652. To His Closet-Gods
When I go hence, ye Closet-Gods, I fearNever again to have ingression hereWhere I have had whatever thing could bePleasant and precious to my muse and me.Besides rare sweets, I had a book which noneCould read the intext but myself alone.About the cover of this book there wentA curious-comely clean compartlement,And, in the midst, to grace it more, was setA blushing, pretty, peeping rubelet.But now 'tis closed; and being shut and seal'd,Be it, O be it, never more reveal'd!Keep here still, Closet-Gods, 'fore whom I've setOblations oft of sweetest marmelet.
Words in this poem
- ingression n.
- Act of entering; entrance. Sir K. Digby. [L. ingressio: cf. F. ingression.]
- intext n.
- The text of a book. Herrick.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- curious a.
- Difficult to please or satisfy; solicitous to be correct; careful; scrupulous; nice; exact. [OF. curios, curius, F. curieux, L. curiosus careful, inquisitive, fr. cura care. See Cure.]
- rubelet n.
- A little ruby. Herrick.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
652. To His Closet-Gods 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, 652. To His Closet-Gods, in Hesperides (1648), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22421, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herrick-hesperides/652-to-his-closet-gods.html, id L05604.
Form and metre
652. To His Closet-Gods is 14 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 57% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 50% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 AABB--CCDEFFDE fearA · hereA · beB · meB · none · alone · wentC · compartlementC · setD · rubeletE · seal'dF · reveal'dF · setD · marmeletE
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| When I go hence, ye Closet-Gods, I fear | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Never again to have ingression here | 10 | /˘˘/··˘/˘· |
| Where I have had whatever thing could be | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Pleasant and precious to my muse and me. | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| Besides rare sweets, I had a book which none | 10 | ˘/········ |
| Could read the intext but myself alone. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘/ |
| About the cover of this book there went | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| A curious-comely clean compartlement, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| And, in the midst, to grace it more, was set | 10 | ·········· |
| A blushing, pretty, peeping rubelet. | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘/˘˘ |
| But now 'tis closed; and being shut and seal'd, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Be it, O be it, never more reveal'd! | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Keep here still, Closet-Gods, 'fore whom I've set | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Oblations oft of sweetest marmelet. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
Notes from the edition 1
Word-glosses from Pollard's edition (Muses' Library, 1891; Project Gutenberg #22421).
- Ingression: entrance · Intext: contents
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