319. A New-Year's Gift Sent to Sir Simon Steward
No news of navies burnt at seas;No noise of late-spawn'd tittyries;No closet plot, or open vent,That frights men with a parliament;No new device or late-found trickTo read by the stars the kingdom's sick;No gin to catch the state, or wringThe freeborn nostril of the king,We send to you; but here a jollyVerse, crown'd with ivy and with holly,That tells of winter's tales and mirth,That milkmaids make about the hearth,Of Christmas sports, the wassail-bowl,That['s] tost up, after fox-i'-th'-hole;Of blind-man-buff, and of the careThat young men have to shoe the mare;Of Twelfth-tide cakes, of peas and beans,Wherewith you make those merry scenes,Whenas ye choose your king and queen,And cry out: Hey, for our town green;Of ash-heaps, in the which ye useHusbands and wives by streaks to choose;Of crackling laurel, which fore-soundsA plenteous harvest to your grounds:Of these and such-like things for shift,We send instead of New-Year's gift.Read then, and when your faces shineWith buxom meat and cap'ring wine,Remember us in cups full crown'd,And let our city-health go round,Quite through the young maids and the men,To the ninth number, if not ten;Until the fired chesnuts leapFor joy to see the fruits ye reapFrom the plump chalice and the cup,That tempts till it be tossed up;Then as ye sit about your embers,Call not to mind those fled Decembers,But think on these that are t' appearAs daughters to the instant year:Sit crown'd with rosebuds, and carouseTill Liber Pater twirls the houseAbout your ears; and lay uponThe year your cares that's fled and gone.And let the russet swains the ploughAnd harrow hang up, resting now;And to the bagpipe all address,Till sleep takes place of weariness.And thus, throughout, with Christmas playsFrolic the full twelve holidays.
Words in this poem
- parliament n.
- A parleying; a discussion; a conference. [OE. parlement, F. parlement, fr. parler to speak; cf. LL. parlamentum, parliamentum. See Parley.]
- freeborn a.
- Born free; not born in vasssalage; inheriting freedom.
- wherewith adv.
- With which; -- used relatively.
- buxom a.
- Yielding; pliable or compliant; ready to obey; obedient; tractable; docile; meek; humble. [OE. buxum, boxom, buhsum, pliable, obedient, AS. bocsum, buhsum (akin to D. buigzaam blexible, G. biegsam); bugan to bow, bend + -sum, E. -some. See Bow to bend]
- 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.]
- chalice n.
- A cup or bowl; especially, the cup used in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. [OR. chalis, calice, OF. chalice, calice, F. calice, fr. L. calix, akin to Gr. helmet. Cf. Calice, Calyx.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
319. A New-Year's Gift Sent to Sir Simon Steward 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, 319. A New-Year's Gift Sent to Sir Simon Steward, in Hesperides (1648), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22421, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herrick-hesperides/319-a-new-year-s-gift-sent-to-sir-simon-steward.html, id L05341.
Form and metre
319. A New-Year's Gift Sent to Sir Simon Steward is 50 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 89%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.2 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 30% 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 --AABBCCDD--EEFFGGHH--IIJJKKLLMMNNOOPPQQP---RRSSTT seas · tittyries · ventA · parliamentA · trickB · sickB · wringC · kingC · jollyD · hollyD · mirth · hearth · bowlE · holeE · careF · mareF · beansG · scenesG · queenH · greenH · use · choose · soundsI · groundsI · shiftJ · giftJ · shineK · wineK · crown'dL · roundL · menM · tenM · leapN · reapN · cupO · upO · embersP · decembersP · appearQ · yearQ · carouseP · house · upon · gone · ploughR · nowR · addressS · wearinessS · playsT · holidaysT
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 |
|---|---|---|
| No news of navies burnt at seas; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| No noise of late-spawn'd tittyries; | 7 | ······· |
| No closet plot, or open vent, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| That frights men with a parliament; | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| No new device or late-found trick | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| To read by the stars the kingdom's sick; | 9 | ······/˘· |
| No gin to catch the state, or wring | 8 | ········ |
| The freeborn nostril of the king, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| We send to you; but here a jolly | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Verse, crown'd with ivy and with holly, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| That tells of winter's tales and mirth, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| That milkmaids make about the hearth, | 8 | ········ |
| Of Christmas sports, the wassail-bowl, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| That['s] tost up, after fox-i'-th'-hole; | 9 | ········· |
| Of blind-man-buff, and of the care | 8 | ········ |
| That young men have to shoe the mare; | 8 | ········ |
| Of Twelfth-tide cakes, of peas and beans, | 8 | ········ |
| Wherewith you make those merry scenes, | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| Whenas ye choose your king and queen, | 8 | /˘······ |
| And cry out: Hey, for our town green; | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Of ash-heaps, in the which ye use | 8 | ········ |
| Husbands and wives by streaks to choose; | 8 | /˘······ |
| Of crackling laurel, which fore-sounds | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| A plenteous harvest to your grounds: | 9 | ·/˘˘/˘··· |
| Of these and such-like things for shift, | 8 | ········ |
| We send instead of New-Year's gift. | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Read then, and when your faces shine | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| With buxom meat and cap'ring wine, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Remember us in cups full crown'd, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| And let our city-health go round, | 9 | ··/˘/˘··· |
| Quite through the young maids and the men, | 8 | ········ |
| To the ninth number, if not ten; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Until the fired chesnuts leap | 9 | ···/˘˘/·· |
| For joy to see the fruits ye reap | 8 | ········ |
| From the plump chalice and the cup, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| That tempts till it be tossed up; | 7 | ······· |
| Then as ye sit about your embers, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Call not to mind those fled Decembers, | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| But think on these that are t' appear | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| As daughters to the instant year: | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Sit crown'd with rosebuds, and carouse | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Till Liber Pater twirls the house | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| About your ears; and lay upon | 8 | ········ |
| The year your cares that's fled and gone. | 8 | ········ |
| And let the russet swains the plough | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And harrow hang up, resting now; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And to the bagpipe all address, | 8 | ···/··˘/ |
| Till sleep takes place of weariness. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| And thus, throughout, with Christmas plays | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Frolic the full twelve holidays. | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
Notes from the edition 1
Word-glosses from Pollard's edition (Muses' Library, 1891; Project Gutenberg #22421).
- Tittyries: _i.e._, the Tityre-tues; see Note · Fox-i'-th'-hole: a game of hopping · To shoe the mare: or, shoe the wild mare, a Christmas game · Buxom: tender · Liber Pater: Father Bacchus
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.