Song
When, dearest Beauty, thou shalt payThy faith and my vain hope awayTo some dull soul that cannot knowThe worth of that thou dost bestow;Lest[53:1] with my sighs and tears I mightDisturb thy unconfin'd delight,To some dark shade I will retire,And there, forgot by all, expire.
Thus, whilst the difference thou shalt proveBetwixt a feign'd and real love,Whilst he, more happy, but less true,Shall reap those joys I did pursue,And with those pleasures crowned beBy Fate, which Love design'd for me,Then thou perhaps thyself wilt findCruel too long, or too soon kind.
I will not trust thy tempting graces,Or thy deceitful charms,Nor prisoner be to thy embraces,Or fetter'd in thy arms;No, Celia, no: not all thy artCan wound or captivate my heart.
I will not gaze upon thy eyes,Or wanton with thy hair,Lest those should burn me by surprise,Or these my soul ensnare;Nor with those smiling dangers play,Or fool my liberty away.
Since, then, my wary heart is freeAnd unconfin'd as thine,If thou wouldst mine should captiv'd[54:1] be,Thou must thine own resign;And gratitude may thus move moreThan love or beauty could before.
No, I will sooner trust the wind,When, falsely kind,It courts the pregnant sails into a storm,And when the smiling waves persuade,Be willingly betray'd,Than thy deceitful vows or form.
Go, and beguile some easy heartWith thy vain art;Thy smiles and kisses on those fools bestowWho only see the calms that sleepOn this smooth flattering deep,But not the hidden dangers know.
They that, like me, thy falsehood prove,Will scorn thy love,Some may, deceiv'd at first, adore thy shrine;But he that as thy sacrificeDoth willingly fall twice,Dies his own martyr, and not thine.
I prithee let my heart alone!Since now 'tis raised above thee:Not all the beauty thou dost ownAgain can make me love thee.
He that was shipwreck'd once beforeBy such a Siren's call,And yet neglects to shun the[55:1] shore,Deserves his second fall!
Each flattering kiss, each tempting smileThou dost in vain bestow,Some other lovers might beguileWho not thy falsehood know.
But I am proof against all art:No vows shall e'er persuade meTwice to present a wounded heartTo her that hath betray'd me.
Could I again be brought to loveThy form, though more divine,I might thy scorn as justly moveAs now thou sufferest mine.
Words in this poem
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- betwixt prep.
- In the space which separates; between. [OE. betwix, bitwix, rarely bitwixt, AS. betweox, betweohs, betweoh, betwih; pref. be- by + a form fr. AS. twa two. See Between.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- reap n.
- A bundle of grain; a handful of grain laid down by the reaper as it is cut. Wright. [Cf. AS. rip harvest. See Reap, v.]
- captivate v. t.
- To take prisoner; to capture; to subdue. [L. captivatus, p. p. of captivare to capture, fr. captivus captive. See Captive.]
- ensnare v. t.
- To catch in a snare. See Insnare.
- willingly adv.
- In a willing manner; with free will; without reluctance; cheerfully.
- adore v. t.
- To worship with profound reverence; to pay divine honors to; to honor as deity or as divine. [OE. aouren, anouren, adoren, OF. aorer, adorer, F. adorer, fr. L. adorare; ad + orare to speak, pray, os, oris, mouth. In OE. confused with honor, the French pr]
- prithee interj.
- A corruption of pray thee; as, I prithee; generally used without I.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Song 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, Song, in Original Lyrics (1651), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #32986, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/stanley-lyrics/song-5.html, id L08986.
