306. On Himself
Here down my wearied limbs I'll lay;My pilgrim's staff, my weed of gray,My palmer's hat, my scallop's shell,My cross, my cord, and all, farewell.For having now my journey done,Just at the setting of the sun,Here I have found a chamber fit,God and good friends be thanked for it,Where if I can a lodger be,A little while from tramplers free,At my up-rising next I shall,If not requite, yet thank ye all.Meanwhile, the holy-rood hence frightThe fouler fiend and evil spriteFrom scaring you or yours this night.
Words in this poem
- lodger n.
- One who, or that which, lodges; one who occupies a hired room in another's house.
- 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,]
- thank n.
- A expression of gratitude; an acknowledgment expressive of a sense of favor or kindness received; obligation, claim, or desert, or gratitude; -- now generally used in the plural. [AS. Þanc, Þonc, thanks, favor, thought; akin to OS. thank favor, pleasure, thanks, D. & G. dank thanks, Icel. Þ\'94kk, Dan. tak, Sw. tack, Goth. Þagks thanks; -]
- meanwhile n.
- The intervening time; as, in the meantime (or mean time).
- rood n.
- A representation in sculpture or in painting of the cross with Christ hanging on it. [AS. rr, D. roede rod, G. ruthe, rute, OHG. ruota. CF. Rod a measure.]
- sprite n.
- A spirit; a soul; a shade; also, an apparition. See Spright. [OE. sprit, F. esprit, fr. L. spiritus. See Spirit, and cf. Sprightly.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
306. On Himself 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, 306. On Himself, in Hesperides (1648), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22421, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herrick-hesperides/306-on-himself.html, id L05333.
Form and metre
306. On Himself is 15 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 80% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 13% 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 AABBCCDDEE--FFF layA · grayA · shellB · farewellB · doneC · sunC · fitD · itD · beE · freeE · shall · all · frightF · spriteF · nightF
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Here down my wearied limbs I'll lay; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| My pilgrim's staff, my weed of gray, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| My palmer's hat, my scallop's shell, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| My cross, my cord, and all, farewell. | 8 | ·······/ |
| For having now my journey done, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Just at the setting of the sun, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Here I have found a chamber fit, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| God and good friends be thanked for it, | 8 | ········ |
| Where if I can a lodger be, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A little while from tramplers free, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| At my up-rising next I shall, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| If not requite, yet thank ye all. | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Meanwhile, the holy-rood hence fright | 8 | /··/˘··· |
| The fouler fiend and evil sprite | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| From scaring you or yours this night. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
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.