Though Despairing of Pity, He Vows to Love Her unto Death
A youthful lady 'neath a laurel greenWas seated, fairer, colder than the snowOn which no sun has shone for many years:Her sweet speech, her bright face, and flowing hairSo pleased, she yet is present to my eyes,And aye must be, whatever fate prevail.
These my fond thoughts of her shall fade and failWhen foliage ceases on the laurel green;Nor calm can be my heart, nor check'd these eyesUntil the fire shall freeze, or burns the snow:Easier upon my head to count each hairThan, ere that day shall dawn, the parting years.
But, since time flies, and roll the rapid years,And death may, in the midst, of life, assail,With full brown locks, or scant and silver hair,I still the shade of that sweet laurel greenFollow, through fiercest sun and deepest snow,Till the last day shall close my weary eyes.
Oh! never sure were seen such brilliant eyes,In this our age or in the older years,Which mould and melt me, as the sun melts snow,Into a stream of tears adown the vale,Watering the hard roots of that laurel green,Whose boughs are diamonds and gold whose hair.
I fear that Time my mien may change and hair,Ere, with true pity touch'd, shall greet my eyesMy idol imaged in that laurel green:For, unless memory err, through seven long yearsTill now, full many a shore has heard my wail,By night, at noon, in summer and in snow.
Thus fire within, without the cold, cold snow,Alone, with these my thoughts and her bright hair,Alway and everywhere I bear my ail,Haply to find some mercy in the eyesOf unborn nations and far future years,If so long flourishes our laurel green.
The gold and topaz of the sun on snowAre shamed by the bright hair above those eyes,Searing the short green of my life's vain years.
Words in this poem
- 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,]
- mould n.
- Crumbling, soft, friable earth; esp., earth containing the remains or constituents of organic matter, and suited to the growth of plants; soil. [OE. molde, AS. molde; akin to D. mul, G. mull, mulm, OHG. molt, molta, Icel. mold, Dan. muld, Sw. mull, Goth. mulda, and E. meal flour. See Meal, and cf. Mole a]
- adown adv.
- From a higher to a lower situation; downward; down, to or on the ground. [OE. adun, adoun, adune. AS. of dune off the hill. See Down.]
- vale n.
- A tract of low ground, or of land between hills; a valley. [OE. val, F. val, L. vallis; perhaps akin to Gr. Avalanche, Vail to lower, Valley.]
- idol n.
- An image or representation of anything. [OE. idole, F. idole, L. idolum, fr. Gr. Wit, and cf. Eidolon.]
- haply adv.
- By hap, chance, luck, or accident; perhaps; it may be.
- unborn a.
- Not born; no yet brought into life; being still to appear; future.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Though Despairing of Pity, He Vows to Love Her unto Death 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, Though Despairing of Pity, He Vows to Love Her unto Death, in The Sonnets, Triumphs and Other Poems (1859), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #17650, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/petrarch-sonnets/though-despairing-of-pity-he-vows-to-love-her-unto-death.html, id L14509.
Form and metre
Though Despairing of Pity, He Vows to Love Her unto Death is 39 lines in 7 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is iambic pentameter, 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 10.0 syllables. 28% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter, other poems in blank verse.
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A youthful lady 'neath a laurel green | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Was seated, fairer, colder than the snow | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| On which no sun has shone for many years: | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Her sweet speech, her bright face, and flowing hair | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| So pleased, she yet is present to my eyes, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And aye must be, whatever fate prevail. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| These my fond thoughts of her shall fade and fail | 10 | ·········· |
| When foliage ceases on the laurel green; | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Nor calm can be my heart, nor check'd these eyes | 10 | ·········· |
| Until the fire shall freeze, or burns the snow: | 10 | ···/······ |
| Easier upon my head to count each hair | 10 | /˘········ |
| Than, ere that day shall dawn, the parting years. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| But, since time flies, and roll the rapid years, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And death may, in the midst, of life, assail, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| With full brown locks, or scant and silver hair, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I still the shade of that sweet laurel green | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Follow, through fiercest sun and deepest snow, | 10 | /˘·/˘··/˘· |
| Till the last day shall close my weary eyes. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Oh! never sure were seen such brilliant eyes, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| In this our age or in the older years, | 10 | ··/····/˘· |
| Which mould and melt me, as the sun melts snow, | 10 | ·········· |
| Into a stream of tears adown the vale, | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Watering the hard roots of that laurel green, | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| Whose boughs are diamonds and gold whose hair. | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| I fear that Time my mien may change and hair, | 10 | ·········· |
| Ere, with true pity touch'd, shall greet my eyes | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| My idol imaged in that laurel green: | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| For, unless memory err, through seven long years | 10 | ···/˘··/·· |
| Till now, full many a shore has heard my wail, | 10 | ···/······ |
| By night, at noon, in summer and in snow. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Thus fire within, without the cold, cold snow, | 10 | ·/········ |
| Alone, with these my thoughts and her bright hair, | 10 | ˘/········ |
| Alway and everywhere I bear my ail, | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| Haply to find some mercy in the eyes | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| Of unborn nations and far future years, | 10 | ·///˘··/˘· |
| If so long flourishes our laurel green. | 10 | ···/˘˘//˘· |
| The gold and topaz of the sun on snow | 10 | ···/······ |
| Are shamed by the bright hair above those eyes, | 10 | ·········· |
| Searing the short green of my life's vain years. | 10 | /˘········ |
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