Poem IV
Upon a day, as Love lay sweetly slumbringAll in his mothers lap,A gentle Bee, with his loud trumpet murm’ring,About him flew by hap.Whereof when he was wakened with the noyse,And saw the beast so small,“Whats this,” quoth he, “that gives so great a voyce,That wakens men withall?”In angry wize he flies about,And threatens all with corage stout.
To whom his mother, closely smiling, sayd,’Twixt earnest and ’twixt game:“See! thou thy selfe likewise art lyttle made,If thou regard the same.And yet thou suffrest neyther gods in sky,Nor men in earth, to rest:But when thou art disposed cruelly,Theyr sleepe thou doost molest.Then eyther change thy cruelty,Or give lyke leave unto the fly.”
Nathelesse, the cruell boy, not so content,Would needs the fly pursue,And in his hand, with heedlesse hardiment,Him caught for to subdue.But when on it he hasty hand did lay,The Bee him stung therefore.“Now out, alas,” he cryde, “and welaway!I wounded am full sore.The fly, that I so much did scorne,Hath hurt me with his little horne.”
Unto his mother straight he weeping came,And of his griefe complayned;Who could not chuse but laugh at his fond game,Though sad to see him pained.“Think now,” quoth she, “my son, how great the smartOf those whom thou dost wound:Full many thou hast pricked to the hart,That pitty never found.Therefore, henceforth some pitty take,When thou doest spoyle of lovers make.”
She tooke him streight full pitiously lamenting,She wrapt him softly, all the while repentingThat he the fly did mock.She drest his wound, and it embaulmed wellWith salve of soveraigne might;And then she bath’d him in a dainty well,The well of deare delight.Who would not oft be stung as this,To be so bath’d in Venus blis?
The wanton boy was shortly wel recuredOf that his malady;But he soone after fresh again enuredHis former cruelty.And since that time he wounded hath my selfeWith his sharpe dart of love,And now forgets the cruell carelesse elfeHis mothers heast** to prove.So now I languish, till he pleaseMy pining anguish to appease.
Words in this poem 15
- whereof adv.
- Of which; of whom; formerly, also, with which; -- used relatively.
- quoth v. t.
- Said; spoke; uttered; -- used only in the first and third persons in the past tenses, and always followed by its nominative, the word or words said being the object; as, quoth I. quoth he. [AS.cweedhan, imp cwæedh, pl. cwædon; akin to OS. queedhan, OHG. quethan, quedan, Icel. kveedha, Goth. qiþan. sq. root22. Cf. Bequeath.]
- withall adv.
- With this; with that. [With + all.]
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
- molest v. t.
- To trouble; to disturb; to render uneasy; to interfere with; to vex. [F. molester, L. molestare, fr. molestus troublesome, fr. moles a heavy mass, load, burden. See 3d Mole.]
- cruell a.
- Disposed to give pain to others; willing or pleased to hurt, torment, or afflict; destitute of sympathetic kindness and pity; savage; inhuman; hard-hearted; merciless. [F. cruel, fr. L. crudelis, fr. crudus. See Crude.]
- needs adv.
- Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need. [Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. - wards.]
- hardiment n.
- Hardihood; boldness; courage; energetic action. [OF. hardement. See Hardy.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- henceforth adv.
- From this time forward; henceforward.
- dainty n.
- Value; estimation; the gratification or pleasure taken in anything. [OE. deinie, dainte, deintie, deyntee, OF. deintié delicacy, orig., dignity, honor, fr. L. dignitas, fr. dignus worthy. See Deign, and cf. Dignity.]
- deare
- variant of Dere, v. t. & n.
- shortly adv.
- In a short or brief time or manner; soon; quickly. [AS. sceortlice.]
- malady n.
- Any disease of the human body; a distemper, disorder, or indisposition, proceeding from impaired, defective, or morbid organic functions; especially, a lingering or deep-seated disorder. [F. maladie, fr. malade ill, sick, OF. also, malabde, fr. L. male habitus, i. e., ill-kept, not in good condition. See Malice, and Habit.]
- languish v. i.
