A Paradox
Tis true the beauteous StarreTo which I first did bowBurnt quicker, brighter far,Than that which leads me now;Which shines with more delight,For gazing on that lightSo long, neere lost my sight.
Through foul we follow faire,For had the world one face,And earth been bright as ayre,We had knowne neither place.Indians smell not their neast;A Swisse or Finne tastes bestThe spices of the East.
So from the glorious SunneWho to his height hath got,With what delight we runneTo some black cave or grot!And, heav'nly Sydney youTwice read, had rather viewSome odde romance so new.
The god, that constant keepesUnto his deities,Is poore in joyes, and sleepesImprison'd in the skies.This knew the wisest, whoFrom Juno stole, belowTo love a bear or cow.
"For now the fragrant East,The spicery o' th' world,Hath hurl'dA rosie tincture o'er the Phoenix nest."OTIA SACRA, by Mildmay, Earl of Westmoreland, 1648, p. 37.
Amarantha sweet and faire,Ah brade no more that shining haire!As my curious hand or eye,Hovering round thee, let it flye.
Let it flye as unconfin'dAs it's calme ravisher, the winde,Who hath left his darling, th' East,To wanton o're that spicie neast.
Ev'ry tresse must be confest:But neatly tangled at the best;Like a clue of golden thread,Most excellently ravelled.
Doe not then winde up that lightIn ribands, and o'er-cloud in night,Like the sun in's early ray;But shake your head, and scatter day.
See, 'tis broke! within this grove,The bower and the walkes of love,Weary lye we downe and rest,And fanne each other's panting breast.
Heere wee'll strippe and coole our fire,In creame below, in milk-baths higher:And when all wells are drawne dry,I'll drink a teare out of thine eye.
Which our very joys shall leave,That sorrowes thus we can deceive;Or our very sorrowes weepe,That joyes so ripe so little keepe.
"Bright Bethsabe shall wash in David's bower,In water mix'd with purest almond flower,And bathe her beauty in the milk of kids."
Words in this poem
- beauteous a.
- Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
- starre n.
- One of the innumerable luminous bodies seen in the heavens; any heavenly body other than the sun, moon, comets, and nebulæ. [OE. sterre, AS. steorra; akin to OFries. stera, OS. sterro, D. ster, OHG. sterno, sterro, G. stern, Icel. stjarna, Sw. stjerna, Dan. stierne, Goth. staírno, Arm]
- finne n.
- End; conclusion; object. [See Fine, n.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
- spicery n.
- Spices, in general. [OF. espicerie, F. épicerie.]
- curious a.
- Difficult to please or satisfy; solicitous to be correct; careful; scrupulous; nice; exact. [OF. curios, curius, F. curieux, L. curiosus careful, inquisitive, fr. cura care. See Cure.]
- ravisher n.
- One who ravishes (in any sense).
- clue n.
- A ball of thread, yarn, or cord; also, The thread itself. [OE. clewe, clowe, clue, AS. cleowen, cliwen, clywe ball of thread; akin to D. kluwen, OHG. chliwa, chliuwa, G. dim. kleuel, knäuel, and perch. to L. gluma hull,]
- excellently adv.
- In an excellent manner; well in a high degree.
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Paradox 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 Paradox, in Lucasta (1649), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #703, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lovelace-lucasta/a-paradox.html, id L12986.
Form and metre
A Paradox is 64 lines in 13 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 53% of the lines. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.1 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 23% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, 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 ABABCCC starreA · bowB · farA · nowB · delightC · lightC · sightC
- 2 ABABCCC faireA · faceB · ayreA · placeB · neastC · bestC · eastC
- 3 A-A-BBB sunneA · got · runneA · grot · youB · viewB · newB
- 4 ABAB--- keepesA · deitiesB · sleepesA · skiesB · who · below · cow
- 5 -AA-- east · worldA · hurl'dA · nest · —
- 6 AABB faireA · haireA · eyeB · flyeB
- 7 AABB unconfin'dA · windeA · eastB · neastB
- 8 AA-- confestA · bestA · thread · ravelled
- 9 AABB lightA · nightA · rayB · dayB
- 10 --AA grove · love · restA · breastA
- 11 AABB fireA · higherA · dryB · eyeB
- 12 AABB leaveA · deceiveA · weepeB · keepeB
- 13 AA- bowerA · flowerA · kids
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Tis true the beauteous Starre | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| To which I first did bow | 6 | ······ |
| Burnt quicker, brighter far, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Than that which leads me now; | 6 | ······ |
| Which shines with more delight, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| For gazing on that light | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| So long, neere lost my sight. | 6 | ······ |
| Through foul we follow faire, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| For had the world one face, | 6 | ······ |
| And earth been bright as ayre, | 6 | ······ |
| We had knowne neither place. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Indians smell not their neast; | 6 | /˘···· |
| A Swisse or Finne tastes best | 6 | ······ |
| The spices of the East. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| So from the glorious Sunne | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Who to his height hath got, | 6 | ······ |
| With what delight we runne | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| To some black cave or grot! | 6 | ······ |
| And, heav'nly Sydney you | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Twice read, had rather view | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Some odde romance so new. | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| The god, that constant keepes | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Unto his deities, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Is poore in joyes, and sleepes | 6 | ······ |
| Imprison'd in the skies. | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| This knew the wisest, who | 6 | ···/˘· |
| From Juno stole, below | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| To love a bear or cow. | 6 | ······ |
| "For now the fragrant East, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The spicery o' th' world, | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| Hath hurl'd | 2 | ·· |
| A rosie tincture o'er the Phoenix nest." | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| OTIA SACRA, by Mildmay, Earl of Westmoreland, 1648, p. 37. | 13 | ··/˘·····˘/˘· |
| Amarantha sweet and faire, | 7 | ······· |
| Ah brade no more that shining haire! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| As my curious hand or eye, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Hovering round thee, let it flye. | 7 | /˘····· |
| Let it flye as unconfin'd | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| As it's calme ravisher, the winde, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Who hath left his darling, th' East, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| To wanton o're that spicie neast. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Ev'ry tresse must be confest: | 7 | ······· |
| But neatly tangled at the best; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Like a clue of golden thread, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Most excellently ravelled. | 7 | ·/˘˘˘/˘ |
| Doe not then winde up that light | 7 | ······· |
| In ribands, and o'er-cloud in night, | 8 | ········ |
| Like the sun in's early ray; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| But shake your head, and scatter day. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| See, 'tis broke! within this grove, | 7 | ······· |
| The bower and the walkes of love, | 7 | ·/····· |
| Weary lye we downe and rest, | 7 | /˘····· |
| And fanne each other's panting breast. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Heere wee'll strippe and coole our fire, | 7 | ·····// |
| In creame below, in milk-baths higher: | 8 | ·······/ |
| And when all wells are drawne dry, | 7 | ······· |
| I'll drink a teare out of thine eye. | 8 | ········ |
| Which our very joys shall leave, | 7 | ·//˘··· |
| That sorrowes thus we can deceive; | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Or our very sorrowes weepe, | 7 | ·//˘/˘· |
| That joyes so ripe so little keepe. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| "Bright Bethsabe shall wash in David's bower, | 9 | ······/˘/ |
| In water mix'd with purest almond flower, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘/ |
| And bathe her beauty in the milk of kids." | 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.