Edmund Spencer II
Whoso wil seeke, by right deserts, t’attaineUnto the type of true nobility,And not by painted shewes, and titles vaine,Derived farre from famous auncestrie,Behold them both in their right visnomy**Here truly pourtray’d as they ought to be,And striving both for termes of dignitie,To be advanced highest in degree.And when thou doost with equall insight seeThe ods twist both, of both then deem aright,And chuse the better of them both to thee;But thanks to him that it deserves behight@:To Nenna first, that first this worke created,And next to Iones, that truely it translated.
Upon the Historie of George Castriot, alias Scanderbeg, King of theEpirots, translated into English.
Wherefore doth vaine Antiquitie so vauntHer ancient monuments of mightie peeres,And old heröes, which their world did dauntWith their great deedes and fild their childrens eares?Who, rapt with wonder of their famous praise,Admire their statues, their colossoes great,Their rich triumphall arcks which they did raise,Their huge pyrámids, which do heaven threat.Lo! one, whom later age hath brought to light,Matchable to the greatest of those great;Great both by name, and great in power and might,And meriting a meere** triumphant seate.The scourge of Turkes, and plague of infidels,Thy acts, O Scanderbeg, this volume tels.
The antique Babel, empresse of the East,Upreard her buildinges to the threatned skie:And second Babell, tyrant of the West,Her ayry towers upraised much more high.But with the weight of their own surquedry**They both are fallen, that all the earth did feare,And buried now in their own ashes ly,Yet shewing, by their heapes, how great they were.But in their place doth now a third appeare,Fayre Venice, flower of the last worlds delight;And next to them in beauty draweth neare,But farre exceedes in policie of right.Yet not so fayre her buildinges to beholdAs Lewkenors stile that hath her beautie told.
Words in this poem 20
- whoso pron.
- Whosoever. Piers Plowman.
- farre n.
- A young pig, or a litter of pigs. [See Farrow.]
- visnomy n.
- Face; countenance. Spenser. Lamb. [Contr. fr. physiognomy.]
- 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.]
- termes n.
- A genus of Pseudoneuroptera including the white ants, or termites. See Termite. [L. termes, tarmes, -itis, a woodworm. Cf. Termite.]
- insight n.
- A sight or view of the interior of anything; a deep inspection or view; introspection; -- frequently used with into.
- deem v. t.
- To decide; to judge; to sentence; to condemn. [OE. demen to judge, condemn, AS. d, fr. d doom; akin to OFries. d, OS. ad, D. doemen, OHG. tuommen, Icel. dæma, Sw. dömma, Dan. dömme, Goth. d. See Doom, n., an]
- aright adv.
- Rightly; correctly; in a right way or form; without mistake or crime; as, to worship God aright. [Pref. a- + right.]
- behight v. t.
- To promise; to vow. [OE. bihaten, AS. behatan to vow, promise; pref. be- + hatan to call, command. See Hight, v.]
- wherefore adv.
- For which reason; so; -- used relatively. [Where + for.]
- daunt v. t.
- To overcome; to conquer. [OF. danter, F. dompter to tame, subdue, fr. L. domitare, v. intens. of domare to tame. See Tame.]
- rapt n.
- An ecstasy; a trance. Bp. Morton. [From F. rapt abduction, rape, L. raptus, fr. rapere to seize and carry off, to transport; or fr. E. rapt, a. See Rapt, a., and Rapid.]
- admire v. t.
- To regard with wonder or astonishment; to view with surprise; to marvel at. [F. admirer, fr. L. admirari; ad + mirari to wonder, for smirari, akin to Gr. smi, and E. smile.]
- triumphall n.
- A token of victory.
- matchable a.
- Capable of being matched; comparable on equal conditions; adapted to being joined together; correspondent.
- scourge n.
- A lash; a strap or cord; especially, a lash used to inflict pain or punishment; an instrument of punishment or discipline; a whip. [F. escourgée, fr. L. excoriata (sc. scutica) a stripped off (lash or whip), fr. excoriate to strip, to skin. See Excoriate.]
- babel n.
- The city and tower in the land of Shinar, where the confusion of languages took place. [Heb. Babel, the name of the capital of Babylonia; in Genesis associated with the idea of "confusion"]
- babell n.
