A Divine Rapture
E’en like two little bank-dividing brooks,That wash the pebbles with their wanton streams,And having ranged and search’d a thousand nooks,Meet both at length in silver-breasted Thames,Where in a greater current they conjoin:So I my Best-belovèd’s am; so He is mine.
E’en so we met; and after long pursuit,E’en so we joined; we both became entire;No need for either to renew a suit,For I was flax, and He was flames of fire:Our firm-united souls did more than twine;So I my Best-belovèd’s am; so He is mine.
If all those glittering Monarchs, that commandThe servile quarters of this earthly ball,Should tender in exchange their shares of land,I would not change my fortunes for them all:Their wealth is but a counter to my coin:The world’s but theirs; but my Belovèd’s mine.
Words in this poem
- conjoin v. t.
- To join together; to unite. [F. conjoindre, fr. L. conjungere, -junctum; con- + jungere to join. See Join, and cf. Conjugate, Conjunction.]
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Divine Rapture 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: Francis Quarles, A Divine Rapture, in Poems (1592–1644), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/obev-francis-quarles/a-divine-rapture.html, id L16058.
Form and metre
A Divine Rapture is 18 lines in 3 stanzas of 6 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.3 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 6% 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--- brooksA · streams · nooksA · thames · conjoin · mine
- 2 ABABCC pursuitA · entireB · suitA · fireB · twineC · mineC
- 3 ABAB-- commandA · ballB · landA · allB · coin · mine
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 |
|---|---|---|
| E’en like two little bank-dividing brooks, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| That wash the pebbles with their wanton streams, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And having ranged and search’d a thousand nooks, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Meet both at length in silver-breasted Thames, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Where in a greater current they conjoin: | 10 | ···/˘/˘··/ |
| So I my Best-belovèd’s am; so He is mine. | 12 | ············ |
| E’en so we met; and after long pursuit, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| E’en so we joined; we both became entire; | 11 | ······˘/˘/˘ |
| No need for either to renew a suit, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| For I was flax, and He was flames of fire: | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Our firm-united souls did more than twine; | 10 | /·˘/˘····· |
| So I my Best-belovèd’s am; so He is mine. | 12 | ············ |
| If all those glittering Monarchs, that command | 10 | ···/˘/··˘/ |
| The servile quarters of this earthly ball, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Should tender in exchange their shares of land, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| I would not change my fortunes for them all: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Their wealth is but a counter to my coin: | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The world’s but theirs; but my Belovèd’s mine. | 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.