Of the Misreport of Her Being Painted
As when a sort of wolves infest the nightWith their wild howlings at fair Cynthia's light,The noise may chase sweet slumber from our eyes,But never reach the mistress of the skies;So with the news of Saccharissa's wrongs,Her vexed servants blame those envious tongues;Call Love to witness that no painted fireCan scorch men so, or kindle such desire;While, unconcern'd, she seems moved no moreWith this new malice than our loves before;But from the height of her great mind looks downOn both our passions without smile or frown.So little care of what is done belowHath the bright dame whom Heaven affecteth so!Paints her, 'tis true, with the same hand which spreadsLike glorious colours through the flow'ry meads,When lavish Nature, with her best attire,Clothes the gay spring, the season of desire;Paints her, 'tis true, and does her cheek adornWith the same art wherewith she paints the morn;With the same art wherewith she gildeth soThose painted clouds which form Thaumantias' bow.
Words in this poem
- envious a.
- Malignant; mischievous; spiteful. [OF. envios, F. envieux, fr. L. invidiosus, fr. invidia envy. See Envy, and cf. Invidious.]
- 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]
- 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]
- 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.]
- wherewith adv.
- With which; -- used relatively.
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Of the Misreport of Her Being Painted 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 the Misreport of Her Being Painted, in Cooper's Hill, and Other Poems (1645–1668), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/waller-denham/of-the-misreport-of-her-being-painted.html, id L09026.
Form and metre
Of the Misreport of Her Being Painted is 22 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.3 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 36% 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKK nightA · lightA · eyesB · skiesB · wrongsC · tonguesC · fireD · desireD · moreE · beforeE · downF · frownF · belowG · soG · spreadsH · meadsH · attireI · desireI · adornJ · mornJ · soK · bowK
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 when a sort of wolves infest the night | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| With their wild howlings at fair Cynthia's light, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| The noise may chase sweet slumber from our eyes, | 10 | ·····/˘·/· |
| But never reach the mistress of the skies; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| So with the news of Saccharissa's wrongs, | 10 | ·········· |
| Her vexed servants blame those envious tongues; | 10 | ··/˘··/˘˘· |
| Call Love to witness that no painted fire | 11 | ···/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Can scorch men so, or kindle such desire; | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| While, unconcern'd, she seems moved no more | 10 | ··˘/···˘·· |
| With this new malice than our loves before; | 10 | ···/˘·/··· |
| But from the height of her great mind looks down | 10 | ·········· |
| On both our passions without smile or frown. | 10 | ··//˘····· |
| So little care of what is done below | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Hath the bright dame whom Heaven affecteth so! | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Paints her, 'tis true, with the same hand which spreads | 10 | ·········· |
| Like glorious colours through the flow'ry meads, | 12 | ·/˘/˘······· |
| When lavish Nature, with her best attire, | 11 | ·/˘/˘···˘/˘ |
| Clothes the gay spring, the season of desire; | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| Paints her, 'tis true, and does her cheek adorn | 10 | ········˘/ |
| With the same art wherewith she paints the morn; | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| With the same art wherewith she gildeth so | 10 | ····˘/·/˘· |
| Those painted clouds which form Thaumantias' bow. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
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.