The Scrutinie
Why shouldst thou sweare I am forsworn,Since thine I vow'd to be?Lady, it is already Morn,And 'twas last night I swore to theeThat fond impossibility.
Have I not lov'd thee much and long,A tedious twelve moneths space?I should all other beauties wrong,And rob thee of a new imbrace;Should I still dote upon thy face.
Not but all joy in thy browne haireIn others may be found;But I must search the black and faire,Like skilfulle minerallists that soundFor treasure in un-plow'd-up ground.
Then if, when I have lov'd my round,Thou prov'st the pleasant she;With spoyles of meaner beauties crown'd,I laden will returne to thee,Ev'n sated with varietie.
Words in this poem
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- dote n.
- A marriage portion. See 1st Dot, n. Wyatt. [See Dot dowry.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Scrutinie 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 Scrutinie, in Lucasta (1649), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #703, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lovelace-lucasta/the-scrutinie.html, id L13012.
Form and metre
The Scrutinie is 20 lines in 4 stanzas of 5 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABB, complete in 2 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.8 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 15% 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 ABAB- forswornA · beB · mornA · theeB · impossibility
- 2 ABABB longA · spaceB · wrongA · imbraceB · faceB
- 3 ABABB haireA · foundB · faireA · soundB · groundB
- 4 ABAB- roundA · sheB · crown'dA · theeB · varietie
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Why shouldst thou sweare I am forsworn, | 8 | ·······/ |
| Since thine I vow'd to be? | 6 | ······ |
| Lady, it is already Morn, | 8 | /˘··˘/˘· |
| And 'twas last night I swore to thee | 8 | ········ |
| That fond impossibility. | 8 | ··˘·˘/˘˘ |
| Have I not lov'd thee much and long, | 8 | ········ |
| A tedious twelve moneths space? | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| I should all other beauties wrong, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And rob thee of a new imbrace; | 8 | ········ |
| Should I still dote upon thy face. | 8 | ········ |
| Not but all joy in thy browne haire | 8 | ········ |
| In others may be found; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| But I must search the black and faire, | 8 | ········ |
| Like skilfulle minerallists that sound | 10 | ·········· |
| For treasure in un-plow'd-up ground. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Then if, when I have lov'd my round, | 8 | ········ |
| Thou prov'st the pleasant she; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| With spoyles of meaner beauties crown'd, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| I laden will returne to thee, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Ev'n sated with varietie. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
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.