To Dr. F. B[Eale]; on His Book of Chesse
Sir, how unravell'd is the golden fleece:Men, that could only fool at FOX AND GEESE,Are new-made polititians by thy book,And both can judge and conquer with a look.The hidden fate of princes you unfold;Court, clergy, commons, by your law control'd.Strange, serious wantoning all that theyBluster'd and clutter'd for, you PLAY.
Tis not from cheap thanks thinly to repayTh' immortal grove of thy fair-order'd bayThou planted'st round my humble fane, that IStick on thy hearse this sprig of Elegie:Nor that your soul so fast was link'd in me,That now I've both, since't has forsaken thee:That thus I stand a Swisse before thy gate,And dare, for such another, time and fate.Alas! our faiths made different essays,Our Minds and Merits brake two several ways;Justice commands I wake thy learned dust,And truth, in whom all causes center must.
Behold! when but a youth, thou fierce didst whipUpright the crooked age, and gilt vice strip;A senator praetext, that knew'st to swayThe fasces, yet under the ferula;Rank'd with the sage, ere blossome did thy chin,Sleeked without, and hair all ore within,Who in the school could'st argue as in schools:Thy lessons were ev'n academie rules.So that fair Cam saw thee matriculate,At once a tyro and a graduate.
At nineteen, what ESSAYES have we beheld!That well might have the book of Dogmas swell'd;Tough Paradoxes, such as Tully's, thouDidst heat thee with, when snowy was thy brow,When thy undown'd face mov'd the Nine to shake,And of the Muses did a decad make.What shall I say? by what allusion bold?
Young reverend shade, ascend awhile! whilst weNow celebrate this posthume victorie,This victory, that doth contract in deathEv'n all the pow'rs and labours of thy breath.Like the Judean Hero, in thy fallThou pull'st the house of learning on us all.And as that soldier conquest doubted not,Who but one splinter had of Castriot,But would assault ev'n death so strongly charmd,And naked oppose rocks, with his bone arm'd;So we, secure in this fair relique, standThe slings and darts shot by each profane hand.These soveraign leaves thou left'st us are becomeSear clothes against all Times infection.
Sacred Hierocles, whose heav'nly thoughtFirst acted ore this comment, ere it wrote,Thou hast so spirited, elixir'd, weConceive there is a noble alchymie,That's turning of this gold to something morePretious than gold, we never knew before.Who now shall doubt the metempsychosisOf the great Author, that shall peruse this?Let others dream thy shadow wandering straysIn th' Elizian mazes hid with bays;Or that, snatcht up in th' upper region,'Tis kindled there a constellation;I have inform'd me, and declare with ease
Words in this poem 19
- commons n.
- The mass of the people, as distinguished from the titled chasses or nobility; the commonalty; the common people. [Eng.]
- fane n.
- A temple; a place consecrated to religion; a church. [L. fanum a place dedicated to some deity, a sanctuary, fr. fari to speak. See Fame.]
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- senator n.
- A member of a senate. [OE. senatour, OF. senatour, F. sénateur, fr. L. senator.]
- fasces n.
- A bundle of rods, having among them an ax with the blade projecting, borne before the Roman magistrates as a badge of their authority.
- ferula n.
- A ferule. Beau. & Fl. [L. ferula giant fennel (its stalks were used in punishing schoolboys), rod, whip, fr. ferire to strike; akin to OHG. berjan, Icel. berja. Cf. Ferule.]
- matriculate v. t.
- To enroll; to enter in a register; specifically, to enter or admit to membership in a body or society, particularly in a college or university, by enrolling the name in a register. [L. matricula a public roll or register, dim. of matrix a mother, in respect to propagation, also, a public register. See Matrix.]
- snowy a.
- White like snow.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- allusion n.
- A figurative or symbolical reference. [L. allusio, fr. alludere to allude: cf. F. allusion.]
- reverend a.
- Worthy of reverence; entitled to respect mingled with fear and affection; venerable. [F. révérend, L. reverendus, fr. revereri. See Revere.]
- awhile adv.
- For a while; for some time; for a short time. [Adj. a + while time, interval.]
- posthume a.
- Posthumos. I. Watts. Fuller.
- judean a.
- Of or pertaining to Judea. [L. Judaeus. See Jew.]
- wrote v. i.
- To root with the snout. See 1st Root. [OE. wroten. See 1st Root.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- spirited a.
- Animated or possessed by a spirit.
- metempsychosis n.
- The passage of the soul, as an immortal essence, at the death of the animal body it had inhabited, into another living body, whether of a brute or a human being; transmigration of souls. Sir T. [NL., fr. Gr. Psychology.]
- peruse v. t.
- To observe; to examine with care. [Pref. per- + use.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To Dr. F. B[Eale]; on His Book of Chesse 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, To Dr. F. B[Eale]; on His Book of Chesse, in Lucasta (1649), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #703, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lovelace-lucasta/to-dr-f-b-eale-on-his-book-of-chesse.html, id L13069.
