The Deposition
Though when I lov'd thee thou wert[43:2] fair,Thou art no longer so:Those glories do[43:3] the pride they wearUnto opinion owe.Beauties, like stars, in borrow'd lustre shine;And 'twas my love that gave thee thine.
The flames that dwelt within thine eyeDo now with mine expire;Thy brightest graces[43:4] fade and dieAt once, with my desire.Love's fires thus mutual influence return:Thine cease to shine when mine to burn.
Then, proud Celinda, hope no moreTo be implor'd or woo'd,Since by thy scorn thou dost restoreThe wealth my[43:5] love bestow'd;And thy despis'd disdain too late shall findThat none are fair but who are kind.
Words in this poem
- lustre n.
- A period of five years; a lustrum. [L. lustrum: cf. F. lustre.]
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- 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,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Deposition 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 Deposition, in Original Lyrics (1651), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #32986, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/stanley-lyrics/the-deposition.html, id L08973.
Form and metre
The Deposition is 18 lines in 3 stanzas of 6 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.7 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 33% 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 ABABCC fairA · soB · wearA · oweB · shineC · thineC
- 2 A-A-BB eyeA · expire · dieA · desire · returnB · burnB
- 3 A-A-BB moreA · woo'd · restoreA · bestow'd · findB · kindB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Though when I lov'd thee thou wert[43:2] fair, | 8 | ········ |
| Thou art no longer so: | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Those glories do[43:3] the pride they wear | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Unto opinion owe. | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Beauties, like stars, in borrow'd lustre shine; | 10 | /˘···/·/˘· |
| And 'twas my love that gave thee thine. | 8 | ········ |
| The flames that dwelt within thine eye | 8 | ········ |
| Do now with mine expire; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Thy brightest graces[43:4] fade and die | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| At once, with my desire. | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| Love's fires thus mutual influence return: | 9 | ·/·/˘/˘˘/ |
| Thine cease to shine when mine to burn. | 8 | ········ |
| Then, proud Celinda, hope no more | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| To be implor'd or woo'd, | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Since by thy scorn thou dost restore | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The wealth my[43:5] love bestow'd; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| And thy despis'd disdain too late shall find | 10 | ··˘/˘/···· |
| That none are fair but who are kind. | 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.