Her Muffe
Twas not for some calm blessing to deceive,Thou didst thy polish'd hands in shagg'd furs weave;It were no blessing thus obtain'd;Thou rather would'st a curse have gain'd,Then let thy warm driven snow be ever stain'd.
Not that you feared the discolo'ring coldMight alchymize their silver into gold;Nor could your ten white nuns so sin,That you should thus pennance them in,Each in her coarse hair smock of discipline.
Nor, Hero-like who, on their crest still woreA lyon, panther, leopard, or a bore,To looke their enemies in their herse,Thou would'st thy hand should deeper pierce,And, in its softness rough, appear more fierce.
No, no, LUCASTA, destiny decreed,That beasts to thee a sacrifice should bleed,And strip themselves to make you gay:For ne'r yet herald did displayA coat, where SABLES upon ERMIN lay.
This for lay-lovers, that must stand at dore,Salute the threshold, and admire no more;But I, in my invention tough,Rate not this outward bliss enough,But still contemplate must the hidden muffe.
Words in this poem
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- herse n.
- A kind of gate or portcullis, having iron bars, like a harrow, studded with iron spikes. It is hung above gateways so that it may be quickly lowered, to impede the advance of an enemy. Farrow. [F. herse harrow, portcullis, OF. herce, LL. hercia, L. hirpex, gen. hirpicis, and irpex, gen. irpicis, harrow. The LL. hercia signifies also a kind of candlesti]
- dore v. t.
- One who does; one performs or executes; one who is wont and ready to act; an actor; an agent. [From Do, v. t. & i.]
- admire v. t.
- To regard with wonder or astonishment; to view with surprise; to marvel at. [F. admirer, fr. L. admirari; ad + mirari to wonder, for smirari, akin to Gr. smi, and E. smile.]
- contemplate v. t.
- To look at on all sides or in all its bearings; to view or consider with continued attention; to regard with deliberate care; to meditate on; to study. [L. contemplatus, p.p. of contemplari to contemplate; con- + templum a space for observation marked out by the augur. See Temple.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Her Muffe 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, Her Muffe, in Lucasta (1649), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #703, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lovelace-lucasta/her-muffe.html, id L13032.
Form and metre
Her Muffe is 25 lines in 5 stanzas of 5 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABBB. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.2 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 12% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 AABBB deceiveA · weaveA · obtain'dB · gain'dB · stain'dB
- 2 AABBB coldA · goldA · sinB · inB · disciplineB
- 3 AABBB woreA · boreA · herseB · pierceB · fierceB
- 4 AABBB decreedA · bleedA · gayB · displayB · layB
- 5 AABBB doreA · moreA · toughB · enoughB · muffeB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Twas not for some calm blessing to deceive, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Thou didst thy polish'd hands in shagg'd furs weave; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| It were no blessing thus obtain'd; | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Thou rather would'st a curse have gain'd, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Then let thy warm driven snow be ever stain'd. | 10 | ····/··/˘· |
| Not that you feared the discolo'ring cold | 10 | ·····˘/˘˘· |
| Might alchymize their silver into gold; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Nor could your ten white nuns so sin, | 8 | ········ |
| That you should thus pennance them in, | 8 | ········ |
| Each in her coarse hair smock of discipline. | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Nor, Hero-like who, on their crest still wore | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| A lyon, panther, leopard, or a bore, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| To looke their enemies in their herse, | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| Thou would'st thy hand should deeper pierce, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And, in its softness rough, appear more fierce. | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| No, no, LUCASTA, destiny decreed, | 10 | ·····/˘˘˘/ |
| That beasts to thee a sacrifice should bleed, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And strip themselves to make you gay: | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| For ne'r yet herald did display | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| A coat, where SABLES upon ERMIN lay. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| This for lay-lovers, that must stand at dore, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Salute the threshold, and admire no more; | 10 | ˘/·/··˘/·· |
| But I, in my invention tough, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Rate not this outward bliss enough, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| But still contemplate must the hidden muffe. | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
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