Sonnet
Depose your finger of that ring,And crowne mine with't awhile;Now I restor't. Pray, dos it bringBack with it more of soile?Or shines it not as innocent,As honest, as before 'twas lent?
So then inrich me with that treasure,'Twill but increase your store,And please me (faire one) with that pleasureMust please you still the more.Not to save others is a curseThe blackest, when y'are ne're the worse.
When I by thy faire shape did sweare,And mingled with each vowe a teare,I lov'd, I lov'd thee best,I swore as I profest.For all the while you lasted warme and pure,My oathes too did endure.But once turn'd faithlesse to thy selfe and old,They then with thee incessantly grew cold.
I swore my selfe thy sacrificeBy th' ebon bowes that guard thine eyes,Which now are alter'd white,And by the glorious lightOf both those stars, which of their spheres bereft,Only the gellie's left.Then changed thus, no more I'm bound to you,Then swearing to a saint that proves untrue.
Thou snowy farme with thy five tenements!Tell thy white mistris here was one,That call'd to pay his dayly rents;But she a-gathering flowr's and hearts is gone,And thou left voyd to rude possession.
But grieve not, pretty Ermin cabinet,Thy alabaster lady will come home;If not, what tenant can there fitThe slender turnings of thy narrow roome,But must ejected be by his owne dombe?
Then give me leave to leave my rent with thee:Five kisses, one unto a place:For though the lute's too high for me,Yet servants, knowing minikin nor base,Are still allow'd to fiddle with the case.
"Fair Wench! I cannot court thy sprightly eyesWith a base-viol plac'd betwixt my thighs,I cannot lisp, nor to a fiddle sing,Nor run upon a high-strecht minikin."
"GUDGEON. Ay, and to all that forswear marriage, and can becontent with other men's wives.GERARDINE. Of which consort you two are grounds; one touchesthe bass, and the other tickles the minikin."
No moreThou little winged archer, now no moreAs heretofore,Thou maist pretend within my breast to bide,No more,Since cruell Death of dearest LYNDAMOREHath me depriv'd,I bid adieu to love, and all the world beside.
Go, go;Lay by thy quiver and unbend thy bowPoore sillie foe,Thou spend'st thy shafts but at my breast in vain,Since DeathMy heart hath with a fatall icie deartAlready slain,Thou canst not ever hope to warme her wound,
Words in this poem
- awhile adv.
- For a while; for some time; for a short time. [Adj. a + while time, interval.]
- incessantly adv.
- Unceasingly; continually.
- ebon a.
- Consisting of ebony.
- 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.]
- snowy a.
- White like snow.
- minikin n.
- A little darling; a favorite; a minion. Florio. [OD. minneken a darling, dim. of minne love; akin to G. minne, and to E. mind.]
- betwixt prep.
- In the space which separates; between. [OE. betwix, bitwix, rarely bitwixt, AS. betweox, betweohs, betweoh, betwih; pref. be- by + a form fr. AS. twa two. See Between.]
- lisp v. i.
- To pronounce the sibilant letter s imperfectly; to give s and z the sound of th; -- a defect common among children. [OE. lispen, lipsen, AS. wlisp stammering, lisping; akin to D. & OHG. lispen to lisp, G. lispeln, Sw. läspa, Dan. lespe.]
- gudgeon n.
- A small European freshwater fish (Gobio fluviatilis), allied to the carp. It is easily caught and often used for food and for bait. [OE. gojon, F. goujon, from L. gobio, or gob, Gr. 1st Goby.]
- forswear v. t.
- To reject or renounce upon oath; hence, to renounce earnestly, determinedly, or with protestations. [OE. forsweren, forswerien, AS. forswerian; pref. for- + swerian to swear. See For-, and Swear, v. i.]
- bide v. i.
- To dwell; to inhabit; to abide; to stay. [OE. biden, AS. bidan; akin to OHG. bitan, Goth. beidan, Icel. bi; perh. orig., to wait with trust, and akin to bid. See Bid, v. t., and cf. Abide.]
- cruell a.
- Disposed to give pain to others; willing or pleased to hurt, torment, or afflict; destitute of sympathetic kindness and pity; savage; inhuman; hard-hearted; merciless. [F. cruel, fr. L. crudelis, fr. crudus. See Crude.]
- unbend v. t.
- To free from flexure; to make, or allow to become, straight; to loosen; as, to unbend a bow. [1st pref. un- + bend.]
- fatall a.
- Proceeding from, or appointed by, fate or destiny; necessary; inevitable. [L. fatalis, fr. fatum: cf. F. fatal. See Fate.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet 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, Sonnet, in Lucasta (1649), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #703, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lovelace-lucasta/sonnet.html, id L12987.
