Lucasta's Fanne, with a Looking-Glasse in It
Eastrich! thou featherd foole, and easie prey,That larger sailes to thy broad vessell needst;Snakes through thy guttur-neck hisse all the day,Then on thy iron messe at supper feedst.
O what a glorious transmigrationFrom this to so divine an edificeHast thou straight made! heere from a winged stoneTransform'd into a bird of paradice!
Now doe thy plumes for hiew and luster vieWith th' arch of heav'n that triumphs or'e past wet,And in a rich enamel'd pinion lyeWith saphyres, amethists and opalls set.
Sometime they wing her side, thee strive to drownThe day's eyes piercing beames, whose am'rous heatSollicites still, 'till with this shield of downeFrom her brave face his glowing fires are beat.
But whilst a plumy curtaine she doth draw,A chrystall mirror sparkles in thy breast,In which her fresh aspect when as she saw,And then her foe retired to the west.
Deare engine, that oth' sun got'st me the day,'Spite of his hot assaults mad'st him retreat!No wind (said she) dare with thee henceforth playBut mine own breath to coole the tyrants heat.
My lively shade thou ever shalt retaineIn thy inclosed feather-framed glasse,And but unto our selves to all remaineInvisible, thou feature of this face!
So said, her sad swaine over-heard and cried:Yee Gods! for faith unstaind this a reward!Feathers and glasse t'outweigh my vertue tryed!Ah! show their empty strength! the gods accord.
Now fall'n the brittle favourite lyes and burst!Amas'd LUCASTA weepes, repents and fliesTo her ALEXIS, vowes her selfe acurst,If hence she dresse her selfe but in his eyes.
Words in this poem
- vessell v. t.
- To put into a vessel.
- hisse pron.
- Belonging or pertaining to him; -- used as a pronominal adjective or adjective pronoun; as, tell John his papers are ready; formerly used also for its, but this use is now obsolete. [AS. his of him, his, gen. masc. & neut. of h, neut. hit. See He.]
- 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.]
- transmigration n.
- The act of passing from one country to another; migration. [F. transmigration, L. transmigratio.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- pinion n.
- A moth of the genus Lithophane, as L. antennata, whose larva bores large holes in young peaches and apples.
- sometime adv.
- At a past time indefinitely referred to; once; formerly.
- plumy a.
- Covered or adorned with plumes, or as with plumes; feathery.
- deare
- variant of Dere, v. t. & n.
- henceforth adv.
- From this time forward; henceforward.
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Lucasta's Fanne, with a Looking-Glasse in It 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, Lucasta's Fanne, with a Looking-Glasse in It, in Lucasta (1649), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #703, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lovelace-lucasta/lucasta-s-fanne-with-a-looking-glasse-in-it.html, id L12997.
Form and metre
Lucasta's Fanne, with a Looking-Glasse in It is 36 lines in 9 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 6 of its 9 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 33% 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 ABAB preyA · needstB · dayA · feedstB
- 3 ABAB vieA · wetB · lyeA · setB
- 4 ABAB drownA · heatB · downeA · beatB
- 5 ABAB drawA · breastB · sawA · westB
- 6 ABAB dayA · retreatB · playA · heatB
- 7 A-A- retaineA · glasse · remaineA · face
- 8 -A-A cried · rewardA · tryed · accordA
- 9 ABAB burstA · fliesB · acurstA · eyesB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Eastrich! thou featherd foole, and easie prey, | 11 | ··········· |
| That larger sailes to thy broad vessell needst; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Snakes through thy guttur-neck hisse all the day, | 10 | ·········· |
| Then on thy iron messe at supper feedst. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| O what a glorious transmigration | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| From this to so divine an edifice | 10 | ····˘/·/˘˘ |
| Hast thou straight made! heere from a winged stone | 10 | ········˘· |
| Transform'd into a bird of paradice! | 10 | ˘/········ |
| Now doe thy plumes for hiew and luster vie | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| With th' arch of heav'n that triumphs or'e past wet, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And in a rich enamel'd pinion lye | 10 | ····˘/˘/˘· |
| With saphyres, amethists and opalls set. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Sometime they wing her side, thee strive to drown | 10 | /········· |
| The day's eyes piercing beames, whose am'rous heat | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Sollicites still, 'till with this shield of downe | 10 | ·········· |
| From her brave face his glowing fires are beat. | 10 | ·····/˘/·· |
| But whilst a plumy curtaine she doth draw, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| A chrystall mirror sparkles in thy breast, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| In which her fresh aspect when as she saw, | 10 | ····/····· |
| And then her foe retired to the west. | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Deare engine, that oth' sun got'st me the day, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| 'Spite of his hot assaults mad'st him retreat! | 10 | ····˘/··˘/ |
| No wind (said she) dare with thee henceforth play | 10 | ·······//· |
| But mine own breath to coole the tyrants heat. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| My lively shade thou ever shalt retaine | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| In thy inclosed feather-framed glasse, | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘· |
| And but unto our selves to all remaine | 10 | ····/····· |
| Invisible, thou feature of this face! | 10 | ˘/˘˘·/˘··· |
| So said, her sad swaine over-heard and cried: | 10 | ·········· |
| Yee Gods! for faith unstaind this a reward! | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Feathers and glasse t'outweigh my vertue tryed! | 10 | /˘·······˘ |
| Ah! show their empty strength! the gods accord. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Now fall'n the brittle favourite lyes and burst! | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| Amas'd LUCASTA weepes, repents and flies | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| To her ALEXIS, vowes her selfe acurst, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| If hence she dresse her selfe but in his eyes. | 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.