210. To His Friend, on the Untunable Times
Play I could once; but, gentle friend, you seeMy harp hung up here on the willow tree.Sing I could once; and bravely, too, inspireWith luscious numbers my melodious lyre.Draw I could once, although not stocks or stones,Amphion-like, men made of flesh and bones,Whither I would; but ah! I know not how,I feel in me this transmutation now.Grief, my dear friend, has first my harp unstrung,Wither'd my hand, and palsy-struck my tongue.
Words in this poem
- bravely adv.
- In a brave manner; courageously; gallantly; valiantly; splendidly; nobly.
- luscious a.
- Sweet; delicious; very grateful to the taste; toothsome; excessively sweet or rich. [Prob. for lustious, fr. lusty, or perh. a corruption of luxurious. Cf. Lush, Lusty.]
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
210. To His Friend, on the Untunable Times 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, 210. To His Friend, on the Untunable Times, in Hesperides (1648), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22421, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herrick-hesperides/210-to-his-friend-on-the-untunable-times.html, id L05254.
Form and metre
210. To His Friend, on the Untunable Times is 10 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 20% 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 AABBCCDDEE seeA · treeA · inspireB · lyreB · stonesC · bonesC · howD · nowD · unstrungE · tongueE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Play I could once; but, gentle friend, you see | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| My harp hung up here on the willow tree. | 10 | ·······/·· |
| Sing I could once; and bravely, too, inspire | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| With luscious numbers my melodious lyre. | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Draw I could once, although not stocks or stones, | 10 | ·········· |
| Amphion-like, men made of flesh and bones, | 9 | ········· |
| Whither I would; but ah! I know not how, | 10 | /˘········ |
| I feel in me this transmutation now. | 10 | ·········· |
| Grief, my dear friend, has first my harp unstrung, | 10 | ·········· |
| Wither'd my hand, and palsy-struck my tongue. | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
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