Form and metre
Song is 72 lines in 13 stanzas. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAB, in 5 of the 13 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.5 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 31% 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 AABBCCDD payA · awayA · knowB · bestowB · mightC · delightC · retireD · expireD
- 2 AABBCCDD proveA · loveA · trueB · pursueB · beC · meC · findD · kindD
- 3 ABABCC gracesA · charmsB · embracesA · armsB · artC · heartC
- 4 ABABCC eyesA · hairB · surpriseA · ensnareB · playC · awayC
- 5 ABABCC freeA · thineB · beA · resignB · moreC · beforeC
- 6 AABCCB windA · kindA · stormB · persuadeC · betray'dC · formB
- 7 AABCCB heartA · artA · bestowB · sleepC · deepC · knowB
- 8 AABCCB proveA · loveA · shrineB · sacrificeC · twiceC · thineB
- 9 ABAB aloneA · theeB · ownA · theeB
- 10 ABAB beforeA · callB · shoreA · fallB
- 11 ABAB smileA · bestowB · beguileA · knowB
- 12 ABAB artA · meB · heartA · meB
- 13 ABAB loveA · divineB · moveA · mineB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When, dearest Beauty, thou shalt pay | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Thy faith and my vain hope away | 8 | ······˘/ |
| To some dull soul that cannot know | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The worth of that thou dost bestow; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Lest[53:1] with my sighs and tears I might | 8 | ········ |
| Disturb thy unconfin'd delight, | 8 | ˘/··˘/˘/ |
| To some dark shade I will retire, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And there, forgot by all, expire. | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| Thus, whilst the difference thou shalt prove | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Betwixt a feign'd and real love, | 7 | ˘/····· |
| Whilst he, more happy, but less true, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Shall reap those joys I did pursue, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And with those pleasures crowned be | 8 | ···/˘·˘· |
| By Fate, which Love design'd for me, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Then thou perhaps thyself wilt find | 8 | ··˘/˘/·· |
| Cruel too long, or too soon kind. | 8 | /˘······ |
| I will not trust thy tempting graces, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Or thy deceitful charms, | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Nor prisoner be to thy embraces, | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| Or fetter'd in thy arms; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| No, Celia, no: not all thy art | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Can wound or captivate my heart. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I will not gaze upon thy eyes, | 8 | ········ |
| Or wanton with thy hair, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Lest those should burn me by surprise, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Or these my soul ensnare; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Nor with those smiling dangers play, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Or fool my liberty away. | 8 | ···/˘˘˘/ |
| Since, then, my wary heart is free | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And unconfin'd as thine, | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| If thou wouldst mine should captiv'd[54:1] be, | 8 | ········ |
| Thou must thine own resign; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| And gratitude may thus move more | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Than love or beauty could before. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| No, I will sooner trust the wind, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| When, falsely kind, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| It courts the pregnant sails into a storm, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| And when the smiling waves persuade, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Be willingly betray'd, | 6 | ·/˘˘˘/ |
| Than thy deceitful vows or form. | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Go, and beguile some easy heart | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| With thy vain art; | 4 | ···· |
| Thy smiles and kisses on those fools bestow | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Who only see the calms that sleep | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| On this smooth flattering deep, | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| But not the hidden dangers know. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| They that, like me, thy falsehood prove, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Will scorn thy love, | 4 | ···· |
| Some may, deceiv'd at first, adore thy shrine; | 10 | ··˘/··˘/·· |
| But he that as thy sacrifice | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Doth willingly fall twice, | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| Dies his own martyr, and not thine. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I prithee let my heart alone! | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Since now 'tis raised above thee: | 8 | ····˘··· |
| Not all the beauty thou dost own | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Again can make me love thee. | 7 | ˘/····· |
| He that was shipwreck'd once before | 8 | ········ |
| By such a Siren's call, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And yet neglects to shun the[55:1] shore, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Deserves his second fall! | 6 | ˘/·/˘· |
| Each flattering kiss, each tempting smile | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Thou dost in vain bestow, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Some other lovers might beguile | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Who not thy falsehood know. | 6 | ···/·· |
| But I am proof against all art: | 8 | ········ |
| No vows shall e'er persuade me | 7 | ····˘/· |
| Twice to present a wounded heart | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| To her that hath betray'd me. | 7 | ····˘/· |
| Could I again be brought to love | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Thy form, though more divine, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| I might thy scorn as justly move | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| As now thou sufferest mine. | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
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.