The Self-Cruel
Cast off, for shame, ungentle maid,That misbecoming joy thou wear'st!For in my death (though long delay'd),Unwisely cruel thou appear'st.Insult o'er captives with disdain:Thou canst not triumph o'er the slain.
No, I am now no longer thine;Nor canst thou take delight to seeHim whom thy love did once confineSet, though by death, at liberty;For if my fall a smile beget,Thou gloriest in thy own defeat.
Behold how thy unthrifty prideHath murthered him that did maintain it;And wary souls who never triedThy tyrant beauty, will disdain it:But I am softer, and, (though[57:2] meThou wouldst not pity,) pity thee.
Wert thou by all affections sought,And fairer than thou wouldst be thought,Or had thine eyes as many dartsAs thou believ'st they shoot at hearts,Yet if thy love were paid to me,I would not offer mine to thee.
I'd sooner court a fever's heat,Than her that owns a flame as[58:2] great.She that my love will entertainMust meet it with no less disdain;For mutual fires themselves destroy,And willing kisses yield no joy.
I love thee not because aloneThou canst all beauty call thine own,Nor doth my passion fuel seekIn thy bright eye or softer cheek.Then, Fairest! if thou wouldst know why:I love thee 'cause thou canst deny.
Words in this poem
- ungentle a.
- Not gentle; lacking good breeding or delicacy; harsh.
- unwisely adv.
- In an unwise manner; foolishly. [AS. unwislice.]
- defeat v. t.
- To undo; to disfigure; to destroy. [From F. défait, OF. desfait, p. p. ofe défaire, OF. desfaire, to undo; L. dis- + facere to do. See Feat, Fact, and cf. Disfashion.]
- unthrifty a.
- Not thrifty; profuse.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Self-Cruel 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 Self-Cruel, in Original Lyrics (1651), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #32986, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/stanley-lyrics/the-self-cruel.html, id L08988.
Form and metre
The Self-Cruel is 36 lines in 6 stanzas of 6 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 56% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, 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 maidA · wear'stB · delay'dA · appear'stB · disdainC · slainC
- 2 A-A--- thineA · see · confineA · liberty · beget · defeat
- 3 ABABCC prideA · itB · triedA · itB · meC · theeC
- 4 AABBCC soughtA · thoughtA · dartsB · heartsB · meC · theeC
- 5 --AABB heat · great · entertainA · disdainA · destroyB · joyB
- 6 AABBCC aloneA · ownA · seekB · cheekB · whyC · denyC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cast off, for shame, ungentle maid, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| That misbecoming joy thou wear'st! | 8 | ········ |
| For in my death (though long delay'd), | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Unwisely cruel thou appear'st. | 8 | ˘/˘/˘··· |
| Insult o'er captives with disdain: | 8 | ˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| Thou canst not triumph o'er the slain. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| No, I am now no longer thine; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Nor canst thou take delight to see | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Him whom thy love did once confine | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Set, though by death, at liberty; | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| For if my fall a smile beget, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Thou gloriest in thy own defeat. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Behold how thy unthrifty pride | 8 | ˘/··˘/˘· |
| Hath murthered him that did maintain it; | 9 | ······˘/· |
| And wary souls who never tried | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Thy tyrant beauty, will disdain it: | 9 | ·/˘/˘·˘/· |
| But I am softer, and, (though[57:2] me | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Thou wouldst not pity,) pity thee. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Wert thou by all affections sought, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| And fairer than thou wouldst be thought, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Or had thine eyes as many darts | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| As thou believ'st they shoot at hearts, | 8 | ········ |
| Yet if thy love were paid to me, | 8 | ········ |
| I would not offer mine to thee. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I'd sooner court a fever's heat, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Than her that owns a flame as[58:2] great. | 8 | ········ |
| She that my love will entertain | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Must meet it with no less disdain; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| For mutual fires themselves destroy, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘/ |
| And willing kisses yield no joy. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| I love thee not because alone | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Thou canst all beauty call thine own, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Nor doth my passion fuel seek | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| In thy bright eye or softer cheek. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Then, Fairest! if thou wouldst know why: | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| I love thee 'cause thou canst deny. | 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.