265. To the Queen
Goddess of youth, and lady of the spring,Most fit to be the consort to a king,Be pleas'd to rest you in this sacred groveBeset with myrtles, whose each leaf drops love.Many a sweet-fac'd wood-nymph here is seen,Of which chaste order you are now the queen:Witness their homage when they come and strewYour walks with flowers, and give their crowns to you.Your leafy throne, with lily-work possess,And be both princess here and poetess.
May his pretty dukeship growLike t'a rose of Jericho:Sweeter far than ever yetShowers or sunshines could beget.May the Graces and the HoursStrew his hopes and him with flowers:And so dress him up with loveAs to be the chick of Jove.May the thrice-three sisters singHim the sovereign of their spring:And entitle none to bePrince of Helicon but he.May his soft foot, where it treads,Gardens thence produce and meads:And those meadows full be setWith the rose and violet.May his ample name be knownTo the last succession:And his actions high be toldThrough the world, but writ in gold.
Words in this poem
- princess n.
- A female prince; a woman having sovereign power, or the rank of a prince. [F. princesse. See Prince, and cf. Princesse.]
- dukeship n.
- The quality or condition of being a duke; also, the personality of a duke. Massinger.
- jove n.
- The chief divinity of the ancient Romans; Jupiter. [L. Jupiter, gen. Jovis, OL. Jovis, nom. & gen. for Djovis; akin to E. Tuesday. See Tuesday, and cf. Jupiter.]
- helicon n.
- A mountain in Boeotia, in Greece, supposed by the Greeks to be the residence of Apollo and the Muses.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
265. To the Queen 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, 265. To the Queen, in Hesperides (1648), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22421, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herrick-hesperides/265-to-the-queen.html, id L05299.
Form and metre
265. To the Queen is 30 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 80% of the lines. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 78%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 37% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in trochaic 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 AA--BBCCDD springA · kingA · grove · love · seenB · queenB · strewC · youC · possessD · poetessD
- 2 AABBCC--DDEE--BBFFGG growA · jerichoA · yetB · begetB · hoursC · flowersC · love · jove · singD · springD · beE · heE · treads · meads · setB · violetB · knownF · successionF · toldG · goldG
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Goddess of youth, and lady of the spring, | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| Most fit to be the consort to a king, | 10 | ·····˘/··· |
| Be pleas'd to rest you in this sacred grove | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Beset with myrtles, whose each leaf drops love. | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| Many a sweet-fac'd wood-nymph here is seen, | 9 | /········ |
| Of which chaste order you are now the queen: | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Witness their homage when they come and strew | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| Your walks with flowers, and give their crowns to you. | 10 | ···/······ |
| Your leafy throne, with lily-work possess, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| And be both princess here and poetess. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| May his pretty dukeship grow | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Like t'a rose of Jericho: | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Sweeter far than ever yet | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Showers or sunshines could beget. | 7 | /·/··˘/ |
| May the Graces and the Hours | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Strew his hopes and him with flowers: | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And so dress him up with love | 7 | ······· |
| As to be the chick of Jove. | 7 | ······· |
| May the thrice-three sisters sing | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Him the sovereign of their spring: | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And entitle none to be | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| Prince of Helicon but he. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| May his soft foot, where it treads, | 7 | ······· |
| Gardens thence produce and meads: | 7 | /˘·˘/·· |
| And those meadows full be set | 7 | ··/···· |
| With the rose and violet. | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| May his ample name be known | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| To the last succession: | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| And his actions high be told | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Through the world, but writ in gold. | 7 | ······· |
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