329. The Kiss. A Dialogue
It is a creature born and bredBetween the lips (all cherry-red),By love and warm desires fed.Chor. And makes more soft the bridal bed.
It is an active flame that flies,First, to the babies of the eyes;And charms them there with lullabies.Chor. And stills the bride, too, when she cries.
Then to the chin, the cheek, the ear,It frisks and flies, now here, now there,'Tis now far off, and then 'tis near.Chor. And here and there and everywhere.
Has it a speaking virtue? 2. Yes.1. How speaks it, say? 2. Do you but this;Part your joined lips, then speaks your kissChor. And this love's sweetest language is.
Has it a body? 2. Aye, and wingsWith thousand rare encolourings;And, as it flies, it gently sings,Chor. Love honey yields, but never stings.
About this text
329. The Kiss. A Dialogue 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, 329. The Kiss. A Dialogue, in Hesperides (1648), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22421, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herrick-hesperides/329-the-kiss-a-dialogue.html, id L05350.
Form and metre
329. The Kiss. A Dialogue is 20 lines in 5 stanzas of 4 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 70% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.3 syllables. 15% 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 AAAA bredA · redA · fedA · bedA
- 2 AAAA fliesA · eyesA · lullabiesA · criesA
- 3 ABAB earA · thereB · nearA · everywhereB
- 4 -AA- yes · thisA · kissA · is
- 5 AAAA wingsA · encolouringsA · singsA · stingsA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| It is a creature born and bred | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Between the lips (all cherry-red), | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| By love and warm desires fed. | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Chor. And makes more soft the bridal bed. | 9 | ······/˘· |
| It is an active flame that flies, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| First, to the babies of the eyes; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And charms them there with lullabies. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Chor. And stills the bride, too, when she cries. | 9 | ········· |
| Then to the chin, the cheek, the ear, | 8 | ········ |
| It frisks and flies, now here, now there, | 8 | ········ |
| 'Tis now far off, and then 'tis near. | 8 | ········ |
| Chor. And here and there and everywhere. | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Has it a speaking virtue? 2. Yes. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| 1. How speaks it, say? 2. Do you but this; | 8 | ········ |
| Part your joined lips, then speaks your kiss | 8 | ········ |
| Chor. And this love's sweetest language is. | 9 | ····/˘/˘· |
| Has it a body? 2. Aye, and wings | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| With thousand rare encolourings; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And, as it flies, it gently sings, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Chor. Love honey yields, but never stings. | 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.