The Bracelet
Rebellious fools that scorn to bowBeneath Love's easy sway,Whose stubborn wills no laws allow,Disdaining to obey,Mark but this wreath of hair, and you shall seeNone that might wear such fetters would be free.
I once could boast a soul like you,As unconfin'd as air;But mine, which force could not subdue,Was caught within this snare;And by myself betray'd, I for this goldHave to mine enemy my freedom sold.
No longer now, wise Art, inquire,(With this vain search delighted,)How souls that human[47:2] breasts inspireAre to their frames united:Material chains such spirits well may bind,When this soft braid can tie both arm and mind.
Now, Beauties, I defy your charm,Rul'd by more powerful art:This mystic wreath which crowns my armDefends my vanquish'd heart;And I, subdu'd by one more fair, shall beSecur'd from conquest by captivity.
Words in this poem
- rebellious a.
- Engaged in rebellion; disposed to rebel of the nature of rebels or of rebellion; resisting government or lawful authority by force.
- 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,]
- delighted a.
- Endowed with delight.
- defy v. t.
- To renounce or dissolve all bonds of affiance, faith, or obligation with; to reject, refuse, or renounce. [F. défier, OF. deffier, desfier, LL. disfidare to disown faith or fidelity, to dissolve the bond of allegiance, as between the vassal and his lord; hence, to ch]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Bracelet 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 Bracelet, in Original Lyrics (1651), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #32986, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/stanley-lyrics/the-bracelet.html, id L08979.
Form and metre
The Bracelet is 24 lines in 4 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCC, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 ABABCC bowA · swayB · allowA · obeyB · seeC · freeC
- 2 ABABCC youA · airB · subdueA · snareB · goldC · soldC
- 3 ABABCC inquireA · delightedB · inspireA · unitedB · bindC · mindC
- 4 ABAB-- charmA · artB · armA · heartB · be · captivity
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Rebellious fools that scorn to bow | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| Beneath Love's easy sway, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Whose stubborn wills no laws allow, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Disdaining to obey, | 6 | ˘/˘·˘/ |
| Mark but this wreath of hair, and you shall see | 10 | ·········· |
| None that might wear such fetters would be free. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| I once could boast a soul like you, | 8 | ········ |
| As unconfin'd as air; | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| But mine, which force could not subdue, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Was caught within this snare; | 6 | ······ |
| And by myself betray'd, I for this gold | 10 | ···/˘/···· |
| Have to mine enemy my freedom sold. | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| No longer now, wise Art, inquire, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| (With this vain search delighted,) | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| How souls that human[47:2] breasts inspire | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Are to their frames united: | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Material chains such spirits well may bind, | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘··· |
| When this soft braid can tie both arm and mind. | 10 | ·········· |
| Now, Beauties, I defy your charm, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/·· |
| Rul'd by more powerful art: | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| This mystic wreath which crowns my arm | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Defends my vanquish'd heart; | 6 | ˘/·/˘· |
| And I, subdu'd by one more fair, shall be | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Secur'd from conquest by captivity. | 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.