Item
Jussa manus sacri pectus violare CatonisHaesit, et inceptum victa reliquit opus.Ille ait, infesto contra sua vulnera vultu:Estne aliquid, magnus quod Cato non potuit?
Words in this poem
- manus n.
- The distal segment of the fore limb, including the carpus and fore foot or hand. [L., the hand.]
- pectus n.
- The breast of a bird. [L., the breast.]
- opus n.
- A work; specif. (Mus.), a musical composition. [L. See Opera.]
- contra
- A Latin adverb and preposition, signifying against, contrary, in opposition, etc., entering as a prefix into the composition of many English words. Cf. Counter, adv. & pref.
- quod v.
- Quoth; said. See Quoth.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Item 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, Item, in Lucasta (1649), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #703, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lovelace-lucasta/item-2.html, id L13076.
Form and metre
Item is 4 lines in a single stanza. The lines average 12.8 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Jussa manus sacri pectus violare Catonis | 13 | ··/˘··/˘····· |
| Haesit, et inceptum victa reliquit opus. | 13 | ···········/˘ |
| Ille ait, infesto contra sua vulnera vultu: | 13 | ·····/˘······ |
| Estne aliquid, magnus quod Cato non potuit? | 12 | ····/˘·/˘··· |
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.