The Pulley
When God at first made Man,Having a glass of blessings standing by--Let us (said He) pour on him all we can;Let the world’s riches, which dispersèd lie,Contract into a span.
So strength first made a way,Then beauty flow’d, then wisdom, honour, pleasure:When almost all was out, God made a stay,Perceiving that, alone of all His treasure,Rest in the bottom lay.
For if I should (said He)Bestow this jewel also on My creature,He would adore My gifts instead of Me,And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature;So both should losers be.
Yet let him keep the rest,But keep them with repining restlessness;Let him be rich and weary, that at least,If goodness lead him not, yet wearinessMay toss him to My breast.
Words in this poem
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- adore v. t.
- To worship with profound reverence; to pay divine honors to; to honor as deity or as divine. [OE. aouren, anouren, adoren, OF. aorer, adorer, F. adorer, fr. L. adorare; ad + orare to speak, pray, os, oris, mouth. In OE. confused with honor, the French pr]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Pulley 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: George Herbert, The Pulley, in Poems (1593–1632), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/obev-george-herbert/the-pulley.html, id L16067.
Form and metre
The Pulley is 20 lines in 4 stanzas of 5 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABA, complete in 2 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.6 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 5% 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 ABABA manA · byB · canA · lieB · spanA
- 2 ABABA wayA · pleasureB · stayA · treasureB · layA
- 3 A-A-A heA · creature · meA · nature · beA
- 4 A---A restA · restlessness · least · weariness · breastA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When God at first made Man, | 6 | ······ |
| Having a glass of blessings standing by-- | 10 | /˘···/˘/˘· |
| Let us (said He) pour on him all we can; | 10 | ·········· |
| Let the world’s riches, which dispersèd lie, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Contract into a span. | 6 | /····· |
| So strength first made a way, | 6 | ······ |
| Then beauty flow’d, then wisdom, honour, pleasure: | 11 | ·/˘··/˘/˘/˘ |
| When almost all was out, God made a stay, | 10 | ·/········ |
| Perceiving that, alone of all His treasure, | 11 | ˘/˘·˘/···/˘ |
| Rest in the bottom lay. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| For if I should (said He) | 6 | ······ |
| Bestow this jewel also on My creature, | 11 | ˘/·/˘/˘··/˘ |
| He would adore My gifts instead of Me, | 10 | ··˘/··˘/·· |
| And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature; | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| So both should losers be. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Yet let him keep the rest, | 6 | ······ |
| But keep them with repining restlessness; | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Let him be rich and weary, that at least, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| If goodness lead him not, yet weariness | 10 | ·/˘····/˘˘ |
| May toss him to My breast. | 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.