Sung by Mrs Knight to Her Majesty, on Her Birthday
This happy day two lights are seen,A glorious saint, a matchless queen;Both named alike, both crown'd appear,The saint above, th'Infanta here.May all those years which CatherineThe martyr did for heaven resign,Be added to the lineOf your bless'd life among us here!For all the pains that she did feel,And all the torments of her wheel,May you as many pleasures share!May heaven itself contentWith Catherine the Saint!Without appearing old,An hundred times may you,With eyes as bright as now,This welcome day behold!
'Matchless queen': Queen Catherine was born on the day set apart inthe calendar for the commemoration of the martyrdom of St.Catherine.
Words in this poem
- 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.]
- martyrdom n.
- The condition of a martyr; the death of a martyr; the suffering of death on account of adherence to the Christian faith, or to any cause. [Martyr + -dom.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sung by Mrs Knight to Her Majesty, on Her Birthday 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, Sung by Mrs Knight to Her Majesty, on Her Birthday, in Poetical Works (1645–1668), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/waller-denham/sung-by-mrs-knight-to-her-majesty-on-her-birthday.html, id L09112.
Form and metre
Sung by Mrs Knight to Her Majesty, on Her Birthday is 20 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 81%). 86% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 20% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 AABBACCBDDBEEF--F seenA · queenA · appearB · hereB · catherineA · resignC · lineC · hereB · feelD · wheelD · shareB · contentE · saintE · oldF · you · now · beholdF
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| This happy day two lights are seen, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A glorious saint, a matchless queen; | 9 | ·/˘˘··/˘· |
| Both named alike, both crown'd appear, | 9 | ··˘˘/··˘/ |
| The saint above, th'Infanta here. | 8 | ········ |
| May all those years which Catherine | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| The martyr did for heaven resign, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘˘/ |
| Be added to the line | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Of your bless'd life among us here! | 8 | ········ |
| For all the pains that she did feel, | 8 | ········ |
| And all the torments of her wheel, | 8 | ···/···· |
| May you as many pleasures share! | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| May heaven itself content | 7 | ·/˘˘//˘ |
| With Catherine the Saint! | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| Without appearing old, | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| An hundred times may you, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| With eyes as bright as now, | 6 | ······ |
| This welcome day behold! | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| 'Matchless queen': Queen Catherine was born on the day set apart in | 15 | /˘··/˘······˘/· |
| the calendar for the commemoration of the martyrdom of St. | 16 | ·/˘··˘·˘/˘··/˘·· |
| Catherine. | 3 | /˘˘ |
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 2 'Matchless queen': Queen Catherine was born on the day set apart in the calendar for the commemoration of the martyrdom of St. Catherine.
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