41. His Litany to the Holy Spirit
In the hour of my distress,When temptations me oppress,And when I my sins confess,Sweet Spirit, comfort me!
When I lie within my bed,Sick in heart and sick in head,And with doubts discomforted,Sweet Spirit, comfort me!
When the house doth sigh and weep,And the world is drown'd in sleep,Yet mine eyes the watch do keep,Sweet Spirit, comfort me!
When the artless doctor seesNo one hope, but of his fees,And his skill runs on the lees,Sweet Spirit, comfort me!
When his potion and his pillHas, or none, or little skill,Meet for nothing, but to kill;Sweet Spirit, comfort me!
When the passing bell doth toll,And the furies in a shoalCome to fright a parting soul,Sweet Spirit, comfort me!
When the tapers now burn blue,And the comforters are few,And that number more than true,Sweet Spirit, comfort me!
When the priest his last hath prayed,And I nod to what is said,'Cause my speech is now decayed,Sweet Spirit, comfort me!
When, God knows, I'm toss'd about,Either with despair, or doubt;Yet before the glass be out,Sweet Spirit, comfort me!
When the tempter me pursu'thWith the sins of all my youth,And half damns me with untruth,Sweet Spirit, comfort me!
When the flames and hellish criesFright mine ears, and fright mine eyes,And all terrors me surprise,Sweet Spirit, comfort me!
When the judgment is reveal'd,And that open'd which was seal'd,When to Thee I have appeal'd,Sweet Spirit, comfort me!
Words in this poem
- tempter n.
- One who tempts or entices; especially, Satan, or the Devil, regarded as the great enticer to evil.
- untruth n.
- The quality of being untrue; contrariety to truth; want of veracity; also, treachery; faithlessness; disloyalty.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
41. His Litany to the Holy Spirit 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, 41. His Litany to the Holy Spirit, in Hesperides (1648), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22421, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herrick-hesperides/41-his-litany-to-the-holy-spirit.html, id L06052.
Form and metre
41. His Litany to the Holy Spirit is 48 lines in 12 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.8 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 10% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in common measure.
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 AAA- distressA · oppressA · confessA · me
- 2 AAA- bedA · headA · discomfortedA · me
- 3 AAA- weepA · sleepA · keepA · me
- 4 AAA- seesA · feesA · leesA · me
- 5 AAA- pillA · skillA · killA · me
- 6 AAA- tollA · shoalA · soulA · me
- 7 AAA- blueA · fewA · trueA · me
- 8 A-A- prayedA · said · decayedA · me
- 9 AAA- aboutA · doubtA · outA · me
- 10 AAA- pursu'thA · youthA · untruthA · me
- 11 AAA- criesA · eyesA · surpriseA · me
- 12 AAA- reveal'dA · seal'dA · appeal'dA · me
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| In the hour of my distress, | 8 | ··/˘··˘/ |
| When temptations me oppress, | 7 | ·˘/˘·˘/ |
| And when I my sins confess, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Sweet Spirit, comfort me! | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| When I lie within my bed, | 7 | ······· |
| Sick in heart and sick in head, | 7 | ······· |
| And with doubts discomforted, | 7 | ···˘/˘˘ |
| Sweet Spirit, comfort me! | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| When the house doth sigh and weep, | 7 | ······· |
| And the world is drown'd in sleep, | 7 | ······· |
| Yet mine eyes the watch do keep, | 7 | ······· |
| Sweet Spirit, comfort me! | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| When the artless doctor sees | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| No one hope, but of his fees, | 7 | ······· |
| And his skill runs on the lees, | 7 | ······· |
| Sweet Spirit, comfort me! | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| When his potion and his pill | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Has, or none, or little skill, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Meet for nothing, but to kill; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Sweet Spirit, comfort me! | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| When the passing bell doth toll, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And the furies in a shoal | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Come to fright a parting soul, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Sweet Spirit, comfort me! | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| When the tapers now burn blue, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And the comforters are few, | 7 | ··/˘˘·· |
| And that number more than true, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Sweet Spirit, comfort me! | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| When the priest his last hath prayed, | 7 | ······· |
| And I nod to what is said, | 7 | ······· |
| 'Cause my speech is now decayed, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Sweet Spirit, comfort me! | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| When, God knows, I'm toss'd about, | 7 | ······· |
| Either with despair, or doubt; | 7 | /˘·˘/·· |
| Yet before the glass be out, | 7 | ······· |
| Sweet Spirit, comfort me! | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| When the tempter me pursu'th | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| With the sins of all my youth, | 7 | ······· |
| And half damns me with untruth, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Sweet Spirit, comfort me! | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| When the flames and hellish cries | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Fright mine ears, and fright mine eyes, | 7 | ······· |
| And all terrors me surprise, | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Sweet Spirit, comfort me! | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| When the judgment is reveal'd, | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| And that open'd which was seal'd, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| When to Thee I have appeal'd, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Sweet Spirit, comfort me! | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
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