To Roses in the Bosom of Castara
Ye blushing virgins happy areIn the chaste nunnery of her breasts--For he’d profane so chaste a fair,Whoe’er should call them Cupid’s nests.
Transplanted thus how bright ye grow!How rich a perfume do ye yield!In some close garden cowslips soAre sweeter than i’ th’ open field.
In those white cloisters live secureFrom the rude blasts of wanton breath!--Each hour more innocent and pure,Till you shall wither into death.
Then that which living gave you room,Your glorious sepulchre shall be.There wants no marble for a tombWhose breast hath marble been to me.
Words in this poem
- nunnery n.
- A house in which nuns reside; a cloister or convent in which women reside for life, under religious vows. See Cloister, and Convent. [OE. nonnerie, OF. nonerie, F. nonnerie, fr. nonne nun, L. nonna. See Nun.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- 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.]
- sepulchre n.
- The place in which the dead body of a human being is interred, or a place set apart for that purpose; a grave; a tomb. [OE. sepulcre, OF. sepulcre, F. sépulcre, fr. L. sepulcrum, sepulchrum, fr. sepelire to bury.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To Roses in the Bosom of Castara 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: William Habington, To Roses in the Bosom of Castara, in Poems (1605–1654), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/obev-william-habington/to-roses-in-the-bosom-of-castara.html, id L16079.
Form and metre
To Roses in the Bosom of Castara is 16 lines in 4 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.9 syllables. 25% 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 are · breastsA · fair · nestsA
- 2 ABAB growA · yieldB · soA · fieldB
- 3 ABAB secureA · breathB · pureA · deathB
- 4 ABAB roomA · beB · tombA · meB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ye blushing virgins happy are | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| In the chaste nunnery of her breasts-- | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| For he’d profane so chaste a fair, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Whoe’er should call them Cupid’s nests. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Transplanted thus how bright ye grow! | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| How rich a perfume do ye yield! | 8 | ···˘/··· |
| In some close garden cowslips so | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Are sweeter than i’ th’ open field. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| In those white cloisters live secure | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| From the rude blasts of wanton breath!-- | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Each hour more innocent and pure, | 8 | ·/·/˘˘·· |
| Till you shall wither into death. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Then that which living gave you room, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Your glorious sepulchre shall be. | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| There wants no marble for a tomb | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Whose breast hath marble been to me. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
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.