Of His Majesty's Receiving the News of the Duke of Buckingham's
So earnest with thy God! can no new care,No sense of danger, interrupt thy prayer?The sacred wrestler, till a blessing given,Quits not his hold, but halting conquers Heaven;Nor was the stream of thy devotion stopp'd,When from the body such a limb was lopp'd,As to thy present state was no less maim,Though thy wise choice has since repair'd the same.Bold Homer durst not so great virtue feignIn his best pattern: of Patroclus slain,With such amazement as weak mothers use,And frantic gesture, he receives the news.Yet fell his darling by th'impartial chanceOf war, imposed by royal Hector's lance;Thine, in full peace, and by a vulgar handTorn from thy bosom, left his high command.
The famous painter could allow no placeFor private sorrow in a prince's face:Yet, that his piece might not exceed belief,He cast a veil upon supposed grief.'Twas want of such a precedent as thisMade the old heathen frame their gods amiss.Their Phoebus should not act a fonder partFor the fair boy, than he did for his heart;Nor blame for Hyacinthus' fate his own,That kept from him wish'd death, hadst thou been known.
He that with thine shall weigh good David's deeds,Shall find his passion, nor his love, exceeds:He cursed the mountains where his brave friend died,But let false Ziba with his heir divide;Where thy immortal love to thy bless'd friends,Like that of Heaven, upon their seed descends.Such huge extremes inhabit thy great mind,Godlike, unmoved, and yet, like woman, kind!Which of the ancient poets had not broughtOur Charles's pedigree from Heaven, and taughtHow some bright dame, compress'd by mighty Jove,Produced this mix'd Divinity and Love?
'Buckingham's death': Buckingham was murdered by Felton atPortsmouth, on the 23d of August 1628, while equipping a fleet forthe relief of Rochelle. Lord Lindsey succeeded him. The king was atprayers when the news arrived, and had the resolution to disguisehis emotion till they were over.'Pattern': Achilles.'Painter': Timanthes in his picture of Iphigenia.'Fair boy': Cyparissus.
Words in this poem
- wrestler n.
- One who wrestles; one who is skillful in wrestling. [AS. wræstlere.]
- amazement n.
- The condition of being amazed; bewilderment ; overwhelming wonder, as from surprise, sudden fear, horror, or admiration.
- phoebus n.
- Apollo; the sun god.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- cursed a.
- Deserving a curse; execrable; hateful; detestable; abominable.
- unmoved a.
- Not moved; fixed; firm; unshaken; calm; apathetic.
- pedigree n.
- A line of ancestors; descent; lineage; genealogy; a register or record of a line of ancestors. [Of unknown origin; possibly fr. F. par degrés by degrees, -- for a pedigree is properly a genealogical table which records the relationship of families by degre]
- dame n.
- A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a womam in authority; especially, a lady. [F. dame, LL. domna, fr. L. domina mistress, lady, fem. of dominus master, ruler, lord; akin to domare to tame, subdue. See Tame, and cf. Dam mother, Dan, Danger]
- jove n.
- The chief divinity of the ancient Romans; Jupiter. [L. Jupiter, gen. Jovis, OL. Jovis, nom. & gen. for Djovis; akin to E. Tuesday. See Tuesday, and cf. Jupiter.]
- rochelle n.
- A seaport town in France. Rochelle powders. Same as Seidlitz powders.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Of His Majesty's Receiving the News of the Duke of Buckingham's 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 His Majesty's Receiving the News of the Duke of Buckingham's, in Poetical Works (1645–1668), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/waller-denham/of-his-majesty-s-receiving-the-news-of-the-duke-of-buckingha.html, id L09017.
Form and metre
Of His Majesty's Receiving the News of the Duke of Buckingham's is 46 lines in 4 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 74% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.3 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 26% 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--BBCCDDEEFFGG careA · prayerA · given · heaven · stopp'dB · lopp'dB · maimC · sameC · feignD · slainD · useE · newsE · chanceF · lanceF · handG · commandG
- 2 AABBCCDDEE placeA · faceA · beliefB · griefB · thisC · amissC · partD · heartD · ownE · knownE
- 3 AABBCCDDEE-- deedsA · exceedsA · diedB · divideB · friendsC · descendsC · mindD · kindD · broughtE · taughtE · jove · love
- 4 A-AB-B-- atA · for · atA · disguiseB · over · achillesB · iphigenia · cyparissus
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 |
|---|---|---|
| So earnest with thy God! can no new care, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| No sense of danger, interrupt thy prayer? | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| The sacred wrestler, till a blessing given, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘/ |
| Quits not his hold, but halting conquers Heaven; | 11 | ·····/˘/˘/˘ |
| Nor was the stream of thy devotion stopp'd, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| When from the body such a limb was lopp'd, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| As to thy present state was no less maim, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Though thy wise choice has since repair'd the same. | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Bold Homer durst not so great virtue feign | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| In his best pattern: of Patroclus slain, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| With such amazement as weak mothers use, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| And frantic gesture, he receives the news. | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| Yet fell his darling by th'impartial chance | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Of war, imposed by royal Hector's lance; | 10 | ··˘/·/˘/˘· |
| Thine, in full peace, and by a vulgar hand | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Torn from thy bosom, left his high command. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| The famous painter could allow no place | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| For private sorrow in a prince's face: | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Yet, that his piece might not exceed belief, | 10 | ······˘/˘/ |
| He cast a veil upon supposed grief. | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| 'Twas want of such a precedent as this | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| Made the old heathen frame their gods amiss. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Their Phoebus should not act a fonder part | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| For the fair boy, than he did for his heart; | 10 | ·········· |
| Nor blame for Hyacinthus' fate his own, | 9 | ········· |
| That kept from him wish'd death, hadst thou been known. | 10 | ·········· |
| He that with thine shall weigh good David's deeds, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Shall find his passion, nor his love, exceeds: | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| He cursed the mountains where his brave friend died, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| But let false Ziba with his heir divide; | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Where thy immortal love to thy bless'd friends, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Like that of Heaven, upon their seed descends. | 10 | ···/····˘/ |
| Such huge extremes inhabit thy great mind, | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| Godlike, unmoved, and yet, like woman, kind! | 10 | /˘˘/···/˘· |
| Which of the ancient poets had not brought | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Our Charles's pedigree from Heaven, and taught | 10 | //˘/˘˘·/·· |
| How some bright dame, compress'd by mighty Jove, | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| Produced this mix'd Divinity and Love? | 10 | ˘/··˘/˘˘·· |
| 'Buckingham's death': Buckingham was murdered by Felton at | 14 | /˘··/˘··/˘·/˘· |
| Portsmouth, on the 23d of August 1628, while equipping a fleet for | 15 | /˘····/˘·˘/˘··· |
| the relief of Rochelle. Lord Lindsey succeeded him. The king was at | 17 | ·˘/··/·/˘˘/˘····· |
| prayers when the news arrived, and had the resolution to disguise | 16 | ····˘/····˘/˘·˘/ |
| his emotion till they were over. | 9 | ·˘/˘····· |
| 'Pattern': Achilles. | 5 | /˘˘/˘ |
| 'Painter': Timanthes in his picture of Iphigenia. | 13 | /˘····/˘····· |
| 'Fair boy': Cyparissus. | 6 | ······ |
Notes from the edition 3
George Gilfillan's notes to the Poetical Works of Edmund Waller and Sir John Denham (1857; Project Gutenberg #12322).
- Stanza 1, line 10 'Pattern': Achilles.
- Stanza 2, line 1 'Painter': Timanthes in his picture of Iphigenia.
- Stanza 2, line 8 'Fair boy': Cyparissus.
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