The Duell
Love drunk, the other day, knockt at my brest,But I, alas! was not within.My man, my ear, told me he came t' attest,That without cause h'd boxed him,And battered the windows of mine eyes,And took my heart for one of's nunneries.
I wondred at the outrage safe return'd,And stormed at the base affront;And by a friend of mine, bold faith, that burn'd,I called him to a strict accompt.He said that, by the law, the challeng'd mightTake the advantage both of arms and fight.
Two darts of equal length and points he sent,And nobly gave the choyce to me,Which I not weigh'd, young and indifferent,Now full of nought but victorie.So we both met in one of's mother's groves,The time, at the first murm'ring of her doves.
I stript myself naked all o're, as he:For so I was best arm'd, when bare.His first pass did my liver rase: yet IMade home a falsify too neer:For when my arm to its true distance came,I nothing touch'd but a fantastick flame.
This, this is love we daily quarrel so,An idle Don-Quichoterie:We whip our selves with our own twisted wo,And wound the ayre for a fly.The only way t' undo this enemyIs to laugh at the boy, and he will cry.
Words in this poem
- attest v. t.
- To bear witness to; to certify; to affirm to be true or genuine; as, to attest the truth of a writing, a copy of record. [L. attestari; ad + testari to bear witness: cf. F. attester.]
- nobly adv.
- Of noble extraction; as, nobly born or descended.
- rase v. t.
- To rub along the surface of; to graze. [F. raser, LL. rasare to scrape often, v. freq. fr. L. radere, rasum, to scrape, shave; cf. Skr. rad to scratch, gnaw, L. rodere to gnaw. Cf. Raze, Razee, Razor,]
- falsify v. t.
- To make false; to represent falsely. [L. falsus false + -ly: cf. F. falsifier. See False, a.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Duell 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, The Duell, in Lucasta (1649), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #703, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lovelace-lucasta/the-duell.html, id L13049.
Form and metre
The Duell is 30 lines in 5 stanzas of 6 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.3 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 10% 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 A-A-BB brestA · within · attestA · him · eyesB · nunneriesB
- 2 A-A-BB return'dA · affront · burn'dA · accompt · mightB · fightB
- 3 A-A--- sentA · me · indifferentA · victorie · groves · doves
- 4 ABABCC heA · bareB · iA · neerB · cameC · flameC
- 5 A-AB-B soA · quichoterie · woA · flyB · enemy · cryB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Love drunk, the other day, knockt at my brest, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| But I, alas! was not within. | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| My man, my ear, told me he came t' attest, | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| That without cause h'd boxed him, | 7 | ······· |
| And battered the windows of mine eyes, | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘··· |
| And took my heart for one of's nunneries. | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| I wondred at the outrage safe return'd, | 10 | ·/˘··/··˘/ |
| And stormed at the base affront; | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| And by a friend of mine, bold faith, that burn'd, | 10 | ·········· |
| I called him to a strict accompt. | 9 | ··˘····˘/ |
| He said that, by the law, the challeng'd might | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Take the advantage both of arms and fight. | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Two darts of equal length and points he sent, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And nobly gave the choyce to me, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Which I not weigh'd, young and indifferent, | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Now full of nought but victorie. | 8 | ········ |
| So we both met in one of's mother's groves, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The time, at the first murm'ring of her doves. | 10 | ·········· |
| I stript myself naked all o're, as he: | 10 | ···//˘···· |
| For so I was best arm'd, when bare. | 8 | ········ |
| His first pass did my liver rase: yet I | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Made home a falsify too neer: | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| For when my arm to its true distance came, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I nothing touch'd but a fantastick flame. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| This, this is love we daily quarrel so, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| An idle Don-Quichoterie: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| We whip our selves with our own twisted wo, | 10 | ··/··/·/˘· |
| And wound the ayre for a fly. | 7 | ······· |
| The only way t' undo this enemy | 11 | ·/˘··˘/·/˘˘ |
| Is to laugh at the boy, and he will cry. | 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.