The Countess of Carlisle in Mourning
When from black clouds no part of sky is clear,But just so much as lets the sun appear,Heaven then would seem thy image, and reflectThose sable vestments, and that bright aspect.A spark of virtue by the deepest shadeOf sad adversity is fairer made;Nor less advantage doth thy beauty get,A Venus rising from a sea of jet!Such was th'appearance of new-formed light,While yet it struggled with eternal night.Then mourn no more, lest thou admit increaseOf glory by thy noble lord's decease.We find not that the laughter-loving dameMourn'd for Anchises; 'twas enough she cameTo grace the mortal with her deathless bed,And that his living eyes such beauty fed;Had she been there, untimely joy, through allMen's hearts diffused, had marr'd the funeral.Those eyes were made to banish grief: as wellBright Phoebus might affect in shades to dwell,As they to put on sorrow: nothing stands,But power to grieve, exempt from thy commands.If thou lament, thou must do so alone;Grief in thy presence can lay hold on none.Yet still persist the memory to loveOf that great Mercury of our mighty Jove,Who, by the power of his enchanting tongue,Swords from the hands of threat'ning monarchs wrung.War he prevented, or soon made it cease,Instructing princes in the arts of peace;Such as made Sheba's curious queen resortTo the large-hearted Hebrew's famous court.Had Homer sat amongst his wond'ring guests,He might have learn'd at those stupendous feasts,With greater bounty, and more sacred state,The banquets of the gods to celebrate.But oh! what elocution might he use,What potent charms, that could so soon infuseHis absent master's love into the heartOf Henrietta! forcing her to partFrom her loved brother, country, and the sun,And, like Camilla, o'er the waves to runInto his arms! while the Parisian damesMourn for the ravish'd glory; at her flamesNo less amazed than the amazèd stars,When the bold charmer of Thessalia warsWith Heaven itself, and numbers does repeat,Which call descending Cynthia from her seat.
'Mourning': Carlisle was a luxurious liver, and died in 1636, poor,but, like many spendthrifts, popular. He had represented PrinceCharles at his marriage with Princess Henrietta at Paris.'Dame': Venus.
Words in this poem 15
- sable n.
- A carnivorous animal of the Weasel family (Mustela zibellina) native of the northern latitudes of Europe, Asia, and America, -- noted for its fine, soft, and valuable fur. [OF. sable, F. zibeline sable (in sense 4), LL. sabellum; cf. D. sabel, Dan. sabel, zobel, Sw. sabel, sobel, G. zobel; all fr. Russ. sóbole.]
- adversity n.
- Opposition; contrariety. Wyclif. [OE. adversite, F. adversité, fr. L. adversitas.]
- 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]
- deathless a.
- Not subject to death, destruction, or extinction; immortal; undying; imperishable; as, deathless beings; deathless fame.
- phoebus n.
- Apollo; the sun god.
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- 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.]
- curious a.
- Difficult to please or satisfy; solicitous to be correct; careful; scrupulous; nice; exact. [OF. curios, curius, F. curieux, L. curiosus careful, inquisitive, fr. cura care. See Cure.]
- amongst prep.
- Mixed or mingled; surrounded by. [OE. amongist, amonges, amonge, among, AS. onmang, ongemang, gemang, in a crowd or mixture. For the ending -st see Amidst. See Mingle.]
- stupendous a.
- Astonishing; wonderful; amazing; especially, astonishing in magnitude or elevation; as, a stupendous pile. [L. stupendus astonishing, p. future pass. of stupere to be astonished at. Cf. Stupid.]
- 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.]
- elocution n.
- Utterance by speech. [L. elocutio, fr. eloqui, elocutus, to speak out: cf. F. élocution. See Eloquent.]
- parisian n.
- A native or inhabitant of Paris, the capital of France. [Cf. F. parisen.]
- charmer n.
- One who charms, or has power to charm; one who uses the power of enchantment; a magician. Deut. xviii. 11.
- princess n.
