A Loose Saraband. Set by Mr. Henry Lawes
Ah me! the little tyrant theefe!As once my heart was playing,He snatcht it up and flew away,Laughing at all my praying.
Proud of his purchase, he surveysAnd curiously sounds it,And though he sees it full of wounds,Cruel one, still he wounds it.
And now this heart is all his sport,Which as a ball he boundethFrom hand to breast, from breast to lip,And all its rest confoundeth.
Then as a top he sets it up,And pitifully whips it;Sometimes he cloathes it gay and fine,Then straight againe he strips it.
He cover'd it with false reliefe,Which gloriously show'd it;And for a morning-cushionetOn's mother he bestow'd it.
Each day, with her small brazen stings,A thousand times she rac'd it;But then at night, bright with her gemmes,Once neere her breast she plac'd it.
There warme it gan to throb and bleed;She knew that smart, and grieved;At length this poore condemned heartWith these rich drugges repreeved.
She washt the wound with a fresh teare,Which my LUCASTA dropped,And in the sleave-silke of her haire'Twas hard bound up and wrapped.
She proab'd it with her constancie,And found no rancor nigh it;Only the anger of her eyeHad wrought some proud flesh by it.
Then prest she narde in ev'ry veine,Which from her kisses trilled;And with the balme heald all its paine,That from her hand distilled.
But yet this heart avoyds me still,Will not by me be owned;But's fled to its physitian's breast;There proudly sits inthroned.
"Yet having opportunity, he tries,Gets her goodwill, and with his purchase flies."Wither's ABUSES STRIPT AND WHIPT, 1613.
Words in this poem
- curiously adv.
- In a curious manner.
- throb v. i.
- To beat, or pulsate, with more than usual force or rapidity; to beat in consequence of agitation; to palpitate; -- said of the heart, pulse, etc. [OE. ; of uncertain origin; cf. Russ. trepete a trembling, and E. trepidation.]
- rancor n.
- The deepest malignity or spite; deep-seated enmity or malice; inveterate hatred. [OE. rancour, OF. rancor, rancur, F. rancune, fr. L. rancor rancidity, rankness; tropically, an old grudge, rancor, fr. rancere to be rank or rancid.]
- prest a.
- Ready; prompt; prepared. [OF. prest, F. prêt, fr. L. praestus ready. Cf. Presto.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Loose Saraband. Set by Mr. Henry Lawes is in the public domain. This text is taken from Lucasta, Project Gutenberg ebook #703; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Richard Lovelace, A Loose Saraband. Set by Mr. Henry Lawes, in Lucasta (1649), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #703, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lovelace-lucasta/a-loose-saraband-set-by-mr-henry-lawes.html, id L12990.
Form and metre
A Loose Saraband. Set by Mr. Henry Lawes is 47 lines in 12 stanzas. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.4 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 13% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in common measure.
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 -A-A theefe · playingA · away · prayingA
- 2 -A-A surveys · itA · wounds · itA
- 3 -A-A sport · boundethA · lip · confoundethA
- 4 -A-A up · itA · fine · itA
- 5 -A-A reliefe · itA · cushionet · itA
- 6 -A-A stings · itA · gemmes · itA
- 7 -A-A bleed · grievedA · heart · repreevedA
- 8 A-A- teareA · dropped · haireA · wrapped
- 9 -A-A constancie · itA · eye · itA
- 10 -A-A veine · trilledA · paine · distilledA
- 11 -A-A still · ownedA · breast · inthronedA
- 12 AA- triesA · fliesA · —
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 common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Ah me! the little tyrant theefe! | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| As once my heart was playing, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| He snatcht it up and flew away, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Laughing at all my praying. | 7 | /˘···/˘ |
| Proud of his purchase, he surveys | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| And curiously sounds it, | 7 | ·/˘˘˘·· |
| And though he sees it full of wounds, | 8 | ········ |
| Cruel one, still he wounds it. | 7 | /˘····· |
| And now this heart is all his sport, | 8 | ········ |
| Which as a ball he boundeth | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| From hand to breast, from breast to lip, | 8 | ········ |
| And all its rest confoundeth. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Then as a top he sets it up, | 8 | ········ |
| And pitifully whips it; | 7 | ·/˘˘˘·· |
| Sometimes he cloathes it gay and fine, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| Then straight againe he strips it. | 7 | ······· |
| He cover'd it with false reliefe, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Which gloriously show'd it; | 7 | ·/˘˘˘·· |
| And for a morning-cushionet | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| On's mother he bestow'd it. | 7 | ·/˘·˘/· |
| Each day, with her small brazen stings, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A thousand times she rac'd it; | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| But then at night, bright with her gemmes, | 8 | ········ |
| Once neere her breast she plac'd it. | 7 | ······· |
| There warme it gan to throb and bleed; | 8 | ········ |
| She knew that smart, and grieved; | 6 | ······ |
| At length this poore condemned heart | 7 | ····˘/· |
| With these rich drugges repreeved. | 6 | ······ |
| She washt the wound with a fresh teare, | 8 | ········ |
| Which my LUCASTA dropped, | 6 | ······ |
| And in the sleave-silke of her haire | 8 | ········ |
| 'Twas hard bound up and wrapped. | 6 | ······ |
| She proab'd it with her constancie, | 8 | ········ |
| And found no rancor nigh it; | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Only the anger of her eye | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| Had wrought some proud flesh by it. | 7 | ······· |
| Then prest she narde in ev'ry veine, | 8 | ········ |
| Which from her kisses trilled; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And with the balme heald all its paine, | 8 | ········ |
| That from her hand distilled. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| But yet this heart avoyds me still, | 8 | ········ |
| Will not by me be owned; | 6 | ······ |
| But's fled to its physitian's breast; | 8 | ········ |
| There proudly sits inthroned. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| "Yet having opportunity, he tries, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘·· |
| Gets her goodwill, and with his purchase flies." | 10 | ··//···/˘· |
| Wither's ABUSES STRIPT AND WHIPT, 1613. | 8 | /˘˘/˘··· |
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