Palinode
Beauty, thy harsh imperious chainsAs a scorn'd weight, I here untie,Since thy proud empire those disdainsOf reason or philosophy,That would[31:2] within tyrannic lawsConfine the power of each free cause.
Forc'd by the potent[31:3] influenceOf thy disdain, I back return:Thus with those flames I do dispenseWhich, though they would not light, did burn,And rather will through cold expire,Than languish at[31:4] a frozen fire.
But whilst I the insulting prideOf thy vain beauty do despise,Who gladly wouldst be deifiedBy making me thy sacrifice,May Love thy heart which to his charmApproach'd, seem'd cold, at distance warm!
Words in this poem
- imperious a.
- Commanding; ascendant; imperial; lordly; majestic. [L. imperiosus: cf. F. impérieux. See Imperial.]
- tyrannic a.
- Of or pertaining to a tyrant; suiting a tyrant; unjustly severe in government; absolute; imperious; despotic; cruel; arbitrary; as, a tyrannical prince; a tyrannical master; tyrannical government. [L. tyrannicus, Gr. tyrannique. See Tyrant.]
- dispense v. i.
- To compensate; to make up; to make amends.
- languish v. i.
- To cause to dr Shak.
- despise v. t.
- To look down upon with disfavor or contempt; to contemn; to scorn; to disdain; to have a low opinion or contemptuous dislike of. [OF. despis-, in some forms of despire to despise, fr. L. despicere, despectum, to look down upon, despise; de- + spicere, specere, to look. See Spy, and cf. Des]
- gladly adv.
- Preferably; by choice. [From Glad, a.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Palinode 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, Palinode, in Original Lyrics (1651), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #32986, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/stanley-lyrics/palinode.html, id L08961.
Form and metre
Palinode is 18 lines in 3 stanzas of 6 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 44% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 chainsA · untie · disdainsA · philosophy · lawsB · causeB
- 2 ABABCC influenceA · returnB · dispenseA · burnB · expireC · fireC
- 3 A-A--- prideA · despise · deifiedA · sacrifice · charm · warm
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Beauty, thy harsh imperious chains | 8 | /˘··˘/˘· |
| As a scorn'd weight, I here untie, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Since thy proud empire those disdains | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Of reason or philosophy, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| That would[31:2] within tyrannic laws | 8 | ········ |
| Confine the power of each free cause. | 8 | ˘/·/···· |
| Forc'd by the potent[31:3] influence | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| Of thy disdain, I back return: | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| Thus with those flames I do dispense | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Which, though they would not light, did burn, | 8 | ········ |
| And rather will through cold expire, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Than languish at[31:4] a frozen fire. | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| But whilst I the insulting pride | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Of thy vain beauty do despise, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Who gladly wouldst be deified | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| By making me thy sacrifice, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| May Love thy heart which to his charm | 8 | ········ |
| Approach'd, seem'd cold, at distance warm! | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
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.