214. To the Lark
Good speed, for I this dayBetimes my matins say:Because I doBegin to woo,Sweet-singing lark,Be thou the clerk,And know thy whenTo say, Amen.And if I proveBless'd in my love,Then thou shalt beHigh-priest to me,At my return,To incense burn;And so to solemniseLove's and my sacrifice.
Words in this poem
- betimes adv.
- In good season or time; before it is late; seasonably; early. [Pref. be- (for by) + time; that is, by the proper time. The -s is an adverbial ending.]
- clerk n.
- A clergyman or ecclesiastic. [Either OF. clerc, fr. L. clericus a priest, or AS. clerc, cleric, clerk, priest, fr. L. clericus, fr. Gr. Clergy.]
- amen interj.
- An expression used at the end of prayers, and meaning, So be it. At the end of a creed, it is a solemn asseveration of belief. [L. amen, Gr. am certainly, truly.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- solemnise v. t.
- To perform with solemn or ritual ceremonies, or according to legal forms. [Cf. F. solemniser, sollemniser.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
214. To the Lark 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, 214. To the Lark, in Hesperides (1648), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22421, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herrick-hesperides/214-to-the-lark.html, id L05258.
Form and metre
214. To the Lark is 16 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 75% of the lines. The metre is iambic dimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 4.5 syllables. 38% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in iambic dimeter.
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 AABB--CCDDEEFF-- dayA · sayA · doB · wooB · lark · clerk · whenC · amenC · proveD · loveD · beE · meE · returnF · burnF · solemnise · sacrifice
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 dimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Good speed, for I this day | 6 | ······ |
| Betimes my matins say: | 6 | ······ |
| Because I do | 4 | ···· |
| Begin to woo, | 4 | ˘/·· |
| Sweet-singing lark, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Be thou the clerk, | 4 | ···· |
| And know thy when | 4 | ···· |
| To say, Amen. | 4 | ··˘/ |
| And if I prove | 4 | ···· |
| Bless'd in my love, | 4 | ···· |
| Then thou shalt be | 4 | ···· |
| High-priest to me, | 4 | ···· |
| At my return, | 4 | ··˘/ |
| To incense burn; | 4 | ·˘/· |
| And so to solemnise | 6 | ······ |
| Love's and my sacrifice. | 6 | ···/˘· |
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.