Song
Strive not, vain lover, to be fine;Thy silk's the silk-worm's, and not thine:You lessen to a fly your mistriss' thought,To think it may be in a cobweb caught.What, though her thin transparent lawnThy heart in a strong net hath drawn:Not all the arms the god of fire ere madeCan the soft bulwarks of nak'd love invade.
Be truly fine, then, and yourself dressIn her fair soul's immac'late glass.Then by reflection you may have the blissPerhaps to see what a true fineness is;When all your gawderies will fitThose only that are poor in wit.She that a clinquant outside doth adore,Dotes on a gilded statue and no more.
In mine one monument I lye,And in my self am buried;Sure, the quick lightning of her eyeMelted my soul ith' scabberd dead;And now like some pale ghost I walk,And with another's spirit talk.
Nor can her beams a heat convey,That may my frozen bosome warm,Unless her smiles have pow'r, as they,That a cross charm can countercharm.But this is such a pleasing pain,I'm loth to be alive again.
Words in this poem
- cobweb n.
- The network spread by a spider to catch its prey. [Cob a spider + web.]
- clinquant a.
- Glittering; dressed in, or overlaid with, tinsel finery. [F.]
- adore v. t.
- To worship with profound reverence; to pay divine honors to; to honor as deity or as divine. [OE. aouren, anouren, adoren, OF. aorer, adorer, F. adorer, fr. L. adorare; ad + orare to speak, pray, os, oris, mouth. In OE. confused with honor, the French pr]
- ghost n.
- The spirit; the soul of man. [OE. gast, gost, soul, spirit, AS. gast breath, spirit, soul; akin to OS. g spirit, soul, D. geest, G. geist, and prob. to E. gaze, ghastly.]
- countercharm v. t.
- To destroy the effect of a charm upon.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Song 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, Song, in Lucasta (1649), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #703, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lovelace-lucasta/song.html, id L13037.
Form and metre
Song is 28 lines in 4 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABABCC, complete in 2 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.6 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 21% 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 AABBCCDD fineA · thineA · thoughtB · caughtB · lawnC · drawnC · madeD · invadeD
- 2 ----AABB dress · glass · bliss · is · fitA · witA · adoreB · moreB
- 3 ABABCC lyeA · buriedB · eyeA · deadB · walkC · talkC
- 4 ABABCC conveyA · warmB · theyA · countercharmB · painC · againC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Strive not, vain lover, to be fine; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Thy silk's the silk-worm's, and not thine: | 8 | ········ |
| You lessen to a fly your mistriss' thought, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| To think it may be in a cobweb caught. | 10 | ·······/·· |
| What, though her thin transparent lawn | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Thy heart in a strong net hath drawn: | 8 | ········ |
| Not all the arms the god of fire ere made | 10 | ·······/·· |
| Can the soft bulwarks of nak'd love invade. | 11 | ···/˘·/˘·˘/ |
| Be truly fine, then, and yourself dress | 9 | ·/˘···˘/· |
| In her fair soul's immac'late glass. | 8 | ········ |
| Then by reflection you may have the bliss | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Perhaps to see what a true fineness is; | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| When all your gawderies will fit | 7 | ······· |
| Those only that are poor in wit. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| She that a clinquant outside doth adore, | 10 | ···/˘//·˘/ |
| Dotes on a gilded statue and no more. | 10 | ···/˘/···· |
| In mine one monument I lye, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| And in my self am buried; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Sure, the quick lightning of her eye | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Melted my soul ith' scabberd dead; | 8 | /˘······ |
| And now like some pale ghost I walk, | 8 | ········ |
| And with another's spirit talk. | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| Nor can her beams a heat convey, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| That may my frozen bosome warm, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Unless her smiles have pow'r, as they, | 8 | ········ |
| That a cross charm can countercharm. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| But this is such a pleasing pain, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I'm loth to be alive again. | 8 | ····˘/˘/ |
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.