Dacre
Now of my life each gay and greener yearPass'd by, and cooler grew each hour the flameWith which I burn'd: and to that point we cameWhence life descends, as to its end more near;Now 'gan my lovely foe each virtuous fearGently to lay aside, as safe from blame;And though with saint-like virtue still the same,Mock'd my sweet pains indeed, but deign'd to hearNigh drew the time when Love delights to dwellWith Chastity; and lovers with their mateCan fearless sit, and all they muse of tell.Death envied me the joys of such a state;Nay, e'en the hopes I form'd: and on them fellE'en in midway, like some arm'd foe in wait.
Words in this poem
- cooler n.
- That which cools, or abates heat or excitement.
- virtuous a.
- Possessing or exhibiting virtue. Specifically: -- (a) Exhibiting manly courage and strength; valorous; valiant; brave. [OE. vertuous, OF. vertuos, vertuous, F. vertueux, fr. L. Virtuous. See Virtue, and cf. Virtuoso.]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- midway n.
- The middle of the way or distance; a middle way or course.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Dacre is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Sonnets, Triumphs and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #17650, the various hands translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Petrarch, Dacre, in The Sonnets, Triumphs and Other Poems (1859), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #17650, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/petrarch-sonnets/dacre-11.html, id L14921.
Form and metre
Dacre is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABBAABBACDCDCD, the pattern of the Italian sonnet. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 57% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other Italian sonnets, 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 ABBAABBACDCDCD yearA · flameB · cameB · nearA · fearA · blameB · sameB · hearA · dwellC · mateD · tellC · stateD · fellC · waitD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Now of my life each gay and greener year | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Pass'd by, and cooler grew each hour the flame | 10 | ···/˘··/·· |
| With which I burn'd: and to that point we came | 10 | ·········· |
| Whence life descends, as to its end more near; | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Now 'gan my lovely foe each virtuous fear | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Gently to lay aside, as safe from blame; | 10 | /˘··˘/···· |
| And though with saint-like virtue still the same, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Mock'd my sweet pains indeed, but deign'd to hear | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Nigh drew the time when Love delights to dwell | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| With Chastity; and lovers with their mate | 10 | ·/˘˘·/˘··· |
| Can fearless sit, and all they muse of tell. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Death envied me the joys of such a state; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Nay, e'en the hopes I form'd: and on them fell | 10 | ·········· |
| E'en in midway, like some arm'd foe in wait. | 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.