A La Malade
Ah, lovely Amoret! the careOf all that know what's good or fair!Is heaven become our rival too?Had the rich gifts conferr'd on youSo amply thence, the common endOf giving lovers--to pretend?Hence, to this pining sickness (meantTo weary thee to a consentOf leaving us) no power is givenThy beauties to impair; for heavenSolicits thee with such a care,As roses from their stalks we tear,When we would still preserve them newAnd fresh, as on the bush they grew.
With such a grace you entertain,And look with such contempt on pain,That languishing you conquer more,And wound us deeper than before.So lightnings which in storms appear,Scorch more than when the skies are clear.
And as pale sickness does invadeYour frailer part, the breaches madeIn that fair lodging, still more clearMake the bright guest, your soul, appear.So nymphs o'er pathless mountains borne,Their light robes by the brambles tornFrom their fair limbs, exposing newAnd unknown beauties to the viewOf following gods, increase their flameAnd haste to catch the flying game.
Words in this poem
- amoret n.
- An amorous girl or woman; a wanton. J. Warton. [OF. amorette, F. amourette, dim. of amour.]
- amply adv.
- In an ample manner.
- scorch v. t.
- To burn superficially; to parch, or shrivel, the surface of, by heat; to subject to so much heat as changes color and texture without consuming; as, to scorch linen. [OE. scorchen, probably akin to scorcnen; cf. Norw. skrokken shrunk up, skrekka, skrökka, to shrink, to become wrinkled up, dial. Sw. skråkkla to wrinkle (see Sh]
- pathless a.
- Having no beaten path or way; untrodden; impenetrable; as, pathless woods.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A La Malade is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poetical Works of Edmund Waller and Sir John Denham, Project Gutenberg ebook #12322; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Edmund Waller, A La Malade, in Poetical Works (1645–1668), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/waller-denham/a-la-malade.html, id L09036.
Form and metre
A La Malade is 30 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 93% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.2 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 50% 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 AABBCCDD--AABB careA · fairA · tooB · youB · endC · pretendC · meantD · consentD · given · heaven · careA · tearA · newB · grewB
- 2 AABBCC entertainA · painA · moreB · beforeB · appearC · clearC
- 3 AABBCCDDEE invadeA · madeA · clearB · appearB · borneC · tornC · newD · viewD · flameE · gameE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ah, lovely Amoret! the care | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| Of all that know what's good or fair! | 8 | ········ |
| Is heaven become our rival too? | 10 | ·/˘˘//˘/˘· |
| Had the rich gifts conferr'd on you | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| So amply thence, the common end | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Of giving lovers--to pretend? | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Hence, to this pining sickness (meant | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| To weary thee to a consent | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Of leaving us) no power is given | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·/˘ |
| Thy beauties to impair; for heaven | 9 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘ |
| Solicits thee with such a care, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| As roses from their stalks we tear, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| When we would still preserve them new | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| And fresh, as on the bush they grew. | 8 | ········ |
| With such a grace you entertain, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And look with such contempt on pain, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| That languishing you conquer more, | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| And wound us deeper than before. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| So lightnings which in storms appear, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Scorch more than when the skies are clear. | 8 | ········ |
| And as pale sickness does invade | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Your frailer part, the breaches made | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| In that fair lodging, still more clear | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Make the bright guest, your soul, appear. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| So nymphs o'er pathless mountains borne, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Their light robes by the brambles torn | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| From their fair limbs, exposing new | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| And unknown beauties to the view | 8 | ·˘//˘··· |
| Of following gods, increase their flame | 9 | ·/˘˘·/··· |
| And haste to catch the flying game. | 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.