Poem VI
I saw two Beares, as white as anie milke,Lying together in a mightie cave,Of milde aspect, and haire as soft as silke,That salvage nature seemed not to have,Nor after greedie spoyle of blood to crave:Two fairer beasts might not elswhere be found,Although the compast world were sought around.
But what can long abide above this groundIn state of blis, or stedfast happinesse?The cave in which these beares lay sleeping soundWas but earth, and with her owne weightinesseUpon them fell, and did unwares oppresse;That, for great sorrow of their sudden fate,Henceforth all worlds felicitie I hate.
Much was I troubled in my heavie spright,At sight of these sad spectacles forepast,That all my senses were bereaved quight,And I in minde remained sore agast,Distraught twixt feare and pitie; when at lastI heard a voyce which loudly to me called,That with the suddein shrill I was appalled.
“Behold,” said it, “and by ensample see,That all is vanitie and griefe of minde,Ne other comfort in this world can be,But hope of heaven, and heart to God inclinde;For all the rest must needs be left behinde.”With that it bad me to the other sideTo cast mine eye, where other sights I spide.
Words in this poem
- salvage n.
- The act of saving a vessel, goods, or life, goods, or life, from perils of the sea. [F. salvage, OF. salver to save, F. sauver, fr. L. salvare. See Save.]
- crave v. t.
- To ask with earnestness or importunity; to ask with submission or humility; to beg; to entreat; to beseech; to implore. [AS. crafian; akin to Icel. krefia, Sw. kr, Dan. kr.]
- unwares adv.
- Unawares; unexpectedly; -- sometimes preceded by at.
- henceforth adv.
- From this time forward; henceforward.
- spright n.
- Spirit; mind; soul; state of mind; mood. [See Sprite.]
- agast v. t.
- To affright; to terrify. Chaucer.
- distraught p. p.
- Torn asunder; separated. [OE. distract, distrauht. See Distract, a.]
- ensample n.
- An example; a pattern or model for imitation. Tyndale. [OF. ensample, essample, F. exemple. See Example.]
- needs adv.
- Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need. [Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. - wards.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Poem VI 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 VI, in Amoretti and Epithalamion, and Other Poems (1595), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #10602, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/spenser-amoretti/poem-vi.html, id L23742.
Form and metre
Poem VI is 28 lines in 4 stanzas of 7 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABBCC, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas; the stanza is the Rhyme royal. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
See other poems in rhyme royal, 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 ABABBCC milkeA · caveB · silkeA · haveB · craveB · foundC · aroundC
- 2 ABABBCC groundA · happinesseB · soundA · weightinesseB · oppresseB · fateC · hateC
- 3 ABABBCC sprightA · forepastB · quightA · agastB · lastB · calledC · appalledC
- 4 ABABB-- seeA · mindeB · beA · inclindeB · behindeB · side · spide
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I saw two Beares, as white as anie milke, | 10 | ·········· |
| Lying together in a mightie cave, | 10 | /˘˘/˘····· |
| Of milde aspect, and haire as soft as silke, | 10 | ··/······· |
| That salvage nature seemed not to have, | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘··· |
| Nor after greedie spoyle of blood to crave: | 11 | ··········· |
| Two fairer beasts might not elswhere be found, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Although the compast world were sought around. | 10 | ·········· |
| But what can long abide above this ground | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| In state of blis, or stedfast happinesse? | 10 | ·········· |
| The cave in which these beares lay sleeping sound | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Was but earth, and with her owne weightinesse | 10 | ·········· |
| Upon them fell, and did unwares oppresse; | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| That, for great sorrow of their sudden fate, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Henceforth all worlds felicitie I hate. | 10 | //········ |
| Much was I troubled in my heavie spright, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| At sight of these sad spectacles forepast, | 10 | ·····/˘˘/˘ |
| That all my senses were bereaved quight, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| And I in minde remained sore agast, | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| Distraught twixt feare and pitie; when at last | 10 | ˘/········ |
| I heard a voyce which loudly to me called, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| That with the suddein shrill I was appalled. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| “Behold,” said it, “and by ensample see, | 10 | ˘/····˘/˘· |
| That all is vanitie and griefe of minde, | 10 | ·········· |
| Ne other comfort in this world can be, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| But hope of heaven, and heart to God inclinde; | 10 | ···/······ |
| For all the rest must needs be left behinde.” | 10 | ·········· |
| With that it bad me to the other side | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| To cast mine eye, where other sights I spide. | 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.