- The city and tower in the land of Shinar, where the confusion of languages took place. [Heb. Babel, the name of the capital of Babylonia; in Genesis associated with the idea of "confusion"]
- surquedry n.
- Overweening pride; arrogance; presumption; insolence. [OF. surcuidier to presume; sur over + cuidier to think, L. cogitare. See Sur-, and Cogitate.]
- stile n.
- A pin set on the face of a dial, to cast a shadow; a style. See Style. Moxon. [See Style.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Edmund Spencer II is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Edmund Spenser, Volume 5, Project Gutenberg ebook #10602; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Edmund Spenser, Edmund Spencer II, in Amoretti and Epithalamion, and Other Poems (1595), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #10602, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/spenser-amoretti/edmund-spencer-ii.html, id L23790.
Form and metre
Edmund Spencer II is 44 lines in 4 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCDEFEFGG, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%).
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 ABABCDCDEFEFGG t'attaineA · nobilityB · vaineA · auncestrieB · visnomyC · beD · dignitieC · degreeD · seeE · arightF · theeE · behight@F · createdG · translatedG
- 3 ABABCDCDEFEFGG vauntA · peeresB · dauntA · earesB · praiseC · greatD · raiseC · threatD · lightE · greatF · mightE · seateF · infidelsG · telsG
- 4 ABABCDCDEFEFGG eastA · skieB · westA · highB · surquedryC · feareD · lyC · wereD · appeareE · delightF · neareE · rightF · beholdG · toldG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Whoso wil seeke, by right deserts, t’attaine | 10 | /˘····/˘·· |
| Unto the type of true nobility, | 10 | ······˘/˘˘ |
| And not by painted shewes, and titles vaine, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Derived farre from famous auncestrie, | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘··· |
| Behold them both in their right visnomy** | 10 | ˘/·····/˘˘ |
| Here truly pourtray’d as they ought to be, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And striving both for termes of dignitie, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| To be advanced highest in degree. | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| And when thou doost with equall insight see | 10 | ·····/˘/·· |
| The ods twist both, of both then deem aright, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| And chuse the better of them both to thee; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| But thanks to him that it deserves behight@: | 10 | ······˘/˘/ |
| To Nenna first, that first this worke created, | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| And next to Iones, that truely it translated. | 13 | ···˘/˘····˘/˘ |
| Upon the Historie of George Castriot, alias Scanderbeg, King of the | 18 | ··········/˘······ |
| Epirots, translated into English. | 10 | ···˘/˘··/˘ |
| Wherefore doth vaine Antiquitie so vaunt | 10 | /˘········ |
| Her ancient monuments of mightie peeres, | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘···· |
| And old heröes, which their world did daunt | 8 | ········ |
| With their great deedes and fild their childrens eares? | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Who, rapt with wonder of their famous praise, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Admire their statues, their colossoes great, | 9 | ˘/·/····· |
| Their rich triumphall arcks which they did raise, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Their huge pyrámids, which do heaven threat. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Lo! one, whom later age hath brought to light, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Matchable to the greatest of those great; | 10 | /˘˘··/˘··· |
| Great both by name, and great in power and might, | 10 | ·······/·· |
| And meriting a meere** triumphant seate. | 10 | ·/˘˘··˘/˘· |
| The scourge of Turkes, and plague of infidels, | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Thy acts, O Scanderbeg, this volume tels. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The antique Babel, empresse of the East, | 10 | ·˘//˘····· |
| Upreard her buildinges to the threatned skie: | 10 | ···/˘···˘· |
| And second Babell, tyrant of the West, | 10 | ·/˘/˘/˘··· |
| Her ayry towers upraised much more high. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| But with the weight of their own surquedry** | 10 | ·········· |
| They both are fallen, that all the earth did feare, | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| And buried now in their own ashes ly, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Yet shewing, by their heapes, how great they were. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| But in their place doth now a third appeare, | 10 | ·········· |
| Fayre Venice, flower of the last worlds delight; | 10 | ·/˘/····˘/ |
| And next to them in beauty draweth neare, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| But farre exceedes in policie of right. | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Yet not so fayre her buildinges to behold | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| As Lewkenors stile that hath her beautie told. | 11 | ··········· |
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