- To cause to dr Shak.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Poem IV 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, Poem IV, in Amoretti and Epithalamion, and Other Poems (1595), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #10602, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/spenser-amoretti/poem-iv-5.html, id L23788.
Form and metre
Poem IV is 59 lines in 6 stanzas. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABABCDCDEE, in 2 of the 6 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic pentameter.
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 ABABCDCDEE slumbringA · lapB · murm'ringA · hapB · noyseC · smallD · voyceC · withallD · aboutE · stoutE
- 2 ABABCD-D-C saydA · gameB · madeA · sameB · skyC · restD · cruelly · molestD · cruelty · flyC
- 3 ABAB-C-CDD contentA · pursueB · hardimentA · subdueB · lay · thereforeC · welaway · soreC · scorneD · horneD
- 4 ABABCDCDEE cameA · complaynedB · gameA · painedB · smartC · woundD · hartC · foundD · takeE · makeE
- 5 AA-BCBC-- lamentingA · repentingA · mock · wellB · mightC · wellB · delightC · this · blis
- 6 ----ABABCC recured · malady · enured · cruelty · selfeA · loveB · elfeA · proveB · pleaseC · appeaseC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Upon a day, as Love lay sweetly slumbring | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| All in his mothers lap, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| A gentle Bee, with his loud trumpet murm’ring, | 11 | ·/˘····/˘·· |
| About him flew by hap. | 6 | ······ |
| Whereof when he was wakened with the noyse, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And saw the beast so small, | 6 | ······ |
| “Whats this,” quoth he, “that gives so great a voyce, | 10 | ·········· |
| That wakens men withall?” | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| In angry wize he flies about, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And threatens all with corage stout. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| To whom his mother, closely smiling, sayd, | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| ’Twixt earnest and ’twixt game: | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| “See! thou thy selfe likewise art lyttle made, | 10 | ····/··/˘· |
| If thou regard the same. | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| And yet thou suffrest neyther gods in sky, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Nor men in earth, to rest: | 6 | ······ |
| But when thou art disposed cruelly, | 9 | ····˘/˘/˘ |
| Theyr sleepe thou doost molest. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Then eyther change thy cruelty, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Or give lyke leave unto the fly.” | 8 | ········ |
| Nathelesse, the cruell boy, not so content, | 11 | ····/˘···˘/ |
| Would needs the fly pursue, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| And in his hand, with heedlesse hardiment, | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Him caught for to subdue. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| But when on it he hasty hand did lay, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The Bee him stung therefore. | 6 | ······ |
| “Now out, alas,” he cryde, “and welaway! | 10 | ··˘/···/˘˘ |
| I wounded am full sore. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The fly, that I so much did scorne, | 8 | ········ |
| Hath hurt me with his little horne.” | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Unto his mother straight he weeping came, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And of his griefe complayned; | 6 | ······ |
| Who could not chuse but laugh at his fond game, | 10 | ·········· |
| Though sad to see him pained. | 6 | ······ |
| “Think now,” quoth she, “my son, how great the smart | 10 | ·········· |
| Of those whom thou dost wound: | 6 | ······ |
| Full many thou hast pricked to the hart, | 10 | ·/˘···˘··· |
| That pitty never found. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Therefore, henceforth some pitty take, | 8 | ··//···· |
| When thou doest spoyle of lovers make.” | 9 | ······/˘· |
| She tooke him streight full pitiously lamenting, | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| She wrapt him softly, all the while repenting | 11 | ···/˘···˘/˘ |
| That he the fly did mock. | 6 | ······ |
| She drest his wound, and it embaulmed well | 10 | ········˘· |
| With salve of soveraigne might; | 7 | ······· |
| And then she bath’d him in a dainty well, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| The well of deare delight. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Who would not oft be stung as this, | 8 | ········ |
| To be so bath’d in Venus blis? | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The wanton boy was shortly wel recured | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Of that his malady; | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| But he soone after fresh again enured | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| His former cruelty. | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| And since that time he wounded hath my selfe | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| With his sharpe dart of love, | 6 | ······ |
| And now forgets the cruell carelesse elfe | 11 | ··˘/·/˘···· |
| His mothers heast** to prove. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| So now I languish, till he please | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| My pining anguish to appease. | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
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