Form and metre
To Dr. F. B[Eale]; on His Book of Chesse is 64 lines in 6 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 66% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 5 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 28% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 AABBCCDD fleeceA · geeseA · bookB · lookB · unfoldC · control'dC · theyD · playD
- 2 AAB-BBCCDDEE repayA · bayA · iB · elegie · meB · theeB · gateC · fateC · essaysD · waysD · dustE · mustE
- 3 AA--BBCC-- whipA · stripA · sway · ferula · chinB · withinB · schoolsC · rulesC · matriculate · graduate
- 4 AABBCC- beheldA · swell'dA · thouB · browB · shakeC · makeC · bold
- 5 --AABB--CCDD-- we · victorie · deathA · breathA · fallB · allB · not · castriot · charmdC · arm'dC · standD · handD · become · infection
- 6 ----AA--BB--- thought · wrote · we · alchymie · moreA · beforeA · metempsychosis · this · straysB · baysB · region · constellation · ease
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sir, how unravell'd is the golden fleece: | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Men, that could only fool at FOX AND GEESE, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Are new-made polititians by thy book, | 10 | ·········· |
| And both can judge and conquer with a look. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The hidden fate of princes you unfold; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Court, clergy, commons, by your law control'd. | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Strange, serious wantoning all that they | 10 | ·/˘˘/˘˘··· |
| Bluster'd and clutter'd for, you PLAY. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Tis not from cheap thanks thinly to repay | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Th' immortal grove of thy fair-order'd bay | 10 | ˘/˘····/˘· |
| Thou planted'st round my humble fane, that I | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Stick on thy hearse this sprig of Elegie: | 10 | ·········· |
| Nor that your soul so fast was link'd in me, | 10 | ·········· |
| That now I've both, since't has forsaken thee: | 11 | ·······˘/˘· |
| That thus I stand a Swisse before thy gate, | 10 | ·········· |
| And dare, for such another, time and fate. | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Alas! our faiths made different essays, | 10 | ˘//··/˘˘˘/ |
| Our Minds and Merits brake two several ways; | 10 | /··/˘··/˘· |
| Justice commands I wake thy learned dust, | 10 | /˘˘/····˘· |
| And truth, in whom all causes center must. | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Behold! when but a youth, thou fierce didst whip | 10 | ˘/········ |
| Upright the crooked age, and gilt vice strip; | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| A senator praetext, that knew'st to sway | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| The fasces, yet under the ferula; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| Rank'd with the sage, ere blossome did thy chin, | 10 | ·········· |
| Sleeked without, and hair all ore within, | 10 | ·˘········ |
| Who in the school could'st argue as in schools: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Thy lessons were ev'n academie rules. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| So that fair Cam saw thee matriculate, | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
| At once a tyro and a graduate. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| At nineteen, what ESSAYES have we beheld! | 10 | ·//·˘/··˘/ |
| That well might have the book of Dogmas swell'd; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Tough Paradoxes, such as Tully's, thou | 10 | ·/˘·˘··/˘· |
| Didst heat thee with, when snowy was thy brow, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| When thy undown'd face mov'd the Nine to shake, | 10 | ·········· |
| And of the Muses did a decad make. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| What shall I say? by what allusion bold? | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Young reverend shade, ascend awhile! whilst we | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘/·· |
| Now celebrate this posthume victorie, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| This victory, that doth contract in death | 10 | ·/˘˘··˘/·· |
| Ev'n all the pow'rs and labours of thy breath. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Like the Judean Hero, in thy fall | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| Thou pull'st the house of learning on us all. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And as that soldier conquest doubted not, | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Who but one splinter had of Castriot, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| But would assault ev'n death so strongly charmd, | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| And naked oppose rocks, with his bone arm'd; | 10 | ·/˘˘/····· |
| So we, secure in this fair relique, stand | 10 | ··˘/···˘/· |
| The slings and darts shot by each profane hand. | 10 | ·······˘/· |
| These soveraign leaves thou left'st us are become | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| Sear clothes against all Times infection. | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Sacred Hierocles, whose heav'nly thought | 9 | /˘˘······ |
| First acted ore this comment, ere it wrote, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Thou hast so spirited, elixir'd, we | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Conceive there is a noble alchymie, | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| That's turning of this gold to something more | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Pretious than gold, we never knew before. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Who now shall doubt the metempsychosis | 7 | ······· |
| Of the great Author, that shall peruse this? | 10 | ···/˘··˘/· |
| Let others dream thy shadow wandering strays | 10 | ·/˘··/·/˘· |
| In th' Elizian mazes hid with bays; | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Or that, snatcht up in th' upper region, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| 'Tis kindled there a constellation; | 10 | ·/˘˘···˘/˘ |
| I have inform'd me, and declare with ease | 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.