777. A Psalm or Hymn to the Graces
Glory be to the Graces!That do in public placesDrive thence whate'er encumbersThe list'ning to my numbers.
Honour be to the Graces!Who do with sweet embraces,Show they are well contentedWith what I have invented.
Worship be to the Graces!Who do from sour faces,And lungs that would infect me,For evermore protect me.
Words in this poem
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
777. A Psalm or Hymn to the Graces 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, 777. A Psalm or Hymn to the Graces, in Hesperides (1648), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22421, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herrick-hesperides/777-a-psalm-or-hymn-to-the-graces.html, id L05718.
Form and metre
777. A Psalm or Hymn to the Graces is 12 lines in 3 stanzas of 4 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABB. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 86% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.1 syllables. 10 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic 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 AABB gracesA · placesA · encumbersB · numbersB
- 2 AABB gracesA · embracesA · contentedB · inventedB
- 3 AABB gracesA · facesA · meB · meB
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Glory be to the Graces! | 7 | /˘···/˘ |
| That do in public places | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Drive thence whate'er encumbers | 8 | ··˘˘/˘/˘ |
| The list'ning to my numbers. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Honour be to the Graces! | 7 | /˘···/˘ |
| Who do with sweet embraces, | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Show they are well contented | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| With what I have invented. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Worship be to the Graces! | 7 | /˘···/˘ |
| Who do from sour faces, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| And lungs that would infect me, | 7 | ····˘/· |
| For evermore protect me. | 7 | ·/˘·˘/· |
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.