Heaven-Born Beauty
As one who will reseek her home of light,Thy form immortal to this prison-houseDescended, like an angel piteous,To heal all hearts and make the whole world bright.'Tis this that thralls my soul in love's delight,Not thy clear face of beauty glorious;For he who harbours virtue, still will chooseTo love what neither years nor death can blight.So fares it ever with things high and rareWrought in the sweat of nature; heaven aboveShowers on their birth the blessings of her prime:Nor hath God deigned to show Himself elsewhereMore clearly than in human forms sublime;Which, since they image Him, alone I love.
It came, I know not whence, from far above,That clear immortal flame that still doth riseWithin thy sacred breast, and fills the skies,And heals all hearts, and adds to heaven new love.This burns me, this, and the pure light thereof;Not thy fair face, thy sweet untroubled eyes:For love that is not love for aught that dies,Dwells in the soul where no base passions move.If then such loveliness upon its ownShould graft new beauties in a mortal birth,The sheath bespeaks the shining blade within.To gain our love God hath not clearer shownHimself elsewhere: thus heaven doth vie with earthTo make thee worthy worship without sin.
Words in this poem
- reseek v. t.
- To seek again. J. Barlow.
- 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.]
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- loveliness n.
- The state or quality of being lovely. [From Lovely.]
- clearer n.
- One who, or that which, clears.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Heaven-Born Beauty is in the public domain. This text is taken from Sonnets, Project Gutenberg ebook #10314, the John Addington Symonds translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Michelangelo Buonarroti, Heaven-Born Beauty, in Sonnets (1878), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #10314, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/michelangelo-sonnets/heaven-born-beauty.html, id L15198.
Form and metre
Heaven-Born Beauty is 28 lines in 2 stanzas of 14 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 32% 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 AB-AAB-ACDECED lightA · houseB · piteous · brightA · delightA · gloriousB · choose · blightA · rareC · aboveD · primeE · elsewhereC · sublimeE · loveD
- 2 ABBAABBACDECDE aboveA · riseB · skiesB · loveA · thereofA · eyesB · diesB · moveA · ownC · birthD · withinE · shownC · earthD · sinE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| As one who will reseek her home of light, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Thy form immortal to this prison-house | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Descended, like an angel piteous, | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘/˘˘ |
| To heal all hearts and make the whole world bright. | 10 | ·········· |
| 'Tis this that thralls my soul in love's delight, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Not thy clear face of beauty glorious; | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| For he who harbours virtue, still will choose | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| To love what neither years nor death can blight. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| So fares it ever with things high and rare | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Wrought in the sweat of nature; heaven above | 10 | ·····/˘/·· |
| Showers on their birth the blessings of her prime: | 10 | /····/˘··· |
| Nor hath God deigned to show Himself elsewhere | 10 | ······˘//· |
| More clearly than in human forms sublime; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Which, since they image Him, alone I love. | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| It came, I know not whence, from far above, | 10 | ·········· |
| That clear immortal flame that still doth rise | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Within thy sacred breast, and fills the skies, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And heals all hearts, and adds to heaven new love. | 10 | ·······/·· |
| This burns me, this, and the pure light thereof; | 10 | ·········· |
| Not thy fair face, thy sweet untroubled eyes: | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| For love that is not love for aught that dies, | 10 | ·········· |
| Dwells in the soul where no base passions move. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| If then such loveliness upon its own | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Should graft new beauties in a mortal birth, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| The sheath bespeaks the shining blade within. | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| To gain our love God hath not clearer shown | 10 | ··/····/˘· |
| Himself elsewhere: thus heaven doth vie with earth | 10 | ˘//··/···· |
| To make thee worthy worship without sin. | 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.