Wyatt
If I said so, may I be hated byHer on whose love I live, without which I should die--If I said so, my days be sad and short,May my false soul some vile dominion court.If I said so, may every star to meBe hostile; round me growPale fear and jealousy;And she, my foe,As cruel still and cold as fair she aye must be.
If I said so, may Love upon my heartExpend his golden shafts, on her the leaden dart;Be heaven and earth, and God and man my foe,And she still more severe if I said so:If I said so, may he whose blind lights leadMe straightway to my grave,Trample yet worse his slave,Nor she behaveGentle and kind to me in look, or word, or deed.
If I said so, then through my brief life mayAll that is hateful block my worthless weary way:If I said so, may the proud frost in theeGrow prouder as more fierce the fire in me:If I said so, no more then may the warmSun or bright moon be view'd,Nor maid, nor matron's form,But one dread stormSuch as proud Pharaoh saw when Israel he pursued.
If I said so, despite each contrite sigh,Let courtesy for me and kindly feeling die:If I said so, that voice to anger swell,Which was so sweet when first her slave I fell:If I said so, I should offend whom I,E'en from my earliest breathUntil my day of death,Would gladly take,Alone in cloister'd cell my single saint to make.
But if I said not so, may she who first,In life's green youth, my heart to hope so sweetly nursed,Deign yet once more my weary bark to guideWith native kindness o'er the troublous tide;And graceful, grateful, as her wont before,When, for I could no more,My all, myself I gave,To be her slave,Forget not the deep faith with which I still adore.
I did not, could not, never would say so,For all that gold can give, cities or courts bestow:Let truth, then, take her old proud seat on high,And low on earth let baffled falsehood lie.Thou know'st me, Love! if aught my state withinBelief or care may win,Tell her that I would callHim blest o'er allWho, doom'd like me to pine, dies ere his strife begin.
Rachel I sought, not Leah, to secure,Nor could I this vain life with other fair endure,And, should from earth Heaven summon her again,Myself would gladly dieFor her, or with her, whenElijah's fiery car her pure soul wafts on high.
Words in this poem
- straightway adv.
- Immediately; without loss of time; without delay.
- hateful a.
- Manifesting hate or hatred; malignant; malevolent.
- pharaoh n.
- A title by which the sovereigns of ancient Egypt were designated. [Heb. paroh; of Egyptian origin: cf. L. pharao, Gr. Faro.]
- contrite a.
- Thoroughly bruised or broken. [L. contritus bruised, p. p. of contrere to grind, bruise; con- + terere to rub, grind: cf. F. contrit See Trite.]
- gladly adv.
- Preferably; by choice. [From Glad, a.]
- deign v. t.
- To esteem worthy; to consider worth notice; -- opposed to disdain. [OE. deinen, deignen, OF. degner, deigner, daigner, F. daigner, fr. L. dignari to deem worthy, deign, fr. dignus worthy; akin to decere to be fitting. See Decent]
- troublous a.
- Full of trouble; causing trouble.
- adore v. t.
- To worship with profound reverence; to pay divine honors to; to honor as deity or as divine. [OE. aouren, anouren, adoren, OF. aorer, adorer, F. adorer, fr. L. adorare; ad + orare to speak, pray, os, oris, mouth. In OE. confused with honor, the French pr]
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Wyatt 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, Wyatt, in The Sonnets, Triumphs and Other Poems (1859), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #17650, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/petrarch-sonnets/wyatt-8.html, id L14755.
