Poems
Say, crimson Rose and dainty Daffodil,With Violet blue;Since you have seen the beauty of my saint,And eke her view;Did not her sight (fair sight!) you lonely fill,With sweet delightOf goddess’ grace and angels’ sacred teintIn fine, most bright?
Say, golden Primrose, sanguine Cowslip fair,With Pink most fine;Since you beheld the visage of my dear,And eyes divine;
Did not her globy front, and glistering hair,With cheeks most sweet,So gloriously like damask flowers appear,The gods to greet?
Say, snow-white Lily, speckled Gillyflower,With Daisy gay;Since you have viewed the Queen of my desire,In her array;Did not her ivory paps, fair Venus’ bower,With heavenly glee,A Juno’s grace, conjure you to requireHer face to see?
Say Rose, say Daffodil, and Violet blue,With Primrose fair,Since ye have seen my nymph’s sweet dainty faceAnd gesture rare,Did not (bright Cowslip, blooming Pink) her view(White Lily) shine--(Ah, Gillyflower, ah Daisy!) with a graceLike stars divine?
Words in this poem
- dainty n.
- Value; estimation; the gratification or pleasure taken in anything. [OE. deinie, dainte, deintie, deyntee, OF. deintié delicacy, orig., dignity, honor, fr. L. dignitas, fr. dignus worthy. See Deign, and cf. Dignity.]
- teint n.
- Tint; color; tinge, See Tint. [F. teint, teinte. See Tint.]
- cowslip n.
- A common flower in England (Primula veris) having yellow blossoms and appearing in early spring. It is often cultivated in the United States. [AS. c, c, prob. orig., cow's droppings. Cf. Slop, n.]
- visage n.
- The face, countenance, or look of a person or an animal; -- chiefly applied to the human face. [F. visage, from L. visus a seeing, a look, fr. videre, visum, to see. See Vision.]
- globy a.
- Resembling, or pertaining to, a globe; round; orbicular.
- glee n.
- Music; minstrelsy; entertainment.
- conjure v. t.
- To call on or summon by a sacred name or in solemn manner; to implore earnestly; to adjure. [F. conjurer, fr. L. conjurare to swear together, to conspire; con- + jurare to swear. See Jury.]
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: John Reynolds, Poems, text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/obev-john-reynolds/a-nosegay.html, id L15999.
Form and metre
A Nosegay is 32 lines in 5 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABCBADCD, complete in 3 of its 5 stanzas. 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.3 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 19% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABCBADCD daffodilA · blueB · saintC · viewB · fillA · delightD · teintC · brightD
- 2 ABAB fairA · fineB · dearA · divineB
- 3 ABAB hairA · sweetB · appearA · greetB
- 4 ABCBADCD gillyflowerA · gayB · desireC · arrayB · bowerA · gleeD · requireC · seeD
- 5 ABCBADCD blueA · fairB · faceC · rareB · viewA · shineD · graceC · divineD
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Say, crimson Rose and dainty Daffodil, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| With Violet blue; | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| Since you have seen the beauty of my saint, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And eke her view; | 4 | ···· |
| Did not her sight (fair sight!) you lonely fill, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| With sweet delight | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Of goddess’ grace and angels’ sacred teint | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| In fine, most bright? | 4 | ···· |
| Say, golden Primrose, sanguine Cowslip fair, | 10 | ·/˘/·/˘/˘· |
| With Pink most fine; | 4 | ···· |
| Since you beheld the visage of my dear, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| And eyes divine; | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Did not her globy front, and glistering hair, | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| With cheeks most sweet, | 4 | ···· |
| So gloriously like damask flowers appear, | 12 | ·/˘˘˘·/˘/˘˘/ |
| The gods to greet? | 4 | ···· |
| Say, snow-white Lily, speckled Gillyflower, | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘˘ |
| With Daisy gay; | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Since you have viewed the Queen of my desire, | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| In her array; | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Did not her ivory paps, fair Venus’ bower, | 12 | ···/˘˘··/˘/˘ |
| With heavenly glee, | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| A Juno’s grace, conjure you to require | 11 | ·/˘·/˘···/˘ |
| Her face to see? | 4 | ···· |
| Say Rose, say Daffodil, and Violet blue, | 11 | ···/˘··/˘˘· |
| With Primrose fair, | 4 | ·/·· |
| Since ye have seen my nymph’s sweet dainty face | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And gesture rare, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Did not (bright Cowslip, blooming Pink) her view | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| (White Lily) shine-- | 4 | ·/˘· |
| (Ah, Gillyflower, ah Daisy!) with a grace | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘··· |
| Like stars divine? | 4 | ··˘/ |
Notes from the edition 1
Quiller-Couch's glosses on the hard words, from The Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250–1900, chosen and edited by Arthur Quiller-Couch (Oxford, 1900; Project Gutenberg #66619)
- Stanza 1 _177._ teint] tint, hue.
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