The Fall
See! how the willing earth gave way,To take th'impression where she lay.See! how the mould, as both to leaveSo sweet a burden, still doth cleaveClose to the nymph's stain'd garment. HereThe coming spring would first appear,And all this place with roses strow,If busy feet would let them grow.Here Venus smiled to see blind chanceItself before her son advance,And a fair image to present,Of what the boy so long had meant.'Twas such a chance as this, made allThe world into this order fall;Thus the first lovers, on the clay,Of which they were composéd, lay;So in their prime, with equal grace,Met the first patterns of our race.Then blush not, fair! or on him frown,Or wonder how you both came down;But touch him, and he'll tremble straight,How could he then support your weight?How could the youth, alas! but bend,When his whole heaven upon him lean'd?If aught by him amiss were done,'Twas that he let you rise so soon.
Words in this poem
- mould n.
- Crumbling, soft, friable earth; esp., earth containing the remains or constituents of organic matter, and suited to the growth of plants; soil. [OE. molde, AS. molde; akin to D. mul, G. mull, mulm, OHG. molt, molta, Icel. mold, Dan. muld, Sw. mull, Goth. mulda, and E. meal flour. See Meal, and cf. Mole a]
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Fall 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 Fall, in Poetical Works (1645–1668), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/waller-denham/the-fall.html, id L09046.
Form and metre
The Fall is 26 lines in a single stanza. It is in rhyming couplets, 85% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 19% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, 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 AABBCCDDEEFFGGAAHHIIJJ---- wayA · layA · leaveB · cleaveB · hereC · appearC · strowD · growD · chanceE · advanceE · presentF · meantF · allG · fallG · clayA · layA · graceH · raceH · frownI · downI · straightJ · weightJ · bend · lean'd · done · soon
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 |
|---|---|---|
| See! how the willing earth gave way, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To take th'impression where she lay. | 8 | ········ |
| See! how the mould, as both to leave | 8 | ········ |
| So sweet a burden, still doth cleave | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Close to the nymph's stain'd garment. Here | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The coming spring would first appear, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| And all this place with roses strow, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| If busy feet would let them grow. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Here Venus smiled to see blind chance | 9 | ·/˘·˘···· |
| Itself before her son advance, | 8 | ˘/····˘/ |
| And a fair image to present, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Of what the boy so long had meant. | 8 | ········ |
| 'Twas such a chance as this, made all | 8 | ········ |
| The world into this order fall; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Thus the first lovers, on the clay, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Of which they were composéd, lay; | 7 | ······· |
| So in their prime, with equal grace, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Met the first patterns of our race. | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| Then blush not, fair! or on him frown, | 8 | ········ |
| Or wonder how you both came down; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But touch him, and he'll tremble straight, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| How could he then support your weight? | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| How could the youth, alas! but bend, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| When his whole heaven upon him lean'd? | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| If aught by him amiss were done, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| 'Twas that he let you rise so soon. | 8 | ········ |
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.