To the Maidens
"And now y' have wept enough, depart; yon stars [theBegin to pink, as weary that the warsKnow so long Treaties; beat the DrumAloft, and like two armies, comeAnd guild the field,Fight bravely for the flame of mankind, yieldNot to this, or that assault,For that would prove more Heresy than faultIn combatants to fly'Fore this or that hath got the victory.
"But since it must be done, despatch and sewUp in a sheet your Bride, and what if soIt be with rib of Rock and Brass,Yea tower her up, as Danae was, [yeThink you that this,Or Hell itself, a powerful Bulwark is?I tell you no; but like a [yeBold bolt of thunder he will make his way,And rend the cloud, and throwThe sheet about, like flakes of snow.
"All now is hushed in silence: Midwife-moonWith all her Owl-ey'd issue begs a boonWhich you must grant; that's entrance withWhich extract, all we † call pithAnd quintessenceOf Planetary bodies; so commence,All fair constellationsLooking upon you that the NationsSpringing from to such FiresMay blaze the virtue of their Sires."
Words in this poem
- depart v. i.
- To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
- bravely adv.
- In a brave manner; courageously; gallantly; valiantly; splendidly; nobly.
- bulwark n.
- A rampart; a fortification; a bastion or outwork. [Akin to D. bolwerk, G. bollwerk, Sw. bolwerk, Dan. bolvärk, bulvärk, rampart; akin to G. bohle plank, and werk work, defense. See Bole stem, and Work, n., and c]
- boon n.
- A prayer or petition. [OE. bone, boin, a petition, fr. Icel. b; akin to Sw. & Dan. b, AS. b, and perh. to E. ban; but influenced by F. bon good, fr. L. bonus. Ban, Bounty.]
- quintessence n.
- The fifth or last and highest essence or power in a natural body. [F., fr. L. quinta essentia fifth essence. See Quint, and Essence.]
- planetary a.
- Of or pertaining to the planets; as, planetary inhabitants; planetary motions; planetary year. [Cf. L. planetarius an astrologer, F. planétaire planetary. See Planet.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To the Maidens 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, To the Maidens, in Hesperides (1648), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #22421, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herrick-hesperides/to-the-maidens.html, id L26140.
Form and metre
To the Maidens is 30 lines in 3 stanzas of 10 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 67% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter.
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 --AABBCC-- the · wars · drumA · comeA · fieldB · yieldB · assaultC · faultC · fly · victory
- 2 AA-B--B-AA sewA · soA · brass · yeB · this · is · yeB · way · throwA · snowA
- 3 AABBCCDDEE moonA · boonA · withB · pithB · quintessenceC · commenceC · constellationsD · nationsD · firesE · siresE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| "And now y' have wept enough, depart; yon stars [the | 12 | ·····˘/˘/··· |
| Begin to pink, as weary that the wars | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| Know so long Treaties; beat the Drum | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Aloft, and like two armies, come | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| And guild the field, | 4 | ···· |
| Fight bravely for the flame of mankind, yield | 10 | ·/˘····//· |
| Not to this, or that assault, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| For that would prove more Heresy than fault | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| In combatants to fly | 6 | ·˘/˘·· |
| 'Fore this or that hath got the victory. | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| "But since it must be done, despatch and sew | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Up in a sheet your Bride, and what if so | 10 | ·········· |
| It be with rib of Rock and Brass, | 8 | ········ |
| Yea tower her up, as Danae was, [ye | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Think you that this, | 4 | ···· |
| Or Hell itself, a powerful Bulwark is? | 10 | ··˘/·/˘/˘· |
| I tell you no; but like a [ye | 8 | ········ |
| Bold bolt of thunder he will make his way, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And rend the cloud, and throw | 6 | ······ |
| The sheet about, like flakes of snow. | 8 | ········ |
| "All now is hushed in silence: Midwife-moon | 10 | ·····/˘/·· |
| With all her Owl-ey'd issue begs a boon | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Which you must grant; that's entrance with | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Which extract, all we † call pith | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| And quintessence | 4 | ·˘/˘ |
| Of Planetary bodies; so commence, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘·˘/ |
| All fair constellations | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| Looking upon you that the Nations | 9 | /˘·····/˘ |
| Springing from to such Fires | 7 | /˘···/˘ |
| May blaze the virtue of their Sires." | 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.