The Speakers, Mirtillo, Amintas and Amarillis
Amin. Good-day, Mirtillo. Mirt. And to you no less,And all fair signs lead on our shepherdess.Amar. With all white luck to you. Mirt. But say, what newsStirs in our sheep-walk? Amin. None, save that my ewes,My wethers, lambs, and wanton kids are well,Smooth, fair and fat! none better I can tell:Or that this day Menalcas keeps a feastFor his sheep-shearers. Mirt. True, these are the least;But, dear Amintas and sweet Amarillis,Rest but a while here, by this bank of lilies,And lend a gentle ear to one reportThe country has. Amin. From whence? Amar. From whence?Mirt. The Court.Three days before the shutting in of May(With whitest wool be ever crown'd that day!)To all our joy a sweet-fac'd child was born,More tender than the childhood of the morn.Chor. Pan pipe to him, and bleats of lambs and sheepLet lullaby the pretty prince asleep!Mirt. And that his birth should be more singularAt noon of day was seen a silver star,Bright as the wise men's torch which guided themTo God's sweet babe, when born at Bethlehem;While golden angels (some have told to me)Sung out his birth with heavenly minstrelsy.Amin. O rare! But is't a trespass if we threeShould wend along his babyship to see?Mirt. Not so, not so.Chor. But if it chance to proveAt most a fault, 'tis but a fault of love.Amar. But, dear Mirtillo, I have heard it toldThose learned men brought incense, myrrh and goldFrom countries far, with store of spices sweet,And laid them down for offerings at his feet.Mirt. 'Tis true, indeed; and each of us will bringUnto our smiling and our blooming kingA neat, though not so great an offering.Amar. A garland for my gift shall beOf flowers ne'er suck'd by th' thieving bee;And all most sweet; yet all less sweet than he.Amin. And I will bear, along with you,Leaves dropping down the honeyed dew,With oaten pipes as sweet as new.Mirt. And I a sheep-hook will bestow,To have his little kingship know,As he is prince, he's shepherd too.Chor. Come, let's away, and quickly let's be dress'd,And quickly give--the swiftest grace is best.And when before him we have laid our treasures,We'll bless the babe, then back to country pleasures.
Words in this poem
- shepherdess n.
- A woman who tends sheep; hence, a rural lass.
- childhood n.
- The state of being a child; the time in which persons are children; the condition or time from infancy to puberty. [AS. cildhad; cild child + -had. See Child, and hood.]
- 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.]
- lullaby n.
- A song to quiet babes or lull them to sleep; that which quiets. [From Lull, v. t.]
- singular a.
- Separate or apart from others; single; distinct. [OE. singuler, F. singulier, fr. L. singularius, singularis, fr. singulus single. See Single, a.]
- babe n.
- An infant; a young child of either sex; a baby. [Cf. Ir. bab, baban, W. baban, maban.]
- bethlehem n.
- A hospital for lunatics; -- corrupted into bedlam. [Heb. b house of food; b house + lekhem food, lakham to eat. Formerly the name of a hospital for the insane, in London, which had been the priory of St. Mary of ]
- minstrelsy n.
- The arts and occupation of minstrels; the singing and playing of a minstrel.
- wend n.
- A large extent of ground; a perambulation; a circuit.
- babyship n.
- The quality of being a baby; the personality of an infant.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- honeyed a.
- Covered with honey.
- oaten a.
- Consisting of an oat straw or stem; as, an oaten pipe.
- kingship n.
- The state, office, or dignity of a king; royalty. Landor.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Speakers, Mirtillo, Amintas and Amarillis 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, The Speakers, Mirtillo, Amintas and Amarillis, in Hesperides (1648), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22421, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herrick-hesperides/the-speakers-mirtillo-amintas-and-amarillis.html, id L05257.
