Drawn for Valentine by the L D[Orothy] S[Pencer?]
Though 'gainst me Love and Destiny conspire,Though I must waste in an unpitied fire,By the same deity, severe as fair,Commanded adoration and despair;Though I am mark'd for sacrifice, to tellThe growing age what dangerous glories dwellIn this bright dawn, who, when she spreads her rays,Will challenge every heart, and every praise;Yet she who to all hope forbids my claim,By Fortune's taught indulgence to my flame,Great Queen of Chance! unjustly we excludeThy power an interest in beatitude,Who with mysterious judgement dost dispenseThe bounties of unerring Providence;Whilst we, to whom the causes are unknown,Would style that blindness thine, which is our own.As kind, in justice to thyself, as me,Thou hast redeem'd thy name and votary:Nor will I prize this less for being thine,Nor longer at my destiny repine.Counsel and choice are things below thy state:Fortune relieves the cruelties of Fate.
Words in this poem
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- beatitude n.
- Felicity of the highest kind; consummate bliss. [L. beatitudo: cf. F. béatitude. See Beatify.]
- dispense v. i.
- To compensate; to make up; to make amends.
- unerring a.
- Committing no mistake; incapable or error or failure certain; sure; unfailing; as, the unerring wisdom of God.
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- repine v. i.
- To fail; to wane. [Pref. re- + pine to languish.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Drawn for Valentine by the L D[Orothy] S[Pencer?] is in the public domain. This text is taken from Thomas Stanley: His Original Lyrics, Complete, In Their Collated Readings of 1647, 1651, 1657. With an Introduction, Textual Notes, a List of Editions, an Appendix of Translations, and a Portrait., Project Gutenberg ebook #32986; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Thomas Stanley, Drawn for Valentine by the L D[Orothy] S[Pencer?], in Original Lyrics (1651), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #32986, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/stanley-lyrics/drawn-for-valentine-by-the-l-d-orothy-s-pencer.html, id L26166.
Form and metre
Drawn for Valentine by the L D[Orothy] S[Pencer?] is 22 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 82% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH----II conspireA · fireA · fairB · despairB · tellC · dwellC · raysD · praiseD · claimE · flameE · excludeF · beatitudeF · dispenseG · providenceG · unknownH · ownH · me · votary · thine · repine · stateI · fateI
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Though 'gainst me Love and Destiny conspire, | 11 | ·····/˘˘˘/˘ |
| Though I must waste in an unpitied fire, | 11 | ······˘/˘/˘ |
| By the same deity, severe as fair, | 10 | ···/˘˘˘/·· |
| Commanded adoration and despair; | 10 | ˘/˘·˘/˘·˘/ |
| Though I am mark'd for sacrifice, to tell | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| The growing age what dangerous glories dwell | 10 | ·/··/˘˘/˘· |
| In this bright dawn, who, when she spreads her rays, | 10 | ·········· |
| Will challenge every heart, and every praise; | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Yet she who to all hope forbids my claim, | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| By Fortune's taught indulgence to my flame, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| Great Queen of Chance! unjustly we exclude | 10 | ····˘/˘·˘/ |
| Thy power an interest in beatitude, | 11 | ·/˘·/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| Who with mysterious judgement dost dispense | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| The bounties of unerring Providence; | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘/˘˘ |
| Whilst we, to whom the causes are unknown, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Would style that blindness thine, which is our own. | 10 | ···/˘···/· |
| As kind, in justice to thyself, as me, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| Thou hast redeem'd thy name and votary: | 10 | ··˘/···/˘˘ |
| Nor will I prize this less for being thine, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Nor longer at my destiny repine. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘˘/ |
| Counsel and choice are things below thy state: | 10 | /˘········ |
| Fortune relieves the cruelties of Fate. | 9 | /˘˘/·/˘·· |
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.