Poem IV
Soone after this a Giaunt came in place,Of wondrous power, and of exceeding stature,That none durst vewe the horror of his face;Yet was he milde of speach, and meeke of nature.Not he which in despight of his CreatourWith railing tearmes defied the Iewish hoast,Might with this mightie one in hugenes boast;
For from the one he could to th’other coastStretch his strong thighes, and th’ocean overstride,And reatch his hand into his enemies hoast.But see the end of pompe and fleshlie pride!One of his feete unwares from him did slide,That downe hee fell into the deepe abisse,Where drownd with him is all his earthlie blisse.
Words in this poem
- wondrous adv.
- In a wonderful or surprising manner or degree; wonderfully. [OE. wonders, adv. (later also adj.). See Wonder, n., and cf. -wards.]
- creatour n.
- One who creates, produces, or constitutes. Specifically, the Supreme Being. [L. creator: cf. F. cr.]
- overstride v. t.
- To stride over or beyond.
- unwares adv.
- Unawares; unexpectedly; -- sometimes preceded by at.
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.html, id L23740.
Form and metre
Poem IV is 14 lines in 2 stanzas of 7 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%).
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 A-A--BB placeA · stature · faceA · nature · creatour · hoastB · boastB
- 2 ABABBCC coastA · overstrideB · hoastA · prideB · slideB · abisseC · blisseC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Soone after this a Giaunt came in place, | 9 | ········· |
| Of wondrous power, and of exceeding stature, | 11 | ·/˘/··˘/˘/˘ |
| That none durst vewe the horror of his face; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Yet was he milde of speach, and meeke of nature. | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Not he which in despight of his Creatour | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| With railing tearmes defied the Iewish hoast, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| Might with this mightie one in hugenes boast; | 10 | ·········· |
| For from the one he could to th’other coast | 10 | ·········· |
| Stretch his strong thighes, and th’ocean overstride, | 10 | ·········· |
| And reatch his hand into his enemies hoast. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| But see the end of pompe and fleshlie pride! | 10 | ·········· |
| One of his feete unwares from him did slide, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| That downe hee fell into the deepe abisse, | 10 | ·········· |
| Where drownd with him is all his earthlie blisse. | 10 | ·········· |
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.