On My Lady Dorothy Sidney's Picture
Such was Philoclea, and such Dorus' flame!The matchless Sidney, that immortal frameOf perfect beauty on two pillars placed,Not his high fancy could one pattern, gracedWith such extremes of excellence, compose;Wonders so distant in one face disclose!Such cheerful modesty, such humble state,Moves certain love, but with as doubtful fateAs when, beyond our greedy reach, we seeInviting fruit on too sublime a tree.All the rich flowers through his Arcadia found,Amazed we see in this one garland bound.Had but this copy (which the artist tookFrom the fair picture of that noble book)Stood at Kalander's, the brave friends had jarr'd,And, rivals made, th'ensuing story marr'd.Just nature, first instructed by his thought,In his own house thus practised what he taught;This glorious piece transcends what he could think,So much his blood is nobler than his ink!
'Dorothy Sidney': see Life for an account of 'Saccharissa.''Philoclea and Dorus': the reader may turn for these names and theirhistories, to the glorious, flowery wilderness of the 'Arcadia.'Sidney was granduncle to Dorothy.
Words in this poem
- graced a.
- Endowed with grace; beautiful; full of graces; honorable.
- inviting a.
- Alluring; tempting; as, an inviting amusement or prospect.
- arcadia n.
- A mountainous and picturesque district of Greece, in the heart of the Peloponnesus, whose people were distinguished for contentment and rural happiness.
- artist n.
- One who practices some mechanic art or craft; an artisan. [F. artiste, LL. artista, fr. L. ars. See Art, n., and cf. Artiste.]
- 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.]
- granduncle n.
- father's or mother's uncle. [Cf. F. grand-oncle.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On My Lady Dorothy Sidney's Picture 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, On My Lady Dorothy Sidney's Picture, in Poetical Works (1645–1668), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/waller-denham/on-my-lady-dorothy-sidney-s-picture.html, id L09023.
Form and metre
On My Lady Dorothy Sidney's Picture is 24 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 81%). 90% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.6 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJ flameA · frameA · placedB · gracedB · composeC · discloseC · stateD · fateD · seeE · treeE · foundF · boundF · tookG · bookG · jarr'dH · marr'dH · thoughtI · taughtI · thinkJ · inkJ
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Such was Philoclea, and such Dorus' flame! | 10 | ·········· |
| The matchless Sidney, that immortal frame | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Of perfect beauty on two pillars placed, | 10 | ·/·/˘··/˘· |
| Not his high fancy could one pattern, graced | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| With such extremes of excellence, compose; | 10 | ··˘/·/˘˘˘/ |
| Wonders so distant in one face disclose! | 10 | /˘·/˘···˘/ |
| Such cheerful modesty, such humble state, | 10 | ·/˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| Moves certain love, but with as doubtful fate | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| As when, beyond our greedy reach, we see | 10 | ····//˘··· |
| Inviting fruit on too sublime a tree. | 10 | ˘/˘···˘/·· |
| All the rich flowers through his Arcadia found, | 10 | ···/··˘/˘· |
| Amazed we see in this one garland bound. | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| Had but this copy (which the artist took | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| From the fair picture of that noble book) | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Stood at Kalander's, the brave friends had jarr'd, | 10 | ·········· |
| And, rivals made, th'ensuing story marr'd. | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| Just nature, first instructed by his thought, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| In his own house thus practised what he taught; | 10 | ·········· |
| This glorious piece transcends what he could think, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| So much his blood is nobler than his ink! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| 'Dorothy Sidney': see Life for an account of 'Saccharissa.' | 15 | /˘/˘····˘/····· |
| 'Philoclea and Dorus': the reader may turn for these names and their | 16 | ·······/˘······· |
| histories, to the glorious, flowery wilderness of the 'Arcadia.' | 15 | /˘··/˘/˘/˘··˘/˘ |
| Sidney was granduncle to Dorothy. | 10 | /˘·//˘·/˘˘ |
Notes from the edition 1
George Gilfillan's notes to the Poetical Works of Edmund Waller and Sir John Denham (1857; Project Gutenberg #12322).
- Stanza 1, line 20 'Philoclea and Dorus': the reader may turn for these names and their histories, to the glorious, flowery wilderness of the 'Arcadia.' Sidney was granduncle to Dorothy.
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