To a Lady, from Whom He Received the Copy of the Poem Entitled 'Of a Tree Cut in Paper,' Which for Many Years Had Been Lost
Nothing lies hid from radiant eyes;All they subdue become their spies.Secrets, as choicest jewels, arePresented to oblige the fair;No wonder, then, that a lost thoughtShould there be found, where souls are caught.
The picture of fair Venus (thatFor which men say the goddess sat)Was lost, till Lely from your bookAgain that glorious image took.
If Virtue's self were lost, we mightFrom your fair mind new copies write.All things but one you can restore;The heart you get returns no more.
Words in this poem
- oblige v. t.
- To attach, as by a bond. [OF. obligier, F.obliger, L. obligare; ob (see Ob-) + ligare to bind. See Ligament, and cf. Obligate.]
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To a Lady, from Whom He Received the Copy of the Poem Entitled 'Of a Tree Cut in Paper,' Which for Many Years Had Been Lost 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, To a Lady, from Whom He Received the Copy of the Poem Entitled 'Of a Tree Cut in Paper,' Which for Many Years Had Been Lost, in Cooper's Hill, and Other Poems (1645–1668), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/waller-denham/to-a-lady-from-whom-he-received-the-copy-of-the-poem-entitled-of-a-tree-cut-in-paper-which-for-many-years-had-been-lost.html, id L26325.
Form and metre
To a Lady, from Whom He Received the Copy of the Poem Entitled 'Of a Tree Cut in Paper,' Which for Many Years Had Been Lost is 14 lines in 3 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is AABB, complete in 2 of its 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
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 AA--BB eyesA · spiesA · are · fair · thoughtB · caughtB
- 2 AABB thatA · satA · bookB · tookB
- 3 AABB mightA · writeA · restoreB · moreB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Nothing lies hid from radiant eyes; | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| All they subdue become their spies. | 8 | ··˘/˘/·· |
| Secrets, as choicest jewels, are | 8 | /˘·/˘/˘· |
| Presented to oblige the fair; | 8 | ˘/˘·˘/·· |
| No wonder, then, that a lost thought | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Should there be found, where souls are caught. | 8 | ········ |
| The picture of fair Venus (that | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| For which men say the goddess sat) | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Was lost, till Lely from your book | 8 | ········ |
| Again that glorious image took. | 8 | ˘/·/˘/˘· |
| If Virtue's self were lost, we might | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| From your fair mind new copies write. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| All things but one you can restore; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The heart you get returns no more. | 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.