249. On Love
Love bade me ask a gift,And I no more did moveBut this, that I might shiftStill with my clothes my love:That favour granted was;Since which, though I love many,Yet so it comes to passThat long I love not any.
Come, sons of summer, by whose toilWe are the lords of wine and oil:By whose tough labours and rough handsWe rip up first, then reap our lands.Crowned with the ears of corn, now come,And to the pipe sing harvest home.Come forth, my lord, and see the cartDressed up with all the country art:See here a maukin, there a sheet,As spotless pure as it is sweet:The horses, mares, and frisking fillies,Clad all in linen white as lilies.The harvest swains and wenches boundFor joy, to see the hock-cart crowned.About the cart, hear how the routOf rural younglings raise the shout;Pressing before, some coming after,Those with a shout, and these with laughter.Some bless the cart, some kiss the sheaves,Some prank them up with oaken leaves:Some cross the fill-horse, some with greatDevotion stroke the home-borne wheat:While other rustics, less attentTo prayers than to merriment,Run after with their breeches rent.Well, on, brave boys, to your lord's hearth,Glitt'ring with fire, where, for your mirth,Ye shall see first the large and chiefFoundation of your feast, fat beef:With upper stories, mutton, vealAnd bacon (which makes full the meal),With sev'ral dishes standing by,As here a custard, there a pie,And here all-tempting frumenty.And for to make the merry cheer,If smirking wine be wanting here,There's that which drowns all care, stout beer;Which freely drink to your lord's health,Then to the plough, the commonwealth,Next to your flails, your fans, your fats,Then to the maids with wheaten hats:To the rough sickle, and crook'd scythe,Drink, frolic boys, till all be blithe.Feed, and grow fat; and as ye eatBe mindful that the lab'ring neat,As you, may have their fill of meat.And know, besides, ye must revokeThe patient ox unto the yoke,And all go back unto the ploughAnd harrow, though they're hanged up now.And, you must know, your lord's word's true,Feed him ye must, whose food fills you;And that this pleasure is like rain,Not sent ye for to drown your pain,But for to make it spring again.
Words in this poem
- bade
- A form of the pat tense of Bid.
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- reap n.
- A bundle of grain; a handful of grain laid down by the reaper as it is cut. Wright. [Cf. AS. rip harvest. See Reap, v.]
- clad v.
- To clothe. Holland.
- oaken a.
- Made or consisting of oaks or of the wood of oaks. [AS. acen.]
- attent a.
- Attentive; heedful. [L. attentus, p. p. of attendere. See Attend, v. t.]
- 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,]
- mutton n.
- A sheep. Chapman. [OE. motoun, OF. moton, molton, a sheep, wether, F. mouton, LL. multo, by transposition of l fr. L. mutilus mutilated. See Mutilate.]
- frumenty n.
- Food made of hulled wheat boiled in milk, with sugar, plums, etc. Halliwell. [OF. fromentée, fr. L. frumentum. See Frumentaceous.]
- commonwealth n.
- A state; a body politic consisting of a certain number of men, united, by compact or tacit agreement, under one form of government and system of laws. [Common + wealth well-being.]
- wheaten a.
- Made of wheat; as, wheaten bread. [AS. hwæten.]
- blithe a.
- Gay; merry; sprightly; joyous; glad; cheerful; as, a blithe spirit. [AS. bli blithe, kind; akin to Goth. blei kind, Icel. bli mild, gentle, Dan. & Sw. blid gentle, D. blijd blithe, OHG. blidi kind, blithe.]
- mindful a.
- Bearing in mind; regardful; attentive; heedful; observant.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
249. On Love 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, 249. On Love, in Hesperides (1648), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22421, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herrick-hesperides/249-on-love.html, id L05285.
