47. A Thanksgiving to God for His House
Lord, Thou hast given me a cellWherein to dwell;A little house, whose humble roofIs weather-proof;Under the spars of which I lieBoth soft and dry;Where Thou my chamber for to wardHast set a guardOf harmless thoughts, to watch and keepMe, while I sleep.Low is my porch, as is my fate,Both void of state;And yet the threshold of my doorIs worn by th' poor,Who thither come, and freely getGood words or meat;Like as my parlour, so my hallAnd kitchen's small;A little buttery, and thereinA little binWhich keeps my little loaf of breadUnclipt, unflead.Some brittle sticks of thorn or briarMake me a fire,Close by whose living coal I sit,And glow like it.Lord, I confess, too, when I dine,The pulse is Thine,And all those other bits, that beThere placed by Thee;The worts, the purslain, and the messOf water-cress,Which of Thy kindness Thou hast sent;And my contentMakes those, and my beloved beet,To be more sweet.'Tis Thou that crown'st my glittering hearthWith guiltless mirth;And giv'st me wassail bowls to drink,Spiced to the brink.Lord, 'tis Thy plenty-dropping hand,That soils my land;And giv'st me for my bushel sown,Twice ten for one.Thou mak'st my teeming hen to layHer egg each day;Besides my healthful ewes to bearMe twins each year,The while the conduits of my kineRun cream for wine.All these, and better Thou dost sendMe, to this end,That I should render, for my part,A thankful heart;Which, fired with incense, I resign,As wholly Thine;But the acceptance, that must be,My Christ, by Thee.
Words in this poem
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- briar n.
- A plant with a slender woody stem bearing stout prickles; especially, species of Rosa, Rubus, and Smilax. [OE. brere, brer, AS. brer, brær; cf. Ir. briar prickle, thorn, brier, pin, Gael. preas bush, brier, W. prys, prysg.]
- dine v. i.
- To eat the principal regular meal of the day; to take dinner. [F. dîner, OF. disner, LL. disnare, contr. fr. an assumed disjunare; dis- + an assumed junare (OF. juner) to fast, for L. jejunare, fr. jejunus fasting. See Jeju]
- guiltless a.
- Free from guilt; innocent.
- brink n.
- The edge, margin, or border of a steep place, as of a precipice; a bank or edge, as of a river or pit; a verge; a border; as, the brink of a chasm. Also Fig. [Dan. brink edge, verge; akin to Sw. brink declivity, hill, Icel. brekka; cf. LG. brink a grassy hill, W. bryn hill, bryncyn hillock.]
- teeming a.
- Prolific; productive.
- thankful a.
- Obtaining or deserving thanks; thankworthy. [AS. Þancfull.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
47. A Thanksgiving to God for His House 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, 47. A Thanksgiving to God for His House, in Hesperides (1648), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22421, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herrick-hesperides/47-a-thanksgiving-to-god-for-his-house.html, id L06058.
Form and metre
47. A Thanksgiving to God for His House is 58 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 83% of the lines. The metre is iambic dimeter, 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 6.1 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 36% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in iambic dimeter.
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 AABBCC--DDEE----FFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOO--PPQQ--RRSSTTUUVVWWXX cellA · dwellA · roofB · proofB · lieC · dryC · ward · guard · keepD · sleepD · fateE · stateE · door · poor · get · meat · hallF · smallF · thereinG · binG · breadH · unfleadH · briarI · fireI · sitJ · itJ · dineK · thineK · beL · theeL · messM · cressM · sentN · contentN · beetO · sweetO · hearth · mirth · drinkP · brinkP · handQ · landQ · sown · one · layR · dayR · bearS · yearS · kineT · wineT · sendU · endU · partV · heartV · resignW · thineW · beX · theeX
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 dimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Lord, Thou hast given me a cell | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Wherein to dwell; | 4 | ···· |
| A little house, whose humble roof | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Is weather-proof; | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Under the spars of which I lie | 8 | ········ |
| Both soft and dry; | 4 | ···· |
| Where Thou my chamber for to ward | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Hast set a guard | 4 | ···· |
| Of harmless thoughts, to watch and keep | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Me, while I sleep. | 4 | ···· |
| Low is my porch, as is my fate, | 8 | ········ |
| Both void of state; | 4 | ···· |
| And yet the threshold of my door | 8 | ···/···· |
| Is worn by th' poor, | 4 | ···· |
| Who thither come, and freely get | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Good words or meat; | 4 | ···· |
| Like as my parlour, so my hall | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And kitchen's small; | 4 | ·/˘· |
| A little buttery, and therein | 9 | ·/˘/˘˘··· |
| A little bin | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Which keeps my little loaf of bread | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Unclipt, unflead. | 4 | ···· |
| Some brittle sticks of thorn or briar | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| Make me a fire, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Close by whose living coal I sit, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And glow like it. | 4 | ···· |
| Lord, I confess, too, when I dine, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| The pulse is Thine, | 4 | ···· |
| And all those other bits, that be | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| There placed by Thee; | 4 | ···· |
| The worts, the purslain, and the mess | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Of water-cress, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Which of Thy kindness Thou hast sent; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And my content | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Makes those, and my beloved beet, | 7 | ····˘/· |
| To be more sweet. | 4 | ···· |
| 'Tis Thou that crown'st my glittering hearth | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| With guiltless mirth; | 4 | ·/˘· |
| And giv'st me wassail bowls to drink, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Spiced to the brink. | 4 | ···· |
| Lord, 'tis Thy plenty-dropping hand, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| That soils my land; | 4 | ···· |
| And giv'st me for my bushel sown, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Twice ten for one. | 4 | ···· |
| Thou mak'st my teeming hen to lay | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Her egg each day; | 4 | ···· |
| Besides my healthful ewes to bear | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| Me twins each year, | 4 | ···· |
| The while the conduits of my kine | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| Run cream for wine. | 4 | ···· |
| All these, and better Thou dost send | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Me, to this end, | 4 | ···· |
| That I should render, for my part, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A thankful heart; | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Which, fired with incense, I resign, | 10 | ·/˘˘·/··˘/ |
| As wholly Thine; | 4 | ·/˘· |
| But the acceptance, that must be, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| My Christ, by Thee. | 4 | ···· |
Notes from the edition 1
Word-glosses from Pollard's edition (Muses' Library, 1891; Project Gutenberg #22421).
- Unflead: lit. unflay'd · Purslain: an herb
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.