Of Her Passing Through a Crowd of People
As in old chaos (heaven with earth confused,And stars with rocks together crush'd and bruised)The sun his light no further could extendThan the next hill, which on his shoulders lean'd;So in this throng bright Saccharissa fared,Oppress'd by those who strove to be her guard;As ships, though never so obsequious, fallFoul in a tempest on their admiral.A greater favour this disorder broughtUnto her servants than their awful thoughtDurst entertain, when thus compell'd they press'dThe yielding marble of her snowy breast.While love insults, disguised in the cloud,And welcome force, of that unruly crowd.So th'am'rous tree, while yet the air is calm,Just distance keeps from his desired palm;But when the wind her ravish'd branches throwsInto his arms, and mingles all their boughs,Though loth he seems her tender leaves to press,More loth he is that friendly storm should cease,From whose rude bounty he the double useAt once receives, of pleasure and excuse.
Words in this poem
- chaos n.
- An empty, immeasurable space; a yawning chasm. [L. chaos chaos (in senses 1 & 2), Gr. Chasm.]
- obsequious a.
- Promptly obedient, or submissive, to the will of another; compliant; yielding to the desires of another; devoted. [L.obsequiosus, fr. obsequium compliance, fr. obsequi, fr. obsequi: cf. F. obséquieux, See Obsequent, and cf. Obsequy.]
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- snowy a.
- White like snow.
- bounty n.
- Goodness, kindness; virtue; worth. [OE. bounte goodness, kindness, F. bonté, fr. L. bonitas, fr. bonus good, for older duonus; cf. Skr. duvas honor, respect.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Of Her Passing Through a Crowd of People 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 Passing Through a Crowd of People, in Poetical Works (1645–1668), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/waller-denham/of-her-passing-through-a-crowd-of-people.html, id L09027.
Form and metre
Of Her Passing Through a Crowd of People is 22 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 64% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 32% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 AA----BBCCDDEEFF----GG confusedA · bruisedA · extend · lean'd · fared · guard · fallB · admiralB · broughtC · thoughtC · press'dD · breastD · cloudE · crowdE · calmF · palmF · throws · boughs · press · cease · useG · excuseG
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 |
|---|---|---|
| As in old chaos (heaven with earth confused, | 10 | ···/˘/··˘/ |
| And stars with rocks together crush'd and bruised) | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| The sun his light no further could extend | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Than the next hill, which on his shoulders lean'd; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| So in this throng bright Saccharissa fared, | 10 | ·········· |
| Oppress'd by those who strove to be her guard; | 10 | ˘/········ |
| As ships, though never so obsequious, fall | 10 | ···/·˘/˘˘· |
| Foul in a tempest on their admiral. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| A greater favour this disorder brought | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Unto her servants than their awful thought | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Durst entertain, when thus compell'd they press'd | 10 | ··˘/··˘/·· |
| The yielding marble of her snowy breast. | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| While love insults, disguised in the cloud, | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| And welcome force, of that unruly crowd. | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| So th'am'rous tree, while yet the air is calm, | 10 | ·········· |
| Just distance keeps from his desired palm; | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| But when the wind her ravish'd branches throws | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Into his arms, and mingles all their boughs, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Though loth he seems her tender leaves to press, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| More loth he is that friendly storm should cease, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| From whose rude bounty he the double use | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| At once receives, of pleasure and excuse. | 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).
- Line 13 'Insults': exults.
- Line 16 'Palm': Ovalle informs us that the palm-trees in Chili have this wonderful property, that they never will bear any fruit but when they are planted near each other; and when they find one standing barren by itself, if they plant another, be it never so small (which they call the female), it will become prolific.--FENTON.
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