The Parting
I go, dear Saint, away,Snatch'd from thy armsBy far less pleasing charms,Than those I did[21:1] obey;But if hereafter thou shalt knowThat grief hath kill'd me, come,And on my tombDrop, drop a tear or two;Break with thy sighs the silence of my sleep,And I shall smile in death to see thee weep.
Thy tears may have the powerTo reinspireMy ashes with new fire,Or change me to some flower,Which, planted 'twixt thy breasts, shall grow:Veil'd in this shape, I willDwell with thee still,Court, kiss, enjoy thee too:Securely we'll contemn[21:3] all envious force,And thus united be by death's divorce.
Words in this poem
- hereafter adv.
- In time to come; in some future time or state. [AS. hræfter.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- 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,]
- reinspire v. t.
- To inspire anew.
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- contemn v. t.
- To view or treat with contempt, as mean and despicable; to reject with disdain; to despise; to scorn. [L. contemnere, -temptum; con- + temnere to slight, despise: cf. OF. contemner.]
- envious a.
- Malignant; mischievous; spiteful. [OF. envios, F. envieux, fr. L. invidiosus, fr. invidia envy. See Envy, and cf. Invidious.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Parting 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 Parting, in Original Lyrics (1651), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #32986, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/stanley-lyrics/the-parting.html, id L08951.
Form and metre
The Parting is 20 lines in 2 stanzas of 10 lines each. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.7 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 30% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
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 ABBA----CC awayA · armsB · charmsB · obeyA · know · come · tomb · two · sleepC · weepC
- 2 ABBA-CC-DD powerA · reinspireB · fireB · flowerA · grow · willC · stillC · too · forceD · divorceD
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 trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I go, dear Saint, away, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Snatch'd from thy arms | 4 | ···· |
| By far less pleasing charms, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Than those I did[21:1] obey; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| But if hereafter thou shalt know | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| That grief hath kill'd me, come, | 6 | ······ |
| And on my tomb | 4 | ···· |
| Drop, drop a tear or two; | 6 | ······ |
| Break with thy sighs the silence of my sleep, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And I shall smile in death to see thee weep. | 10 | ·········· |
| Thy tears may have the power | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| To reinspire | 3 | ··· |
| My ashes with new fire, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Or change me to some flower, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Which, planted 'twixt thy breasts, shall grow: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Veil'd in this shape, I will | 6 | ······ |
| Dwell with thee still, | 4 | ···· |
| Court, kiss, enjoy thee too: | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Securely we'll contemn[21:3] all envious force, | 10 | ˘/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| And thus united be by death's divorce. | 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.