To William Camden
CAMDEN! most reverend head, to whom I oweAll that I am in arts, all that I know—How nothing’s that! to whom my country owesThe great renown, and name wherewith she goes!Than thee the age sees not that thing more grave,More high, more holy, that she more would crave.What name, what skill, what faith hast thou in things!What sight in searching the most antique springs!What weight, and what authority in thy speech!Men scarce can make that doubt, but thou canst teach.Pardon free truth, and let thy modesty,Which conquers all, be once o’ercome by thee.Many of thine, this better could, than I;But for their powers, accept my piety.
Words in this poem
- reverend a.
- Worthy of reverence; entitled to respect mingled with fear and affection; venerable. [F. révérend, L. reverendus, fr. revereri. See Revere.]
- wherewith adv.
- With which; -- used relatively.
- crave v. t.
- To ask with earnestness or importunity; to ask with submission or humility; to beg; to entreat; to beseech; to implore. [AS. crafian; akin to Icel. krefia, Sw. kr, Dan. kr.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To William Camden is in the public domain. This text is taken from Discoveries Made Upon Men and Matter and Some Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #5134; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Ben Jonson, To William Camden, in Discoveries Made Upon Men and Matter and Some Poems (1616), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #5134, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/jonson-poems/to-william-camden.html, id L23797.
Form and metre
To William Camden is 14 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 71% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%).
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 AABBCCDDEE-FF- oweA · knowA · owesB · goesB · graveC · craveC · thingsD · springsD · speechE · teachE · modesty · theeF · iF · piety
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 |
|---|---|---|
| CAMDEN! most reverend head, to whom I owe | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| All that I am in arts, all that I know— | 10 | ·········· |
| How nothing’s that! to whom my country owes | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| The great renown, and name wherewith she goes! | 10 | ··˘/··˘/·· |
| Than thee the age sees not that thing more grave, | 10 | ·········· |
| More high, more holy, that she more would crave. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| What name, what skill, what faith hast thou in things! | 10 | ·········· |
| What sight in searching the most antique springs! | 10 | ···/˘··˘/· |
| What weight, and what authority in thy speech! | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Men scarce can make that doubt, but thou canst teach. | 10 | ·········· |
| Pardon free truth, and let thy modesty, | 10 | /˘·····/˘˘ |
| Which conquers all, be once o’ercome by thee. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Many of thine, this better could, than I; | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| But for their powers, accept my piety. | 11 | ···/˘˘/·/˘˘ |
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.