180. Observation
The Virgin Mother stood at distance, there,From her Son's cross, not shedding once a tear,Because the law forbad to sit and cryFor those who did as malefactors die.So she, to keep her mighty woes in awe,Tortured her love not to transgress the law.Observe we may, how Mary Joses then,And th' other Mary, Mary Magdalen,Sat by the grave; and sadly sitting there,Shed for their Master many a bitter tear;But 'twas not till their dearest Lord was deadAnd then to weep they both were licensed.
Words in this poem
- magdalen n.
- A reformed prostitute. [From Mary Magdalene, traditionally reported to have been the repentant sinner forgiven by Christ. See Luke vii. 36.]
- sadly adv.
- Wearily; heavily; firmly.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
180. Observation 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, 180. Observation, in Hesperides (1648), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22421, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herrick-hesperides/180-observation.html, id L06191.
Form and metre
180. Observation is 12 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 83% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 17% 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 AABBCCDDAA-- thereA · tearA · cryB · dieB · aweC · lawC · thenD · magdalenD · thereA · tearA · dead · licensed
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The Virgin Mother stood at distance, there, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| From her Son's cross, not shedding once a tear, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Because the law forbad to sit and cry | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| For those who did as malefactors die. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘· |
| So she, to keep her mighty woes in awe, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Tortured her love not to transgress the law. | 10 | /˘····˘/·· |
| Observe we may, how Mary Joses then, | 10 | ˘/···/˘·/· |
| And th' other Mary, Mary Magdalen, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘/˘˘ |
| Sat by the grave; and sadly sitting there, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Shed for their Master many a bitter tear; | 10 | ···/˘/·/˘· |
| But 'twas not till their dearest Lord was dead | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And then to weep they both were licensed. | 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.