˘/·/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| If tithe-pigs fail, then will he shift the scene, | 10 | ·········· |
| And from a priest turn player once again. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Whether I was myself, or else did see | 10 | ·····/···· |
| Out of myself that glorious hierarchy; | 11 | ···/·/˘/˘·˘ |
| Or whether those, in orders rare, or these | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Made up one state of sixty Venuses; | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| Or whether fairies, syrens, nymphs they were, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Or muses on their mountain sitting there; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Or some enchanted place, I do not know, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Or Sharon, where eternal roses grow. | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘/˘· |
| This I am sure: I ravished stood, as one | 10 | ·········· |
| Confus'd in utter admiration. | 9 | ˘/·/˘·˘/˘ |
| Methought I saw them stir, and gently move, | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| And look as all were capable of love; | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| And in their motion smelt much like to flowers | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Inspir'd by th' sunbeams after dews and showers. | 11 | ˘/·/·····/˘ |
| There did I see the reverend rectress stand, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Who with her eye's gleam, or a glance of hand, | 10 | ·········· |
| Those spirits raised; and with like precepts then, | 10 | ·/˘····/·· |
| As with a magic, laid them all again. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| A happy realm! When no compulsive law, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| Or fear of it, but love keeps all in awe. | 10 | ·········· |
| Live you, great mistress of your arts, and be | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| A nursing mother so to majesty, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘˘ |
| As those your ladies may in time be seen, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| For grace and carriage, everyone a queen. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| One birth their parents gave them; but their new, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And better being, they receive from you. | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| Man's former birth is graceless; but the state | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Of life comes in, when he's regenerate. | 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.