Form and metre
The Speakers, Mirtillo, Amintas and Amarillis is 50 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 28% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 AABBCCDD--E-EFFGGHH--IIJ-JJ-KKLLMMNNNOOOPPPQQPRRSS lessA · shepherdessA · newsB · ewesB · wellC · tellC · feastD · leastD · amarillis · lilies · reportE · whence · courtE · mayF · dayF · bornG · mornG · sheepH · asleepH · singular · star · themI · bethlehemI · meJ · minstrelsy · threeJ · seeJ · so · proveK · loveK · toldL · goldL · sweetM · feetM · bringN · kingN · offeringN · beO · beeO · heO · youP · dewP · newP · bestowQ · knowQ · tooP · dress'dR · bestR · treasuresS · pleasuresS
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Amin. Good-day, Mirtillo. Mirt. And to you no less, | 13 | ˘/··········· |
| And all fair signs lead on our shepherdess. | 11 | ······/˘/˘˘ |
| Amar. With all white luck to you. Mirt. But say, what news | 13 | ˘/··········· |
| Stirs in our sheep-walk? Amin. None, save that my ewes, | 12 | ··/··˘/····· |
| My wethers, lambs, and wanton kids are well, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Smooth, fair and fat! none better I can tell: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Or that this day Menalcas keeps a feast | 10 | ·········· |
| For his sheep-shearers. Mirt. True, these are the least; | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| But, dear Amintas and sweet Amarillis, | 11 | ··˘/˘······ |
| Rest but a while here, by this bank of lilies, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| And lend a gentle ear to one report | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| The country has. Amin. From whence? Amar. From whence? | 12 | ·/˘·˘/··˘/·· |
| Mirt. The Court. | 3 | ··· |
| Three days before the shutting in of May | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| (With whitest wool be ever crown'd that day!) | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| To all our joy a sweet-fac'd child was born, | 10 | ··/······· |
| More tender than the childhood of the morn. | 10 | ·/˘··/···· |
| Chor. Pan pipe to him, and bleats of lambs and sheep | 11 | ··········· |
| Let lullaby the pretty prince asleep! | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Mirt. And that his birth should be more singular | 11 | ········/˘˘ |
| At noon of day was seen a silver star, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Bright as the wise men's torch which guided them | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| To God's sweet babe, when born at Bethlehem; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| While golden angels (some have told to me) | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Sung out his birth with heavenly minstrelsy. | 11 | ·····/˘˘/˘˘ |
| Amin. O rare! But is't a trespass if we three | 12 | ˘/·····/···· |
| Should wend along his babyship to see? | 10 | ··˘/·/˘˘·· |
| Mirt. Not so, not so. | 5 | ····· |
| Chor. But if it chance to prove | 7 | ······· |
| At most a fault, 'tis but a fault of love. | 10 | ·········· |
| Amar. But, dear Mirtillo, I have heard it told | 12 | ˘/·········· |
| Those learned men brought incense, myrrh and gold | 10 | ··˘··/···· |
| From countries far, with store of spices sweet, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And laid them down for offerings at his feet. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Mirt. 'Tis true, indeed; and each of us will bring | 11 | ···˘/······ |
| Unto our smiling and our blooming king | 10 | ··//˘·//˘· |
| A neat, though not so great an offering. | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Amar. A garland for my gift shall be | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| Of flowers ne'er suck'd by th' thieving bee; | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| And all most sweet; yet all less sweet than he. | 10 | ·········· |
| Amin. And I will bear, along with you, | 10 | ˘/····˘/·· |
| Leaves dropping down the honeyed dew, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘˘· |
| With oaten pipes as sweet as new. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Mirt. And I a sheep-hook will bestow, | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| To have his little kingship know, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| As he is prince, he's shepherd too. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Chor. Come, let's away, and quickly let's be dress'd, | 11 | ···˘/·/˘··· |
| And quickly give--the swiftest grace is best. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| And when before him we have laid our treasures, | 11 | ········//˘ |
| We'll bless the babe, then back to country pleasures. | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
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