An Apology for Having Loved Before
They that never had the useOf the grape's surprising juice,To the first delicious cupAll their reason render up;Neither do, nor care to know,Whether it be best or no.
So they that are to love inclined,Sway'd by chance, not choice or art,To the first that's fair, or kind,Make a present of their heart;'Tis not she that first we love,But whom dying we approve.
To man, that was in th'ev'ning made,Stars gave the first delight,Admiring, in the gloomy shade,Those little drops of light;Then at Aurora, whose fair handRemoved them from the skies,He gazing t'ward the east did stand,She entertain'd his eyes.
But when the bright sun did appear,All those he 'gan despise;His wonder was determined there,And could no higher rise;He neither might, nor wished to knowA more refulgent light;For that (as mine your beauties now)Employ'd his utmost sight.
Words in this poem
- admiring a.
- Expressing admiration; as, an admiring glance.
- aurora n.
- The rising light of the morning; the dawn of day; the redness of the sky just before the sun rises. [L. aurora, for ausosa, akin to Gr. ushas, and E. east.]
- despise v. t.
- To look down upon with disfavor or contempt; to contemn; to scorn; to disdain; to have a low opinion or contemptuous dislike of. [OF. despis-, in some forms of despire to despise, fr. L. despicere, despectum, to look down upon, despise; de- + spicere, specere, to look. See Spy, and cf. Des]
- refulgent a.
- Casting a bright light; radiant; brilliant; resplendent; shining; splendid; as, refulgent beams. [L. refulgens, p. pr. of refulgere to flash back, to shine bright; pref. re- re- + fulgere to shine. See Fulgent.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
An Apology for Having Loved Before 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, An Apology for Having Loved Before, in Cooper's Hill, and Other Poems (1645–1668), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/waller-denham/an-apology-for-having-loved-before.html, id L09054.
Form and metre
An Apology for Having Loved Before is 28 lines in 4 stanzas. 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 7.1 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 14% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 useA · juiceA · cupB · upB · knowC · noC
- 2 ABABCC inclinedA · artB · kindA · heartB · loveC · approveC
- 3 ABABCDCD madeA · delightB · shadeA · lightB · handC · skiesD · standC · eyesD
- 4 ABAB-C-C appearA · despiseB · thereA · riseB · know · lightC · now · sightC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| They that never had the use | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Of the grape's surprising juice, | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| To the first delicious cup | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| All their reason render up; | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Neither do, nor care to know, | 7 | /˘····· |
| Whether it be best or no. | 7 | ······· |
| So they that are to love inclined, | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Sway'd by chance, not choice or art, | 7 | ······· |
| To the first that's fair, or kind, | 7 | ······· |
| Make a present of their heart; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| 'Tis not she that first we love, | 7 | ······· |
| But whom dying we approve. | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| To man, that was in th'ev'ning made, | 8 | ········ |
| Stars gave the first delight, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Admiring, in the gloomy shade, | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| Those little drops of light; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Then at Aurora, whose fair hand | 8 | ········ |
| Removed them from the skies, | 6 | ˘/···· |
| He gazing t'ward the east did stand, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| She entertain'd his eyes. | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| But when the bright sun did appear, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| All those he 'gan despise; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| His wonder was determined there, | 9 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘· |
| And could no higher rise; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| He neither might, nor wished to know | 9 | ·/˘···˘·· |
| A more refulgent light; | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| For that (as mine your beauties now) | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Employ'd his utmost sight. | 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.