On the Soft and Gentle Motions of Eudora
Divine Thalia strike th'Harmonious Lute,But with a Stroke so Gentle as may suteThe silent gliding of the Howers,Or yet the calmer growth of Flowers;Th'ascending or the falling Dew,Which none can see, though all find true.For thus alone,Can be shewn,How downie, how smooth,Eudora doth Move,How Silken her Actions appear,The Aire of her Face,Of a gentler GraceThen those that do stroke the Eare.Her Address so sweet,So Modestly Meet,That 'tis not the Lowd though Tuneable String,Can shewforth so soft, so Noyseless a Thing!O This to express from thy Hand must fall,Then Musicks self, something more Musical.
Words in this poem
- calmer n.
- One who, or that which, makes calm.
- modestly adv.
- In a modest manner.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On the Soft and Gentle Motions of Eudora is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems (1686), Project Gutenberg ebook #41076; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Anne Killigrew, On the Soft and Gentle Motions of Eudora, in Poems (1686) (1686), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #41076, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/killigrew-poems/on-the-soft-and-gentle-motions-of-eudora.html, id L09210.
Form and metre
On the Soft and Gentle Motions of Eudora is 20 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 60% of the lines. 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.3 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 10% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyming couplets.
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----DEEDFFGGHH luteA · suteA · howersB · flowersB · dewC · trueC · alone · shewn · smooth · move · appearD · faceE · graceE · eareD · sweetF · meetF · stringG · thingG · fallH · musicalH
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Divine Thalia strike th'Harmonious Lute, | 9 | ˘//˘····· |
| But with a Stroke so Gentle as may sute | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The silent gliding of the Howers, | 9 | ·/˘/˘··/˘ |
| Or yet the calmer growth of Flowers; | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| Th'ascending or the falling Dew, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Which none can see, though all find true. | 8 | ········ |
| For thus alone, | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Can be shewn, | 3 | ··· |
| How downie, how smooth, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Eudora doth Move, | 5 | ˘/˘·· |
| How Silken her Actions appear, | 8 | ·/˘·/˘˘/ |
| The Aire of her Face, | 5 | ····· |
| Of a gentler Grace | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Then those that do stroke the Eare. | 7 | ······· |
| Her Address so sweet, | 5 | ·/··· |
| So Modestly Meet, | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| That 'tis not the Lowd though Tuneable String, | 10 | ·········· |
| Can shewforth so soft, so Noyseless a Thing! | 11 | ··········· |
| O This to express from thy Hand must fall, | 10 | ···˘/····· |
| Then Musicks self, something more Musical. | 10 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘˘ |
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.