Form and metre
Sonnet is 67 lines in 11 stanzas. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter. 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.2 syllables. 9 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 22% 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 A-A-BB ringA · awhile · bringA · soile · innocentB · lentB
- 2 ABABCC treasureA · storeB · pleasureA · moreB · curseC · worseC
- 3 AABBCCDD sweareA · teareA · bestB · profestB · pureC · endureC · oldD · coldD
- 4 --AABBCC sacrifice · eyes · whiteA · lightA · bereftB · leftB · youC · untrueC
- 5 ABABB tenementsA · oneB · rentsA · goneB · possessionB
- 6 A-A-- cabinetA · home · fitA · roome · dombe
- 7 ABABB theeA · placeB · meA · baseB · caseB
- 8 AA-- eyesA · thighsA · sing · minikin
- 10 AAABA--B moreA · moreA · heretoforeA · bideB · moreA · lyndamore · depriv'd · besideB
- 11 AAAB--B- goA · bowA · foeA · vainB · death · deart · slainB · wound
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Depose your finger of that ring, | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| And crowne mine with't awhile; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Now I restor't. Pray, dos it bring | 8 | ········ |
| Back with it more of soile? | 7 | ······· |
| Or shines it not as innocent, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| As honest, as before 'twas lent? | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| So then inrich me with that treasure, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| 'Twill but increase your store, | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| And please me (faire one) with that pleasure | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Must please you still the more. | 6 | ······ |
| Not to save others is a curse | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The blackest, when y'are ne're the worse. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| When I by thy faire shape did sweare, | 8 | ········ |
| And mingled with each vowe a teare, | 9 | ·/˘˘····· |
| I lov'd, I lov'd thee best, | 6 | ······ |
| I swore as I profest. | 6 | ······ |
| For all the while you lasted warme and pure, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| My oathes too did endure. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| But once turn'd faithlesse to thy selfe and old, | 10 | ·········· |
| They then with thee incessantly grew cold. | 10 | ····˘/˘˘·· |
| I swore my selfe thy sacrifice | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| By th' ebon bowes that guard thine eyes, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Which now are alter'd white, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And by the glorious light | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Of both those stars, which of their spheres bereft, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Only the gellie's left. | 5 | /˘··· |
| Then changed thus, no more I'm bound to you, | 10 | ··˘······· |
| Then swearing to a saint that proves untrue. | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Thou snowy farme with thy five tenements! | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| Tell thy white mistris here was one, | 8 | ········ |
| That call'd to pay his dayly rents; | 8 | ········ |
| But she a-gathering flowr's and hearts is gone, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And thou left voyd to rude possession. | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| But grieve not, pretty Ermin cabinet, | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘˘ |
| Thy alabaster lady will come home; | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| If not, what tenant can there fit | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The slender turnings of thy narrow roome, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| But must ejected be by his owne dombe? | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Then give me leave to leave my rent with thee: | 10 | ·········· |
| Five kisses, one unto a place: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| For though the lute's too high for me, | 8 | ········ |
| Yet servants, knowing minikin nor base, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘˘·· |
| Are still allow'd to fiddle with the case. | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| "Fair Wench! I cannot court thy sprightly eyes | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| With a base-viol plac'd betwixt my thighs, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| I cannot lisp, nor to a fiddle sing, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Nor run upon a high-strecht minikin." | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| "GUDGEON. Ay, and to all that forswear marriage, and can be | 14 | /˘·····˘//˘··· |
| content with other men's wives. | 7 | ˘/·/˘·· |
| GERARDINE. Of which consort you two are grounds; one touches | 14 | ·····˘/·····/˘ |
| the bass, and the other tickles the minikin." | 12 | ····/˘/˘·/˘˘ |
| No more | 2 | ·· |
| Thou little winged archer, now no more | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| As heretofore, | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Thou maist pretend within my breast to bide, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| No more, | 2 | ·· |
| Since cruell Death of dearest LYNDAMORE | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Hath me depriv'd, | 4 | ··˘/ |
| I bid adieu to love, and all the world beside. | 12 | ··˘/······˘/ |
| Go, go; | 2 | ·· |
| Lay by thy quiver and unbend thy bow | 10 | ···/˘··/·· |
| Poore sillie foe, | 4 | ···· |
| Thou spend'st thy shafts but at my breast in vain, | 10 | ·········· |
| Since Death | 2 | ·· |
| My heart hath with a fatall icie deart | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Already slain, | 4 | ˘/˘· |
| Thou canst not ever hope to warme her wound, | 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.