The Breath
Favonius, the milder breath o' th' Spring,When proudly bearing on his softer wingRich odours, which from the Panchean grovesHe steals, as by the phoenix-pyre he moves,Profusely doth his sweeter theft dispenseTo the next rose's blushing innocence;But from the grateful flower, a richer scentHe doth receive[26:1] than he unto it lent.Then, laden with his odour's richest store,He to thy breath hastes, to which these are poor;Which, whilst the amorous wind[26:2] to steal essays,He like a wanton lover 'bout thee plays,And sometimes cooling thy soft cheek doth lie,And sometimes burning at thy flaming eye:Drawn in at last by that breath we implore,He now[26:3] returns far sweeter than before,And rich by being robb'd, in thee he findsThe burning sweets of pyres, the cool of winds.
Words in this poem
- profusely adv.
- In a profuse manner.
- dispense v. i.
- To compensate; to make up; to make amends.
- cooling a.
- Adapted to cool and refresh; allaying heat.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Breath 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 Breath, in Original Lyrics (1651), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #32986, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/stanley-lyrics/the-breath.html, id L08956.
Form and metre
The Breath is 18 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 78% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.7 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 28% 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 AA--BBCCD-EEFFDDGG springA · wingA · groves · moves · dispenseB · innocenceB · scentC · lentC · storeD · poor · essaysE · playsE · lieF · eyeF · imploreD · beforeD · findsG · windsG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Favonius, the milder breath o' th' Spring, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| When proudly bearing on his softer wing | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Rich odours, which from the Panchean groves | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| He steals, as by the phoenix-pyre he moves, | 10 | ·····/˘/·· |
| Profusely doth his sweeter theft dispense | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| To the next rose's blushing innocence; | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘˘ |
| But from the grateful flower, a richer scent | 10 | ···/˘/·/˘· |
| He doth receive[26:1] than he unto it lent. | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Then, laden with his odour's richest store, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| He to thy breath hastes, to which these are poor; | 10 | ·········· |
| Which, whilst the amorous wind[26:2] to steal essays, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| He like a wanton lover 'bout thee plays, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| And sometimes cooling thy soft cheek doth lie, | 10 | ·/·/˘····· |
| And sometimes burning at thy flaming eye: | 10 | ·/·/˘··/˘· |
| Drawn in at last by that breath we implore, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| He now[26:3] returns far sweeter than before, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| And rich by being robb'd, in thee he finds | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| The burning sweets of pyres, the cool of winds. | 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.