From the Flourish They Came to the Song
Dark and dull night, fly hence awayAnd give the honour to this dayThat sees December turn'd to May.
If we may ask the reason, sayThe why and wherefore all things hereSeem like the spring-time of the year.
Why does the chilling winter's mornSmile like a field beset with corn?Or smell like to a mead new shorn,Thus, on the sudden?
Come and seeThe cause, why things thus fragrant be:'Tis He is born, whose quick'ning birthGives life and lustre, public mirth,To heaven and the under-earth.
Chor. We see Him come, and know Him ours,Who, with His sunshine and His showers,Turns all the patient ground to flowers.
The darling of the world is come,And fit it is we find a roomTo welcome Him.2. The nobler partOf all the house here is the heart,
Chor. Which we will give Him; and bequeathThis holly and this ivy wreath,To do Him honour; who's our King,And Lord of all this revelling.
Prepare for songs; He's come, He's come;And be it sin here to be dumb,And not with lutes to fill the room.
Cast holy water all about,And have a care no fire goes out,But 'cense the porch and place throughout.
The altars all on fire be;The storax fries; and ye may seeHow heart and hand do all agreeTo make things sweet. Chor. Yet all less sweet than He.
Bring Him along, most pious priest,And tell us then, whenas thou seestHis gently-gliding, dove-like eyes,And hear'st His whimpering and His cries;How can'st thou this Babe circumcise?
Ye must not be more pitiful than wise;For, now unless ye see Him bleed,Which makes the bapti'm, 'tis decreedThe birth is fruitless. Chor. Then the work God speed.
Touch gently, gently touch; and hereSpring tulips up through all the year;And from His sacred blood, here shed,May roses grow to crown His own dear head.
Chor. Back, back again; each thing is doneWith zeal alike, as 'twas begun;Now singing, homeward let us carryThe Babe unto His mother Mary;And when we have the Child commendedTo her warm bosom, then our rites are ended.Composed by M. Henry Lawes.
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.]
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- lustre n.
- A period of five years; a lustrum. [L. lustrum: cf. F. lustre.]
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- bequeath v. t.
- To give or leave by will; to give by testament; -- said especially of personal property. [OE. biquethen, AS. becwe to say, affirm, bequeath; pref. be- + cwe to say, speak. See Quoth.]
- babe n.
- An infant; a young child of either sex; a baby. [Cf. Ir. bab, baban, W. baban, maban.]
- circumcise v. t.
- To cut off the prepuce of foreskin of, in the case of males, and the internal labia of, in the case of females. [L. circumcisus, p. p. of circumcidere to cut around, to circumcise; circum + caedere to cut; akin to E. cæsura, homicide, concise, and prob. to shed, v. t.]
- fruitless a.
- Lacking, or not bearing, fruit; barren; destitute of offspring; as, a fruitless tree or shrub; a fruitless marriage.
- homeward a.
- Being in the direction of home; as, the homeward way.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
From the Flourish They Came to the Song 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, From the Flourish They Came to the Song, in Hesperides (1648), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22421, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herrick-hesperides/from-the-flourish-they-came-to-the-song.html, id L06108.
Form and metre
From the Flourish They Came to the Song is 57 lines in 14 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 74% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.2 syllables. 9 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 32% 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 AAA awayA · dayA · mayA
- 2 -AA say · hereA · yearA
- 3 AAA- mornA · cornA · shornA · sudden
- 4 AABBB seeA · beA · birthB · mirthB · earthB
- 5 AAA oursA · showersA · flowersA
- 6 ---AA come · room · him · partA · heartA
- 7 AABB bequeathA · wreathA · kingB · revellingB
- 8 AA- comeA · dumbA · room
- 9 AAA aboutA · outA · throughoutA
- 10 AAAA beA · seeA · agreeA · heA
- 11 AABBB priestA · seestA · eyesB · criesB · circumciseB
- 12 -AAA wise · bleedA · decreedA · speedA
- 13 AABB hereA · yearA · shedB · headB
- 14 AABBCC- doneA · begunA · carryB · maryB · commendedC · endedC · lawes
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Dark and dull night, fly hence away | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And give the honour to this day | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| That sees December turn'd to May. | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| If we may ask the reason, say | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The why and wherefore all things here | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Seem like the spring-time of the year. | 8 | ········ |
| Why does the chilling winter's morn | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Smile like a field beset with corn? | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Or smell like to a mead new shorn, | 8 | ········ |
| Thus, on the sudden? | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Come and see | 3 | ··· |
| The cause, why things thus fragrant be: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| 'Tis He is born, whose quick'ning birth | 8 | ········ |
| Gives life and lustre, public mirth, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| To heaven and the under-earth. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Chor. We see Him come, and know Him ours, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Who, with His sunshine and His showers, | 9 | ···/···/˘ |
| Turns all the patient ground to flowers. | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| The darling of the world is come, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And fit it is we find a room | 8 | ········ |
| To welcome Him. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| 2. The nobler part | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Of all the house here is the heart, | 8 | ········ |
| Chor. Which we will give Him; and bequeath | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| This holly and this ivy wreath, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| To do Him honour; who's our King, | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| And Lord of all this revelling. | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Prepare for songs; He's come, He's come; | 8 | ˘/······ |
| And be it sin here to be dumb, | 8 | ········ |
| And not with lutes to fill the room. | 8 | ········ |
| Cast holy water all about, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And have a care no fire goes out, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| But 'cense the porch and place throughout. | 8 | ········ |
| The altars all on fire be; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The storax fries; and ye may see | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| How heart and hand do all agree | 8 | ······˘/ |
| To make things sweet. Chor. Yet all less sweet than He. | 11 | ··········· |
| Bring Him along, most pious priest, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| And tell us then, whenas thou seest | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| His gently-gliding, dove-like eyes, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And hear'st His whimpering and His cries; | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| How can'st thou this Babe circumcise? | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Ye must not be more pitiful than wise; | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| For, now unless ye see Him bleed, | 8 | ········ |
| Which makes the bapti'm, 'tis decreed | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The birth is fruitless. Chor. Then the work God speed. | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| Touch gently, gently touch; and here | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Spring tulips up through all the year; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And from His sacred blood, here shed, | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| May roses grow to crown His own dear head. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Chor. Back, back again; each thing is done | 9 | ···˘/···· |
| With zeal alike, as 'twas begun; | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| Now singing, homeward let us carry | 9 | ·/˘/˘··/˘ |
| The Babe unto His mother Mary; | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| And when we have the Child commended | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| To her warm bosom, then our rites are ended. | 11 | ···/˘·/··/˘ |
| Composed by M. Henry Lawes. | 7 | ˘/··/˘· |
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