Form and metre
Wyatt is 60 lines in 7 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 63% of the lines: heroic couplets. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic pentameter. 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.9 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 28% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 AABBCD-DC byA · dieA · shortB · courtB · meC · growD · jealousy · foeD · beC
- 2 AABBCDDDC heartA · dartA · foeB · soB · leadC · graveD · slaveD · behaveD · deedC
- 3 AABBCDCCD mayA · wayA · theeB · meB · warmC · view'dD · formC · stormC · pursuedD
- 4 AABBACCDD sighA · dieA · swellB · fellB · iA · breathC · deathC · takeD · makeD
- 5 AABBCCDDC firstA · nursedA · guideB · tideB · beforeC · moreC · gaveD · slaveD · adoreC
- 6 AABBCCDDC soA · bestowA · highB · lieB · withinC · winC · callD · allD · beginC
- 7 AABCBC secureA · endureA · againB · dieC · whenB · highC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| If I said so, may I be hated by | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Her on whose love I live, without which I should die-- | 12 | ············ |
| If I said so, my days be sad and short, | 10 | ·········· |
| May my false soul some vile dominion court. | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| If I said so, may every star to me | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Be hostile; round me grow | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Pale fear and jealousy; | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| And she, my foe, | 4 | ···· |
| As cruel still and cold as fair she aye must be. | 11 | ·/········· |
| If I said so, may Love upon my heart | 10 | ·········· |
| Expend his golden shafts, on her the leaden dart; | 12 | ˘/·/˘····/˘· |
| Be heaven and earth, and God and man my foe, | 10 | ·/········ |
| And she still more severe if I said so: | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| If I said so, may he whose blind lights lead | 10 | ·········· |
| Me straightway to my grave, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Trample yet worse his slave, | 6 | /˘···· |
| Nor she behave | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Gentle and kind to me in look, or word, or deed. | 12 | /˘·········· |
| If I said so, then through my brief life may | 10 | ·········· |
| All that is hateful block my worthless weary way: | 12 | ···/˘··/˘/˘· |
| If I said so, may the proud frost in thee | 10 | ·········· |
| Grow prouder as more fierce the fire in me: | 10 | ·/····/˘·· |
| If I said so, no more then may the warm | 10 | ·········· |
| Sun or bright moon be view'd, | 6 | ······ |
| Nor maid, nor matron's form, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| But one dread storm | 4 | ···· |
| Such as proud Pharaoh saw when Israel he pursued. | 12 | ···/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| If I said so, despite each contrite sigh, | 10 | ····˘/·˘/· |
| Let courtesy for me and kindly feeling die: | 11 | ·/˘···/˘/˘· |
| If I said so, that voice to anger swell, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Which was so sweet when first her slave I fell: | 10 | ·········· |
| If I said so, I should offend whom I, | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| E'en from my earliest breath | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Until my day of death, | 6 | ······ |
| Would gladly take, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Alone in cloister'd cell my single saint to make. | 12 | ˘/·/˘··/˘··· |
| But if I said not so, may she who first, | 10 | ·········· |
| In life's green youth, my heart to hope so sweetly nursed, | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| Deign yet once more my weary bark to guide | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| With native kindness o'er the troublous tide; | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| And graceful, grateful, as her wont before, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| When, for I could no more, | 6 | ······ |
| My all, myself I gave, | 6 | ···/·· |
| To be her slave, | 4 | ···· |
| Forget not the deep faith with which I still adore. | 12 | ˘/········˘/ |
| I did not, could not, never would say so, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| For all that gold can give, cities or courts bestow: | 12 | ······/˘··˘/ |
| Let truth, then, take her old proud seat on high, | 10 | ·········· |
| And low on earth let baffled falsehood lie. | 10 | ·····/˘/·· |
| Thou know'st me, Love! if aught my state within | 10 | ·········· |
| Belief or care may win, | 6 | ˘/···· |
| Tell her that I would call | 6 | ······ |
| Him blest o'er all | 4 | ···· |
| Who, doom'd like me to pine, dies ere his strife begin. | 12 | ··········˘/ |
| Rachel I sought, not Leah, to secure, | 10 | /˘···/˘·˘/ |
| Nor could I this vain life with other fair endure, | 12 | ·······/˘·˘/ |
| And, should from earth Heaven summon her again, | 10 | ····//˘·˘/ |
| Myself would gladly die | 6 | ·/·/˘· |
| For her, or with her, when | 6 | ······ |
| Elijah's fiery car her pure soul wafts on high. | 12 | ˘/˘/˘······· |
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.