Of Her Majesty, on New-Year's Day, 1683
What revolutions in the world have been,How are we changed since we first saw the Queen!She, like the sun, does still the same appear,Bright as she was at her arrival here!Time has commission mortals to impair,But things celestial is obliged to spare.
May every new year find her still the sameIn health and beauty as she hither came!When Lords and Commons, with united voice,Th' Infanta named, approved the royal choice;First of our Queens whom not the King alone,But the whole nation, lifted to the throne.
With like consent, and like desert, was crown'dThe glorious Prince that does the Turk confound.Victorious both! his conduct wins the day,And her example chases vice away;Though louder fame attend the martial rage,'Tis greater glory to reform the age.
'Royal choice': a royal message, announcing the king's intention tomarry the Infanta of Portugal, was delivered in Parliament in May'Prince': John Sobieski, king of Poland.
Words in this poem
- commons n.
- The mass of the people, as distinguished from the titled chasses or nobility; the commonalty; the common people. [Eng.]
- infanta n.
- A title borne by every one of the daughters of the kings of Spain and Portugal, except the eldest. [Sp. & Pg., fem. of infante. See Infante.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- turk n.
- A member of any of numerous Tartar tribes of Central Asia, etc.; esp., one of the dominant race in Turkey. [Per. Turk; probably of Tartar origin: cf. F. Turc.]
- parliament n.
- A parleying; a discussion; a conference. [OE. parlement, F. parlement, fr. parler to speak; cf. LL. parlamentum, parliamentum. See Parley.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Of Her Majesty, on New-Year's Day, 1683 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, Of Her Majesty, on New-Year's Day, 1683, in Poetical Works (1645–1668), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/waller-denham/of-her-majesty-on-new-year-s-day-1683.html, id L09071.
Form and metre
Of Her Majesty, on New-Year's Day, 1683 is 21 lines in 4 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is AABBCC, complete in 2 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.7 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 19% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 --AABB been · queen · appearA · hereA · impairB · spareB
- 2 AABBCC sameA · cameA · voiceB · choiceB · aloneC · throneC
- 3 AABBCC crown'dA · confoundA · dayB · awayB · rageC · ageC
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| What revolutions in the world have been, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| How are we changed since we first saw the Queen! | 10 | ·········· |
| She, like the sun, does still the same appear, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Bright as she was at her arrival here! | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Time has commission mortals to impair, | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| But things celestial is obliged to spare. | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘/·· |
| May every new year find her still the same | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| In health and beauty as she hither came! | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| When Lords and Commons, with united voice, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Th' Infanta named, approved the royal choice; | 10 | ˘/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| First of our Queens whom not the King alone, | 10 | ··/·····˘/ |
| But the whole nation, lifted to the throne. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| With like consent, and like desert, was crown'd | 10 | ··˘/··˘/·· |
| The glorious Prince that does the Turk confound. | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| Victorious both! his conduct wins the day, | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘··· |
| And her example chases vice away; | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Though louder fame attend the martial rage, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/·/˘· |
| 'Tis greater glory to reform the age. | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| 'Royal choice': a royal message, announcing the king's intention to | 17 | /˘··/˘/˘˘/˘··˘/˘· |
| marry the Infanta of Portugal, was delivered in Parliament in May | 18 | /˘·˘/˘·/˘·˘/˘·/˘·· |
| 'Prince': John Sobieski, king of Poland. | 10 | ···˘/˘··/˘ |
Notes from the edition 2
George Gilfillan's notes to the Poetical Works of Edmund Waller and Sir John Denham (1857; Project Gutenberg #12322).
- Stanza 2, line 4 'Royal choice': a royal message, announcing the king's intention to marry the Infanta of Portugal, was delivered in Parliament in May 1661.
- Stanza 3, line 2 'Prince': John Sobieski, king of Poland.
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