993. Anacreontic
I mustNot trustHere to any;Bereav'd,Deceiv'dBy so many:As oneUndoneBy my losses;ComplyWill IWith my crosses;Yet stillI willNot be grieving,Since thenceAnd henceComes relieving.But thisSweet isIn our mourning;Times badAnd sadAre a-turning:And heWhom weSee dejected,Next dayWe maySee erected.
Words in this poem
- undone a.
- Not done or performed; neglected. [Pref. un- not + done.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
993. Anacreontic 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, 993. Anacreontic, in Hesperides (1648), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22421, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herrick-hesperides/993-anacreontic.html, id L05897.
Form and metre
993. Anacreontic is 30 lines in a single stanza. 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 2.7 syllables. 10 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 63% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 AABCCBDDEFFEGGHIIH---JJ-KKLMML mustA · trustA · anyB · bereav'dC · deceiv'dC · manyB · oneD · undoneD · lossesE · complyF · iF · crossesE · stillG · willG · grievingH · thenceI · henceI · relievingH · this · is · mourning · badJ · sadJ · turning · heK · weK · dejectedL · dayM · mayM · erectedL
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I must | 2 | ·· |
| Not trust | 2 | ·· |
| Here to any; | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Bereav'd, | 2 | ˘/ |
| Deceiv'd | 2 | ˘/ |
| By so many: | 4 | ··/˘ |
| As one | 2 | ·· |
| Undone | 2 | ˘/ |
| By my losses; | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Comply | 2 | ˘/ |
| Will I | 2 | ·· |
| With my crosses; | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Yet still | 2 | ·· |
| I will | 2 | ·· |
| Not be grieving, | 4 | ··/˘ |
| Since thence | 2 | ·· |
| And hence | 2 | ·· |
| Comes relieving. | 4 | ·˘/˘ |
| But this | 2 | ·· |
| Sweet is | 2 | ·· |
| In our mourning; | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| Times bad | 2 | ·· |
| And sad | 2 | ·· |
| Are a-turning: | 4 | ··/˘ |
| And he | 2 | ·· |
| Whom we | 2 | ·· |
| See dejected, | 4 | ·˘/˘ |
| Next day | 2 | ·· |
| We may | 2 | ·· |
| See erected. | 4 | ·˘/˘ |
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.