Phyllis
Think no evil, have no fear,If I play with Phyllis;I am but the guardian dearOf her girlhood's lilies,Lest too soon her bloom should swoonLike spring's daffodillies.
All I care for is to play,Gaze upon my treasure,Now and then to touch her hand,Kiss in modest measure;But the fifth act of love's game,Dream not of that pleasure!
For to touch the bloom of youthSpoils its frail complexion;Let the young grape gently growTill it reach perfection;Hope within my heart doth glowOf the girl's affection.
Sweet above all sweets that are'Tis to play with Phyllis;For her thoughts are white as snow,In her heart no ill is;And the kisses that she givesSweeter are than lilies.
Love leads after him the godsBound in pliant traces;Harsh and stubborn hearts he bends,Breaks with blows of maces;Nay, the unicorn is tamedBy a girl's embraces.
Love leads after him the gods,Jupiter with Juno;To his waxen measure treadsMasterful Neptune O!Pluto stern to souls belowMelts to this one tune O!
Whatsoe'er the rest may do,Let us then be playing:Take the pastime that is dueWhile we're yet a-Maying;I am young and young are you;'Tis the time for playing.
Words in this poem
- complexion n.
- The state of being complex; complexity. [F. complexion, fr. L. complexio. See Complex, a.]
- unicorn n.
- A fabulous animal with one horn; the monoceros; -- often represented in heraldry as a supporter. [OE. unicorne, F. unicorne, L. unicornis one- horned, having a single horn; unus one + cornu a horn; cf. L. unicornuus a unicorn. See One, and Horn.]
- masterful a.
- Inclined to play the master; domineering; imperious; arbitrary.
- pastime n.
- That which amuses, and serves to make time pass agreeably; sport; amusement; diversion. [Pass + time: cf. F. passetemps.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Phyllis is in the public domain. This text is taken from Wine, Women, and Song Mediaeval Latin Students' songs; Now first translated into English verse, Project Gutenberg ebook #18044; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Addington Symonds, Phyllis, in Wine, Women and Song (1884), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18044, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/symonds-wine-women/phyllis.html, id L11845.
Form and metre
Phyllis is 42 lines in 7 stanzas of 6 lines each. The metre is trochaic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.4 syllables. 17 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic 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 A-AB-B fearA · phyllis · dearA · liliesB · swoon · daffodilliesB
- 2 -A-A-A play · treasureA · hand · measureA · game · pleasureA
- 3 -ABABA youth · complexionA · growB · perfectionA · glowB · affectionA
- 4 ---A-A are · phyllis · snow · isA · gives · liliesA
- 5 -A-A-A gods · tracesA · bends · macesA · tamed · embracesA
- 6 ---AAA gods · juno · treads · oA · belowA · oA
- 7 ABABAB doA · playingB · dueA · mayingB · youA · playingB
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 trochaic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Think no evil, have no fear, | 6 | ··/··· |
| If I play with Phyllis; | 6 | ····/˘ |
| I am but the guardian dear | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Of her girlhood's lilies, | 6 | ··/·/˘ |
| Lest too soon her bloom should swoon | 7 | ······· |
| Like spring's daffodillies. | 5 | ····· |
| All I care for is to play, | 7 | ······· |
| Gaze upon my treasure, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Now and then to touch her hand, | 7 | ······· |
| Kiss in modest measure; | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| But the fifth act of love's game, | 7 | ······· |
| Dream not of that pleasure! | 6 | ····/˘ |
| For to touch the bloom of youth | 7 | ······· |
| Spoils its frail complexion; | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| Let the young grape gently grow | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Till it reach perfection; | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| Hope within my heart doth glow | 7 | ······· |
| Of the girl's affection. | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| Sweet above all sweets that are | 7 | ······· |
| 'Tis to play with Phyllis; | 6 | ····/˘ |
| For her thoughts are white as snow, | 7 | ······· |
| In her heart no ill is; | 6 | ······ |
| And the kisses that she gives | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Sweeter are than lilies. | 6 | /˘··/˘ |
| Love leads after him the gods | 7 | ······· |
| Bound in pliant traces; | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| Harsh and stubborn hearts he bends, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Breaks with blows of maces; | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Nay, the unicorn is tamed | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| By a girl's embraces. | 6 | ···˘/˘ |
| Love leads after him the gods, | 7 | ······· |
| Jupiter with Juno; | 6 | /˘˘·/˘ |
| To his waxen measure treads | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Masterful Neptune O! | 6 | /˘˘/˘· |
| Pluto stern to souls below | 7 | /˘····· |
| Melts to this one tune O! | 6 | ······ |
| Whatsoe'er the rest may do, | 6 | ······ |
| Let us then be playing: | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Take the pastime that is due | 7 | ··/···· |
| While we're yet a-Maying; | 6 | ····/˘ |
| I am young and young are you; | 7 | ······· |
| 'Tis the time for playing. | 6 | ····/˘ |
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.