A Song: 'Tis not that I am weary grown
'Tis not that I am weary grownOf being yours, and yours alone:But with what Face can I incline,To damn you to be only mine?You, whom some kinder Pow'r did fashion, }By Merit, and by Inclination, }The Joy at least of a whole Nation. }
Let meaner Spirits of your Sex,With humble Aims their Thoughts perplex:And boast, if, by their Arts they canContrive to make one happy Man.While, mov'd by an impartial Sense, }Favours, like Nature you dispense, }With universal Influence. }
See the kind Seed-receiving Earth,To ev'ry Grain affords a Birth:On her no Show'rs unwelcom fall,Her willing Womb retains 'em all.And shall my Cælia be confin'd? }No, live up to thy mighty Mind; }And be the Mistress of Mankind. }
Upon drinking in a BOWL.
Words in this poem
- damn v. t.
- To condemn; to declare guilty; to doom; to adjudge to punishment; to sentence; to censhure. [OE. damnen dap), OF. damner, dampner, F. damner, fr. L. damnare, damnatum, to condemn, fr. damnum damage, a fine, penalty. Cf. Condemn, Damage.]
- dispense v. i.
- To compensate; to make up; to make amends.
- womb n.
- The belly; the abdomen. [OE. wombe, wambe, AS. wamb, womb; akin to D. wam belly, OS. & OHG. wamba, G. wamme, wampe, Icel. vömb, Sw. v&mb, Dan. vom, Goth. wamba.]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Song: 'Tis not that I am weary grown is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Works of the Right Honourable John, Earl of Rochester Consisting of Satires, Songs, Translations, and other Occasional Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #44891; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Wilmot Rochester, A Song: 'Tis not that I am weary grown, in The Works of the Earl of Rochester (1680), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #44891, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/rochester-works/a-song-tis-not-that-i-am-weary-grown.html, id L20449.
Form and metre
A Song: 'Tis not that I am weary grown is 22 lines in 4 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is AABBCCC, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
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 AABBCCC grownA · aloneA · inclineB · mineB · — · — · —
- 2 AABBCCC sexA · perplexA · canB · manB · — · — · —
- 3 AABBCCC earthA · birthA · fallB · allB · — · — · —
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 'Tis not that I am weary grown | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Of being yours, and yours alone: | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| But with what Face can I incline, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| To damn you to be only mine? | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| You, whom some kinder Pow'r did fashion, } | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| By Merit, and by Inclination, } | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| The Joy at least of a whole Nation. } | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Let meaner Spirits of your Sex, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| With humble Aims their Thoughts perplex: | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| And boast, if, by their Arts they can | 8 | ········ |
| Contrive to make one happy Man. | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| While, mov'd by an impartial Sense, } | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Favours, like Nature you dispense, } | 8 | /˘·/˘·˘/ |
| With universal Influence. } | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘˘ |
| See the kind Seed-receiving Earth, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| To ev'ry Grain affords a Birth: | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| On her no Show'rs unwelcom fall, | 8 | ········ |
| Her willing Womb retains 'em all. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| And shall my Cælia be confin'd? } | 8 | ······˘/ |
| No, live up to thy mighty Mind; } | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And be the Mistress of Mankind. } | 8 | ···/˘·// |
| Upon drinking in a BOWL. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
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.