- A female prince; a woman having sovereign power, or the rank of a prince. [F. princesse. See Prince, and cf. Princesse.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Countess of Carlisle in Mourning 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, The Countess of Carlisle in Mourning, in Cooper's Hill, and Other Poems (1645–1668), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/waller-denham/the-countess-of-carlisle-in-mourning.html, id L09020.
Form and metre
The Countess of Carlisle in Mourning is 52 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 33% 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOOPPQQRRSSTTUUVVWWXX clearA · appearA · reflectB · aspectB · shadeC · madeC · getD · jetD · lightE · nightE · increaseF · deceaseF · dameG · cameG · bedH · fedH · allI · funeralI · wellJ · dwellJ · standsK · commandsK · aloneL · noneL · loveM · joveM · tongueN · wrungN · ceaseO · peaceO · resortP · courtP · guestsQ · feastsQ · stateR · celebrateR · useS · infuseS · heartT · partT · sunU · runU · damesV · flamesV · starsW · warsW · repeatX · seatX
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When from black clouds no part of sky is clear, | 10 | ·········· |
| But just so much as lets the sun appear, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Heaven then would seem thy image, and reflect | 10 | /····/˘·˘/ |
| Those sable vestments, and that bright aspect. | 10 | ·/˘·····/· |
| A spark of virtue by the deepest shade | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Of sad adversity is fairer made; | 10 | ··˘/˘˘·/˘· |
| Nor less advantage doth thy beauty get, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| A Venus rising from a sea of jet! | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Such was th'appearance of new-formed light, | 10 | ········˘· |
| While yet it struggled with eternal night. | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Then mourn no more, lest thou admit increase | 10 | ······˘/˘/ |
| Of glory by thy noble lord's decease. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| We find not that the laughter-loving dame | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Mourn'd for Anchises; 'twas enough she came | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| To grace the mortal with her deathless bed, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And that his living eyes such beauty fed; | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Had she been there, untimely joy, through all | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| Men's hearts diffused, had marr'd the funeral. | 10 | ··˘/···/˘˘ |
| Those eyes were made to banish grief: as well | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Bright Phoebus might affect in shades to dwell, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| As they to put on sorrow: nothing stands, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| But power to grieve, exempt from thy commands. | 10 | ·/··˘/··˘/ |
| If thou lament, thou must do so alone; | 10 | ··˘/····˘/ |
| Grief in thy presence can lay hold on none. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Yet still persist the memory to love | 10 | ··˘/·/˘˘·· |
| Of that great Mercury of our mighty Jove, | 10 | ···/˘·//˘· |
| Who, by the power of his enchanting tongue, | 10 | ···/··˘/˘· |
| Swords from the hands of threat'ning monarchs wrung. | 10 | ·······/·· |
| War he prevented, or soon made it cease, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Instructing princes in the arts of peace; | 10 | ˘/˘/˘····· |
| Such as made Sheba's curious queen resort | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| To the large-hearted Hebrew's famous court. | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Had Homer sat amongst his wond'ring guests, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| He might have learn'd at those stupendous feasts, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| With greater bounty, and more sacred state, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| The banquets of the gods to celebrate. | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| But oh! what elocution might he use, | 10 | ····˘/˘··· |
| What potent charms, that could so soon infuse | 10 | ·/˘·····˘/ |
| His absent master's love into the heart | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Of Henrietta! forcing her to part | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| From her loved brother, country, and the sun, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| And, like Camilla, o'er the waves to run | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Into his arms! while the Parisian dames | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Mourn for the ravish'd glory; at her flames | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| No less amazed than the amazèd stars, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| When the bold charmer of Thessalia wars | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| With Heaven itself, and numbers does repeat, | 10 | ·/˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| Which call descending Cynthia from her seat. | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| 'Mourning': Carlisle was a luxurious liver, and died in 1636, poor, | 15 | /˘/···˘/˘/˘···· |
| but, like many spendthrifts, popular. He had represented Prince | 14 | ··//·/˘···˘/˘· |
| Charles at his marriage with Princess Henrietta at Paris. | 15 | ···/˘·/˘·˘/˘·/˘ |
| 'Dame': Venus. | 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 13 'Dame': Venus.
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