Form and metre
249. On Love is 63 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 54% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.9 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 24% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, 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 ABAB-C-C giftA · moveB · shiftA · loveB · was · manyC · pass · anyC
- 2 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJ--KKK--LLMMNN-OOOPPQQ--RRRSSTTUUVV- toilA · oilA · handsB · landsB · comeC · homeC · cartD · artD · sheetE · sweetE · filliesF · liliesF · boundG · crownedG · routH · shoutH · afterI · laughterI · sheavesJ · leavesJ · great · wheat · attentK · merrimentK · rentK · hearth · mirth · chiefL · beefL · vealM · mealM · byN · pieN · frumenty · cheerO · hereO · beerO · healthP · commonwealthP · fatsQ · hatsQ · scythe · blithe · eatR · neatR · meatR · revokeS · yokeS · ploughT · nowT · trueU · youU · rainV · painV · again
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Love bade me ask a gift, | 6 | ······ |
| And I no more did move | 6 | ······ |
| But this, that I might shift | 6 | ······ |
| Still with my clothes my love: | 6 | ······ |
| That favour granted was; | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Since which, though I love many, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Yet so it comes to pass | 6 | ······ |
| That long I love not any. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Come, sons of summer, by whose toil | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| We are the lords of wine and oil: | 8 | ········ |
| By whose tough labours and rough hands | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| We rip up first, then reap our lands. | 8 | ······/· |
| Crowned with the ears of corn, now come, | 8 | ········ |
| And to the pipe sing harvest home. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Come forth, my lord, and see the cart | 8 | ········ |
| Dressed up with all the country art: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| See here a maukin, there a sheet, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| As spotless pure as it is sweet: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The horses, mares, and frisking fillies, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Clad all in linen white as lilies. | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| The harvest swains and wenches bound | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| For joy, to see the hock-cart crowned. | 8 | ········ |
| About the cart, hear how the rout | 8 | ········ |
| Of rural younglings raise the shout; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Pressing before, some coming after, | 9 | /˘···/˘·· |
| Those with a shout, and these with laughter. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Some bless the cart, some kiss the sheaves, | 8 | ········ |
| Some prank them up with oaken leaves: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Some cross the fill-horse, some with great | 8 | ········ |
| Devotion stroke the home-borne wheat: | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| While other rustics, less attent | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| To prayers than to merriment, | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| Run after with their breeches rent. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Well, on, brave boys, to your lord's hearth, | 8 | ········ |
| Glitt'ring with fire, where, for your mirth, | 8 | ···/···· |
| Ye shall see first the large and chief | 8 | ········ |
| Foundation of your feast, fat beef: | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| With upper stories, mutton, veal | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| And bacon (which makes full the meal), | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| With sev'ral dishes standing by, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| As here a custard, there a pie, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And here all-tempting frumenty. | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| And for to make the merry cheer, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| If smirking wine be wanting here, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| There's that which drowns all care, stout beer; | 8 | ········ |
| Which freely drink to your lord's health, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Then to the plough, the commonwealth, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Next to your flails, your fans, your fats, | 8 | ········ |
| Then to the maids with wheaten hats: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To the rough sickle, and crook'd scythe, | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| Drink, frolic boys, till all be blithe. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Feed, and grow fat; and as ye eat | 8 | ········ |
| Be mindful that the lab'ring neat, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| As you, may have their fill of meat. | 8 | ········ |
| And know, besides, ye must revoke | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| The patient ox unto the yoke, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And all go back unto the plough | 8 | ········ |
| And harrow, though they're hanged up now. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And, you must know, your lord's word's true, | 8 | ········ |
| Feed him ye must, whose food fills you; | 8 | ········ |
| And that this pleasure is like rain, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Not sent ye for to drown your pain, | 8 | ········ |
| But for to make it spring again. | 8 | ······˘/ |
Notes from the edition 1
Word-glosses from Pollard's edition (Muses' Library, 1891; Project Gutenberg #22421).
- Stanza 2 Maukin: a cloth · Fill-horse: shaft-horse · Frumenty: wheat boiled in milk · Fats: vats
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.