Song 1
Doubt you to whom my Muse these notes intendeth,Which now my brest surchargd with musick lendeth?To you, to you all song of praise is due,Onely in you my song begins and endeth.
Who hath the eyes which marrie state with pleasure,Who keepes the key of Natures chiefest treasure:To you, to you, all song of praise be due,Onely for you the heavens forget all measure.
Who hath the lips where wit with fairenes raigneth,Who womenkinde at once both decks and staineth:To you, to you all song of praise is due,Onely by you Cupid his crowne maintaineth.
Who hath the feet whose steps all sweetnes planteth,Who els for whom Fame worthie trumpets wanteth:To you, to you all song of praise be due,Onely to you her scepter Venus granteth.
Who hath the brest whose milk doth patience nourish,Whose grace is such, that when it chides doth cherish:To you, to you all song of praise be due,Onely through you the tree of life doth floorish.
Who hath the hand which without stroke subduethWho long hid beautie with encrease renueth:To you, to you all song of praise is due,Only at you all envie hopelesse endeth.
Who hath the haire which most loose most fast tieth,Who makes a man live then glad when he dieth:To you, to you all song of praise be due,Onely of you the flatterer never lieth.
Who hath the voyce which soule from senses sunders,Whose force but yours the bolt of beautie thunders?To you, to you all song of praise is due,Onely with you no miracles are wonders.
Doubt you to whom my Muse these notes intendeth,Which now my breast orechargd with Musick lendeth?To you, to you all song of praise is due,Onely in you my song begins and endeth.
Words in this poem
- chiefest a.
- First or foremost; chief; principal. [Superl. of Chief.]
- cupid
- The god of love, son of Venus; usually represented as a naked, winged boy with bow and arrow. [L.Cupido, fr. cupido desire, desire of love, fr. cupidus. See Cupidity.]
- trumpets n.
- A plant (Sarracenia flava) with long, hollow leaves.
- encrease v. t.
- i. See Increase.
- envie v. i.
- To vie; to emulate; to strive. [See Vie.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Song 1 is in the public domain. This text is taken from Sir P.S.: His Astrophel and Stella Wherein the excellence of sweete poesie is concluded, Project Gutenberg ebook #56375; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Philip Sidney, Song 1, in Astrophel and Stella (1591), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56375, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/sidney-astrophel/song-1.html, id L04864.
Form and metre
Song 1 is 36 lines in 9 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.7 syllables. 18 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending.
See 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 AA-A intendethA · lendethA · due · endethA
- 2 AA-A pleasureA · treasureA · due · measureA
- 3 AA-A raignethA · stainethA · due · maintainethA
- 4 A--A plantethA · wanteth · due · grantethA
- 5 AA-A nourishA · cherishA · due · floorishA
- 6 AA-A subduethA · renuethA · due · endethA
- 7 AA-A tiethA · diethA · due · liethA
- 8 AA-A sundersA · thundersA · due · wondersA
- 9 AA-A intendethA · lendethA · due · endethA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Doubt you to whom my Muse these notes intendeth, | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| Which now my brest surchargd with musick lendeth? | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| To you, to you all song of praise is due, | 10 | ·········· |
| Onely in you my song begins and endeth. | 11 | /˘····˘/··· |
| Who hath the eyes which marrie state with pleasure, | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Who keepes the key of Natures chiefest treasure: | 11 | ·····/˘/˘/˘ |
| To you, to you, all song of praise be due, | 10 | ·········· |
| Onely for you the heavens forget all measure. | 12 | /˘···/˘˘/·/˘ |
| Who hath the lips where wit with fairenes raigneth, | 11 | ··········· |
| Who womenkinde at once both decks and staineth: | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| To you, to you all song of praise is due, | 10 | ·········· |
| Onely by you Cupid his crowne maintaineth. | 11 | /˘··/˘··˘/˘ |
| Who hath the feet whose steps all sweetnes planteth, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| Who els for whom Fame worthie trumpets wanteth: | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| To you, to you all song of praise be due, | 10 | ·········· |
| Onely to you her scepter Venus granteth. | 11 | /˘·····/˘/˘ |
| Who hath the brest whose milk doth patience nourish, | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| Whose grace is such, that when it chides doth cherish: | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| To you, to you all song of praise be due, | 10 | ·········· |
| Onely through you the tree of life doth floorish. | 11 | /˘········· |
| Who hath the hand which without stroke subdueth | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| Who long hid beautie with encrease renueth: | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| To you, to you all song of praise is due, | 10 | ·········· |
| Only at you all envie hopelesse endeth. | 12 | /˘···˘/····· |
| Who hath the haire which most loose most fast tieth, | 10 | ·········· |
| Who makes a man live then glad when he dieth: | 10 | ·········· |
| To you, to you all song of praise be due, | 10 | ·········· |
| Onely of you the flatterer never lieth. | 10 | /˘···/˘˘/· |
| Who hath the voyce which soule from senses sunders, | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| Whose force but yours the bolt of beautie thunders? | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| To you, to you all song of praise is due, | 10 | ·········· |
| Onely with you no miracles are wonders. | 11 | /˘···/˘˘·/˘ |
| Doubt you to whom my Muse these notes intendeth, | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| Which now my breast orechargd with Musick lendeth? | 12 | ········/˘/˘ |
| To you, to you all song of praise is due, | 10 | ·········· |
| Onely in you my song begins and endeth. | 11 | /˘····˘/··· |
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.