Poems
Tell me not of a face that’s fair,Nor lip and cheek that’s red,Nor of the tresses of her hair,Nor curls in order laid,Nor of a rare seraphic voiceThat like an angel sings;Though if I were to take my choiceI would have all these things:But if that thou wilt have me love,And it must be a she,The only argument can moveIs that she will love me.
The glories of your ladies beBut metaphors of things,And but resemble what we seeEach common object brings.Roses out-red their lips and cheeks,Lilies their whiteness stain;What fool is he that shadows seeksAnd may the substance gain?Then if thou’lt have me love a lass,Let it be one that’s kind:Else I’m a servant to the glassThat’s with Canary lined.
Words in this poem
- seraphic a.
- Of or pertaining to a seraph; becoming, or suitable to, a seraph; angelic; sublime; pure; refined. [Cf. F. séraphique.]
- lass n.
- A youth woman; a girl; a sweetheart. [OE. lasse; prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. llodes girl, fem. of llawd lad. (Lad a youth.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Poems is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250-1900, Project Gutenberg ebook #66619; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Alexander Brome, Poems, (1620–1666), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/obev-alexander-brome/the-resolve.html, id L16102.
Form and metre
The Resolve is 24 lines in 2 stanzas of 12 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.0 syllables. 29% 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-BCBCDEDE fairA · red · hairA · laid · voiceB · singsC · choiceB · thingsC · loveD · sheE · moveD · meE
- 2 ABABCDCDEFEF beA · thingsB · seeA · bringsB · cheeksC · stainD · seeksC · gainD · lassE · kindF · glassE · linedF
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Tell me not of a face that’s fair, | 8 | ········ |
| Nor lip and cheek that’s red, | 6 | ······ |
| Nor of the tresses of her hair, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Nor curls in order laid, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Nor of a rare seraphic voice | 8 | ········ |
| That like an angel sings; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Though if I were to take my choice | 8 | ········ |
| I would have all these things: | 6 | ······ |
| But if that thou wilt have me love, | 8 | ········ |
| And it must be a she, | 6 | ······ |
| The only argument can move | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| Is that she will love me. | 6 | ······ |
| The glories of your ladies be | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| But metaphors of things, | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| And but resemble what we see | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Each common object brings. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Roses out-red their lips and cheeks, | 8 | /˘······ |
| Lilies their whiteness stain; | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| What fool is he that shadows seeks | 8 | ·····/·· |
| And may the substance gain? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Then if thou’lt have me love a lass, | 8 | ········ |
| Let it be one that’s kind: | 6 | ······ |
| Else I’m a servant to the glass | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| That’s with Canary lined. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
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.