The Daughter of Eve
THE woman’s gentle mood o’ersteptWithers my love, that lightly scansThe rest, and does in her acceptAll her own faults, but none of man’s.As man I cannot judge her ill,Or honour her fair station less,Who, with a woman’s errors, stillPreserves a woman’s gentleness;For thus I think, if one I seeWho disappoints my high desire,‘How admirable would she be,Could she but know how I admire!’Or fail she, though from blemish clear,To charm, I call it my defect;And so my thought, with reverent fearTo err by doltish disrespect,Imputes love’s great regard, and says,‘Though unapparent ’tis to me,Be sure this Queen some other swaysWith well-perceiv’d supremacy.’Behold the worst! Light from aboveOn the blank ruin writes ‘Forbear!Her first crime was unguarded love,And all the rest, perhaps, despair.’Discrown’d, dejected, but not lost,O, sad one, with no more a nameOr place in all the honour’d hostOf maiden and of matron fame,Grieve on; but, if thou grievest right,’Tis not that these abhor thy state,Nor would’st thou lower the least the heightWhich makes thy casting down so great.Good is thy lot in its degree;For hearts that verily repentAre burden’d with impunityAnd comforted by chastisement.Sweet patience sanctify thy woes!And doubt not but our God is just,Albeit unscathed thy traitor goes,And thou art stricken to the dust.That penalty’s the best to bearWhich follows soonest on the sin;And guilt’s a game where losers fareBetter than those who seem to win.
Words in this poem
- withers n.
- The ridge between the shoulder bones of a horse, at the base of the neck. See Illust. of Horse. [Properly, the parts which resist the pull or strain in drawing a load; fr. OE. wither resistance, AS. withre, fr. wither against; akin to G. widerrist withers. ]
- 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.]
- admirable a.
- Fitted to excite wonder; wonderful; marvelous. [L. admirabilis: cf. F. admirable.]
- admire v. t.
- To regard with wonder or astonishment; to view with surprise; to marvel at. [F. admirer, fr. L. admirari; ad + mirari to wonder, for smirari, akin to Gr. smi, and E. smile.]
- abhor v. i.
- To shrink back with horror, disgust, or dislike; to be contrary or averse; -- with from.
- repent a.
- Prostrate and rooting; -- said of stems. Gray. [L. repens, -entis, creeping, p. pr. of repere to creep.]
- impunity n.
- Exemption or freedom from punishment, harm, or loss. [L. impunitas, fr. impunis without punishment; pref. im- not + poena punishment: cf. F. impunité. See Pain.]
- sanctify v. t.
- To make sacred or holy; to set apart to a holy or religious use; to consecrate by appropriate rites; to hallow. [F. sanctifier, L. sanctificare; sanctus holy + - ficare (in comp.) to make. See Saint, and -fy.]
- albeit conj.
- Even though; although; notwithstanding. [OE. al be although it be, where al is our all. Cf. Although.]
- stricken p. p.
- Struck; smitten; wounded; as, the stricken deer.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Daughter of Eve is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Angel in the House, Project Gutenberg ebook #4099; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Coventry Patmore, The Daughter of Eve, in The Angel in the House (1854–1862), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #4099, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/patmore-angel/the-daughter-of-eve.html, id L12265.
Form and metre
The Daughter of Eve is 44 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 34% 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 ABABCDCDE-E-FGFG----H-H--I-IJKJK-L-LMNMNOPOP o'ersteptA · scansB · acceptA · man'sB · illC · lessD · stillC · gentlenessD · seeE · desire · beE · admire · clearF · defectG · fearF · disrespectG · says · me · sways · supremacy · aboveH · forbear · loveH · despair · lost · nameI · host · fameI · rightJ · stateK · heightJ · greatK · degree · repentL · impunity · chastisementL · woesM · justN · goesM · dustN · bearO · sinP · fareO · winP
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 |
|---|---|---|
| THE woman’s gentle mood o’erstept | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Withers my love, that lightly scans | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| The rest, and does in her accept | 8 | ······˘/ |
| All her own faults, but none of man’s. | 8 | ········ |
| As man I cannot judge her ill, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Or honour her fair station less, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Who, with a woman’s errors, still | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Preserves a woman’s gentleness; | 8 | ˘/·/˘/˘˘ |
| For thus I think, if one I see | 8 | ········ |
| Who disappoints my high desire, | 9 | ··˘/··˘/˘ |
| ‘How admirable would she be, | 8 | ·/˘˘˘··· |
| Could she but know how I admire!’ | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Or fail she, though from blemish clear, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To charm, I call it my defect; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| And so my thought, with reverent fear | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To err by doltish disrespect, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Imputes love’s great regard, and says, | 8 | ˘/··˘/·· |
| ‘Though unapparent ’tis to me, | 8 | ········ |
| Be sure this Queen some other sways | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| With well-perceiv’d supremacy.’ | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘˘ |
| Behold the worst! Light from above | 8 | ˘/······ |
| On the blank ruin writes ‘Forbear! | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Her first crime was unguarded love, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| And all the rest, perhaps, despair.’ | 8 | ····˘/˘/ |
| Discrown’d, dejected, but not lost, | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| O, sad one, with no more a name | 8 | ········ |
| Or place in all the honour’d host | 8 | ········ |
| Of maiden and of matron fame, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Grieve on; but, if thou grievest right, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| ’Tis not that these abhor thy state, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Nor would’st thou lower the least the height | 8 | ···/···· |
| Which makes thy casting down so great. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Good is thy lot in its degree; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| For hearts that verily repent | 8 | ···/˘˘˘/ |
| Are burden’d with impunity | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| And comforted by chastisement. | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘˘ |
| Sweet patience sanctify thy woes! | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| And doubt not but our God is just, | 8 | ····/··· |
| Albeit unscathed thy traitor goes, | 9 | ˘/˘˘/·/˘· |
| And thou art stricken to the dust. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| That penalty’s the best to bear | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Which follows soonest on the sin; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And guilt’s a game where losers fare | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Better than those who seem to win. | 8 | /˘······ |
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