83. Delight in Disorder
A sweet disorder in the dressKindles in clothes a wantonness:A lawn about the shoulders thrownInto a fine distraction:An erring lace which here and thereEnthralls the crimson stomacher:A cuff neglectful, and therebyRibbons to flow confusedly:A winning wave, deserving note,In the tempestuous petticoat:A careless shoe-string, in whose tieI see a wild civility:Do more bewitch me than when artIs too precise in every part.
Words in this poem
- distraction n.
- The act of distracting; a drawing apart; separation. [L. distractio: cf. F. distraction.]
- stomacher n.
- One who stomachs.
- cuff v. t.
- To strike; esp., to smite with the palm or flat of the hand; to slap. [Cf. Sw. kuffa to knock, push,kufva to check, subdue, and E. cow, v. t.]
- neglectful a.
- Full of neglect; heedless; careless; negligent; inattentive; indifferent.
- civility n.
- The state of society in which the relations and duties of a citizen are recognized and obeyed; a state of civilization. [L. civilitas: cf. F. civilité. See Civil.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
83. Delight in Disorder 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, 83. Delight in Disorder, in Hesperides (1648), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22421, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herrick-hesperides/83-delight-in-disorder.html, id L05144.
Form and metre
83. Delight in Disorder is 14 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 57% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 86% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 43% 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 AABB--C-DDC-EE dressA · wantonnessA · thrownB · distractionB · there · stomacher · therebyC · confusedly · noteD · petticoatD · tieC · civility · artE · partE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A sweet disorder in the dress | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Kindles in clothes a wantonness: | 8 | /˘···/˘˘ |
| A lawn about the shoulders thrown | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Into a fine distraction: | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| An erring lace which here and there | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Enthralls the crimson stomacher: | 8 | ˘/·/˘/˘˘ |
| A cuff neglectful, and thereby | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Ribbons to flow confusedly: | 8 | /˘··˘/˘˘ |
| A winning wave, deserving note, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| In the tempestuous petticoat: | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| A careless shoe-string, in whose tie | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| I see a wild civility: | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| Do more bewitch me than when art | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Is too precise in every part. | 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.