The Blush
So fair Aurora doth herself discover(Asham'd o' th' aged bed of her cold lover,)In modest blushes, whilst the treacherous lightBetrays her early shame to the world's sight.Such a bright colour doth the morning roseDiffuse, when she her soft self doth discloseHalf drown'd in dew, whilst on each leaf a tearOf night doth like a dissolv'd pearl appear;Yet 'twere in vain a colour out to seekTo parallel my Chariessa's cheek;Less are compar'd[16:1] with greater, and these seemTo blush like her, not she to blush like them.But whence, fair soul, this passion? what pretenceHad guilt to stain thy spotless innocence?Those only this feel who have guilty been,Not any blushes know, but who know[16:2] sin.Then blush no more; but let thy chaster flame,That knows no cause, know no effects of shame.
Words in this poem
- aurora n.
- The rising light of the morning; the dawn of day; the redness of the sky just before the sun rises. [L. aurora, for ausosa, akin to Gr. ushas, and E. east.]
- discover v. i.
- To discover or show one's self.
- pretence n.
- The act of laying claim; the claim laid; assumption; pretension. [LL. praetensus, for L. praetentus, p. p. of praetendere. See Pretend, and cf. Tension.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Blush 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, The Blush, in Original Lyrics (1651), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #32986, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/stanley-lyrics/the-blush.html, id L08945.
Form and metre
The Blush is 18 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 89% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 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 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 AABBCCDDEE--FFGGHH discoverA · loverA · lightB · sightB · roseC · discloseC · tearD · appearD · seekE · cheekE · seem · them · pretenceF · innocenceF · beenG · sinG · flameH · shameH
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 |
|---|---|---|
| So fair Aurora doth herself discover | 11 | ······˘/˘/˘ |
| (Asham'd o' th' aged bed of her cold lover,) | 10 | ˘/······/˘ |
| In modest blushes, whilst the treacherous light | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Betrays her early shame to the world's sight. | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| Such a bright colour doth the morning rose | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Diffuse, when she her soft self doth disclose | 10 | ˘/······˘/ |
| Half drown'd in dew, whilst on each leaf a tear | 10 | ·········· |
| Of night doth like a dissolv'd pearl appear; | 10 | ·····˘/·˘/ |
| Yet 'twere in vain a colour out to seek | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| To parallel my Chariessa's cheek; | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Less are compar'd[16:1] with greater, and these seem | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| To blush like her, not she to blush like them. | 10 | ·········· |
| But whence, fair soul, this passion? what pretence | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Had guilt to stain thy spotless innocence? | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Those only this feel who have guilty been, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Not any blushes know, but who know[16:2] sin. | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Then blush no more; but let thy chaster flame, | 10 | ·········· |
| That knows no cause, know no effects of shame. | 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.