The Silkworm
The[51:1] silkworm, to long sleep retir'd,The early year hath re-inspir'd,Who now to pay to thee preparesThe tribute of her pleasing cares;And hastens with industrious toilTo make her ornament thy spoil.See with what pains[51:3] she spins for theeThe thread of her own destiny,Then, (growing proud in death, to knowThat all her curious labours thouWilt, as in triumph, deign to wear!)Retires to her soft sepulchre.
Such, Dearest, is that hapless stateTo which I am design'd by Fate,Who, by thee willingly o'ercome,Work mine own fetters and my tomb.
Words in this poem
- industrious a.
- Given to industry; characterized by diligence; constantly, regularly, or habitually occupied; busy; assiduous; not slothful or idle; -- commonly implying devotion to lawful and useful labor. [L. industrius, industriosus: cf. F. industrieux. See Industry.]
- curious a.
- Difficult to please or satisfy; solicitous to be correct; careful; scrupulous; nice; exact. [OF. curios, curius, F. curieux, L. curiosus careful, inquisitive, fr. cura care. See Cure.]
- deign v. t.
- To esteem worthy; to consider worth notice; -- opposed to disdain. [OE. deinen, deignen, OF. degner, deigner, daigner, F. daigner, fr. L. dignari to deem worthy, deign, fr. dignus worthy; akin to decere to be fitting. See Decent]
- sepulchre n.
- The place in which the dead body of a human being is interred, or a place set apart for that purpose; a grave; a tomb. [OE. sepulcre, OF. sepulcre, F. sépulcre, fr. L. sepulcrum, sepulchrum, fr. sepelire to bury.]
- hapless a.
- Without hap or luck; luckless; unfortunate; unlucky; unhappy; as, hapless youth; hapless maid.
- willingly adv.
- In a willing manner; with free will; without reluctance; cheerfully.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Silkworm 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 Silkworm, in Original Lyrics (1651), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #32986, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/stanley-lyrics/the-silkworm.html, id L08984.
Form and metre
The Silkworm is 16 lines in 2 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 50% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 38% 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 AABBCC------ retir'dA · inspir'dA · preparesB · caresB · toilC · spoilC · thee · destiny · know · thou · wear · sepulchre
- 2 AA-- stateA · fateA · o'ercome · tomb
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The[51:1] silkworm, to long sleep retir'd, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| The early year hath re-inspir'd, | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| Who now to pay to thee prepares | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The tribute of her pleasing cares; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| And hastens with industrious toil | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| To make her ornament thy spoil. | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| See with what pains[51:3] she spins for thee | 8 | ········ |
| The thread of her own destiny, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Then, (growing proud in death, to know | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| That all her curious labours thou | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Wilt, as in triumph, deign to wear!) | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Retires to her soft sepulchre. | 7 | ˘/····· |
| Such, Dearest, is that hapless state | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| To which I am design'd by Fate, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Who, by thee willingly o'ercome, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Work mine own fetters and my tomb. | 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.