Macgregor
I cited once t' appear before the noble queen,That ought to guide each mortal life that in this world is seen,That pleasant cruel foe that robbeth hearts of ease,And now doth frown, and then doth fawn, and can both grieve and please;And there, as gold in fire full fined to each intent,Charged with fear, and terror eke I did myself present,As one that doubted death, and yet did justice crave,And thus began t' unfold my cause in hope some help to have.
"Madam, in tender youth I enter'd first this reign,Where other sweet I never felt, than grief and great disdain;And eke so sundry kinds of torments did endure.As life I loathed, and death desired my cursed case to cure;And thus my woeful days unto this hour have pass'dIn smoky sighs and scalding tears, my wearied life to waste;O Lord! what graces great I fled, and eke refusedTo serve this cruel crafty Sire that doubtless trust abused."
"What wit can use such words to argue and debate,What tongue express the full effect of mine unhappy state;What hand with pen can paint t' uncipher this deceit;What heart so hard that would not yield that once hath seen his bate;What great and grievous wrongs, what threats of ill success,What single sweet, mingled with mass of double bitterness.With what unpleasant pangs, with what an hoard of pains,Hath he acquainted my green years by his false pleasant trains."
"Who by resistless power hath forced me sue his dance,That if I be not much abused had found much betterAnd when I most resolved to lead most quiet life, chance;He spoil'd me of discordless state, and thrust me in truceless strife.He hath bewitch'd me so that God the less I served,And due respect unto myself the further from me swerv'd;He hath the love of one so painted in my thought,That other thing I can none mind, nor care for as I ought.And all this comes from him, both counsel and the cause.That whet my young desire so much to th' honour of his laws."
Words in this poem
- ought p. p.
- Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
- crave v. t.
- To ask with earnestness or importunity; to ask with submission or humility; to beg; to entreat; to beseech; to implore. [AS. crafian; akin to Icel. krefia, Sw. kr, Dan. kr.]
- sundry a.
- Several; divers; more than one or two; various. [OE. sundry, sondry, AS. syndrig, fr. sundor asunder. See Sunder, v. t.]
- cursed a.
- Deserving a curse; execrable; hateful; detestable; abominable.
- sire n.
- A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.]
- doubtless a.
- Free from fear or suspicion.
- uncipher v. t.
- To decipher; as, to uncipher a letter. Sir W. Temple. [1st pref. un- + cipher.]
- bate n.
- Strife; contention. [Prob. abbrev. from debate.]
- resistless a.
- Having no power to resist; making no opposition.
- truceless a.
- Without a truce; unforbearing.
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- whet v. t.
- To rub or on with some substance, as a piece of stone, for the purpose of sharpening; to sharpen by attrition; as, to whet a knife. [AS. hwettan; akin to D. wetten, G. wetzen, OHG. wezzen, Icel. hvetja, Sw. vättja, and AS. hwæt vigorous, brave, OS. hwat, OHG. waz, was, sharp, Icel. hvatr, bol]
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Macgregor 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, Macgregor, in The Sonnets, Triumphs and Other Poems (1859), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #17650, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/petrarch-sonnets/macgregor-43.html, id L14984.
Form and metre
Macgregor is 34 lines in 4 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 76% of the lines. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 12.9 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 9% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in iambic heptameter.
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 AABBCCDD queenA · seenA · easeB · pleaseB · intentC · presentC · craveD · haveD
- 2 AABB--CC reignA · disdainA · endureB · cureB · pass'd · waste · refusedC · abusedC
- 3 AA-ABBCC debateA · stateA · deceit · bateA · successB · bitternessB · painsC · trainsC
- 4 A-A-BBCCDD danceA · better · chanceA · strife · servedB · swerv'dB · thoughtC · oughtC · causeD · lawsD
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 heptameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I cited once t' appear before the noble queen, | 13 | ·/˘··˘/···/˘· |
| That ought to guide each mortal life that in this world is seen, | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| That pleasant cruel foe that robbeth hearts of ease, | 11 | ·/˘/··/˘··· |
| And now doth frown, and then doth fawn, and can both grieve and please; | 14 | ·············· |
| And there, as gold in fire full fined to each intent, | 12 | ·····/····˘/ |
| Charged with fear, and terror eke I did myself present, | 13 | ····/˘····/˘/ |
| As one that doubted death, and yet did justice crave, | 12 | ···/˘····/˘· |
| And thus began t' unfold my cause in hope some help to have. | 15 | ··˘/·˘/········ |
| "Madam, in tender youth I enter'd first this reign, | 12 | /˘·/˘··/˘··· |
| Where other sweet I never felt, than grief and great disdain; | 13 | ·/˘··/·····˘/ |
| And eke so sundry kinds of torments did endure. | 12 | ···/˘··/··˘/ |
| As life I loathed, and death desired my cursed case to cure; | 13 | ······˘/····· |
| And thus my woeful days unto this hour have pass'd | 12 | ···/˘····/·· |
| In smoky sighs and scalding tears, my wearied life to waste; | 14 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| O Lord! what graces great I fled, and eke refused | 12 | ···/˘·····˘/ |
| To serve this cruel crafty Sire that doubtless trust abused." | 13 | ···//˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| "What wit can use such words to argue and debate, | 12 | ·······/˘·˘/ |
| What tongue express the full effect of mine unhappy state; | 14 | ··˘/··˘/··˘/˘· |
| What hand with pen can paint t' uncipher this deceit; | 13 | ·······˘/˘·˘/ |
| What heart so hard that would not yield that once hath seen his bate; | 14 | ·············· |
| What great and grievous wrongs, what threats of ill success, | 12 | ···/˘·····˘/ |
| What single sweet, mingled with mass of double bitterness. | 13 | ·/˘·/˘···/˘/˘ |
| With what unpleasant pangs, with what an hoard of pains, | 12 | ··˘/˘······· |
| Hath he acquainted my green years by his false pleasant trains." | 14 | ··˘/˘······/˘· |
| "Who by resistless power hath forced me sue his dance, | 12 | ··˘/˘/······ |
| That if I be not much abused had found much better | 13 | ······˘/···/˘ |
| And when I most resolved to lead most quiet life, chance; | 12 | ····˘/···/·· |
| He spoil'd me of discordless state, and thrust me in truceless strife. | 15 | ············/˘· |
| He hath bewitch'd me so that God the less I served, | 12 | ··˘/········ |
| And due respect unto myself the further from me swerv'd; | 14 | ··˘/···/·/˘··· |
| He hath the love of one so painted in my thought, | 12 | ·······/˘··· |
| That other thing I can none mind, nor care for as I ought. | 14 | ·/˘··········· |
| And all this comes from him, both counsel and the cause. | 12 | ·······/˘··· |
| That whet my young desire so much to th' honour of his laws." | 14 | ····˘/···/˘··· |
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.