A Loose Saraband
Nay, prethee, dear, draw nigher,Yet closer, nigher yet;Here is a double fire,A dry one and a wet.True lasting heavenly fuelPuts out the vestal jewel,When once we twining marryMad love with wild canary.
Off with that crowned Venice,'Till all the house doth flame,Wee'l quench it straight in Rhenish,Or what we must not name.Milk lightning still asswageth;So when our fury rageth,As th' only means to cross it,Wee'l drown it in love's posset.
Love never was well-willerUnto my nag or mee,Ne'r watter'd us ith' cellar,But the cheap buttery.At th' head of his own barrells,Where broach'd are all his quarrels,Should a true noble masterStill make his guest his taster.
See, all the world how't staggers,More ugly drunk then we,As if far gone in daggersAnd blood it seem'd to be.We drink our glass of roses,Which nought but sweets discloses:Then in our loyal chamberRefresh us with love's amber.
Now tell me, thou fair cripple,That dumb canst scarcely seeTh' almightinesse of tipple,And th' ods 'twixt thee and thee,What of Elizium's missing,Still drinking and still kissing;Adoring plump October;Lord! what is man, and sober?
Now, is there such a trifleAs honour, the fools gyant,What is there left to rifle,When wine makes all parts plyant?Let others glory follow,In their false riches wallow,And with their grief be merry:Leave me but love and sherry.
Words in this poem
- closer n.
- One who, or that which, closes; specifically, a boot closer. See under Boot.
- vestal a.
- Of or pertaining to Vesta, the virgin goddess of the hearth; hence, pure; chaste. [L. Vestalis belonging to Vesta, vestal. See Vesta.]
- rhenish a.
- Of or pertaining to the river Rhine; as, Rhenish wine. [L. Rhenus the Rhine.]
- posset v. t.
- To curdle; to turn, as milk; to coagulate; as, to posset the blood.
- taster n.
- One who tastes; especially, one who first tastes food or drink to ascertain its quality.
- cripple n.
- One who creeps, halts, or limps; one who has lost, or never had, the use of a limb or limbs; a lame person; hence, one who is partially disabled. [OE. cripel, crepel, crupel, AS. crypel (akin to D. kreuple, G. kr, Dan. kr, Icel. kryppill), prop., one that can not walk, but must creep, fr. AS. cre to creep.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Loose Saraband 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, in Lucasta (1649), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #703, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lovelace-lucasta/a-loose-saraband.html, id L13040.
Form and metre
A Loose Saraband is 48 lines in 6 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCCDD, complete in 3 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.8 syllables. 32 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 17% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 ABABCCDD nigherA · yetB · fireA · wetB · fuelC · jewelC · marryD · canaryD
- 2 -A-ABB-- venice · flameA · rhenish · nameA · asswagethB · ragethB · it · posset
- 3 ----AA-- willer · mee · cellar · buttery · barrellsA · quarrelsA · master · taster
- 4 ABABCC-- staggersA · weB · daggersA · beB · rosesC · disclosesC · chamber · amber
- 5 ABABCCDD crippleA · seeB · tippleA · theeB · missingC · kissingC · octoberD · soberD
- 6 ABABCCDD trifleA · gyantB · rifleA · plyantB · followC · wallowC · merryD · sherryD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Nay, prethee, dear, draw nigher, | 7 | ······· |
| Yet closer, nigher yet; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Here is a double fire, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| A dry one and a wet. | 6 | ······ |
| True lasting heavenly fuel | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘/˘ |
| Puts out the vestal jewel, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| When once we twining marry | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Mad love with wild canary. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Off with that crowned Venice, | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| 'Till all the house doth flame, | 6 | ······ |
| Wee'l quench it straight in Rhenish, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Or what we must not name. | 6 | ······ |
| Milk lightning still asswageth; | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| So when our fury rageth, | 7 | ··//˘·· |
| As th' only means to cross it, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Wee'l drown it in love's posset. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Love never was well-willer | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Unto my nag or mee, | 6 | ······ |
| Ne'r watter'd us ith' cellar, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| But the cheap buttery. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| At th' head of his own barrells, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Where broach'd are all his quarrels, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Should a true noble master | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Still make his guest his taster. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| See, all the world how't staggers, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| More ugly drunk then we, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| As if far gone in daggers | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And blood it seem'd to be. | 6 | ······ |
| We drink our glass of roses, | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Which nought but sweets discloses: | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Then in our loyal chamber | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| Refresh us with love's amber. | 7 | ˘/···/˘ |
| Now tell me, thou fair cripple, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| That dumb canst scarcely see | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Th' almightinesse of tipple, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And th' ods 'twixt thee and thee, | 6 | ······ |
| What of Elizium's missing, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Still drinking and still kissing; | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Adoring plump October; | 7 | ˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| Lord! what is man, and sober? | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Now, is there such a trifle | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| As honour, the fools gyant, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| What is there left to rifle, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| When wine makes all parts plyant? | 6 | ······ |
| Let others glory follow, | 7 | ·/˘/˘/˘ |
| In their false riches wallow, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| And with their grief be merry: | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Leave me but love and sherry. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
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