To Amoret
Fair! that you may truly knowWhat you unto Thyrsis owe,I will tell you how I doSaccharissa love and you.
Joy salutes me, when I setMy bless'd eyes on Amoret;But with wonder I am strook,While I on the other look.
If sweet Amoret complains,I have sense of all her pains;But for Saccharissa IDo not only grieve, but die.
All that of myself is mine,Lovely Amoret! is thine;Saccharissa's captive fainWould untie his iron chain,And, those scorching beams to shun,To thy gentle shadow run.
If the soul had free electionTo dispose of her affection,I would not thus long have borneHaughty Saccharissa's scorn;But 'tis sure some power above,Which controls our wills in love!
If not love, a strong desireTo create and spread that fireIn my breast, solicits me,Beauteous Amoret! for thee.
'Tis amazement more than love,Which her radiant eyes do move;If less splendour wait on thine,Yet they so benignly shine,I would turn my dazzled sightTo behold their milder light;But as hard 'tis to destroyThat high flame, as to enjoy;Which how eas'ly I may do,Heaven (as eas'ly scaled) does know!
Amoret! as sweet and goodAs the most delicious food,Which, but tested, does impartLife and gladness to the heart.
Saccharissa's beauty's wine,Which to madness doth incline;Such a liquor as no brainThat is mortal can sustain.
Scarce can I to heaven excuseThe devotion which I useUnto that adorèd dame;For 'tis not unlike the sameWhich I thither ought to send;So that if it could take end,'Twould to heaven itself be dueTo succeed her, and not you,Who already have of meAll that's not idolatry;Which, though not so fierce a flame,Is longer like to be the same.
Then smile on me, and I will proveWonder is shorter-liv'd than love.
Words in this poem
- amoret n.
- An amorous girl or woman; a wanton. J. Warton. [OF. amorette, F. amourette, dim. of amour.]
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- scorching a.
- Burning; parching or shriveling with heat.
- haughty a.
- High; lofty; bold. [OE. hautein, F. hautain, fr. haut high, OF. also halt, fr. L. altus. See Altitude.]
- beauteous a.
- Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
- amazement n.
- The condition of being amazed; bewilderment ; overwhelming wonder, as from surprise, sudden fear, horror, or admiration.
- splendour n.
- Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
- benignly adv.
- In a benign manner.
- scaled a.
- Covered with scales, or scalelike structures; -- said of a fish, a reptile, a moth, etc.
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- 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]
- ought p. p.
- Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To Amoret 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 Amoret, in Poetical Works (1645–1668), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/waller-denham/to-amoret.html, id L09082.
Form and metre
To Amoret is 60 lines in 11 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 87% of the lines. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.2 syllables. 6 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 rhyming couplets, other poems in trochaic 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 AABB knowA · oweA · doB · youB
- 2 --AA set · amoret · strookA · lookA
- 3 AABB complainsA · painsA · iB · dieB
- 4 AABBCC mineA · thineA · fainB · chainB · shunC · runC
- 5 AABBCC electionA · affectionA · borneB · scornB · aboveC · loveC
- 6 AABB desireA · fireA · meB · theeB
- 7 AABBCCDD-- loveA · moveA · thineB · shineB · sightC · lightC · destroyD · enjoyD · do · know
- 8 --AA good · food · impartA · heartA
- 9 AABB wineA · inclineA · brainB · sustainB
- 10 AABBCCDD--BB excuseA · useA · dameB · sameB · sendC · endC · dueD · youD · me · idolatry · flameB · sameB
- 11 AA proveA · loveA
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Fair! that you may truly know | 7 | ····/˘· |
| What you unto Thyrsis owe, | 7 | ······· |
| I will tell you how I do | 7 | ······· |
| Saccharissa love and you. | 7 | ······· |
| Joy salutes me, when I set | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| My bless'd eyes on Amoret; | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| But with wonder I am strook, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| While I on the other look. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| If sweet Amoret complains, | 7 | ··/˘˘˘/ |
| I have sense of all her pains; | 7 | ······· |
| But for Saccharissa I | 7 | ······· |
| Do not only grieve, but die. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| All that of myself is mine, | 7 | ····/·· |
| Lovely Amoret! is thine; | 7 | /˘/˘˘·· |
| Saccharissa's captive fain | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Would untie his iron chain, | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| And, those scorching beams to shun, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| To thy gentle shadow run. | 7 | ··/˘/·· |
| If the soul had free election | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| To dispose of her affection, | 8 | ·˘/··˘/˘ |
| I would not thus long have borne | 7 | ······· |
| Haughty Saccharissa's scorn; | 7 | /˘····· |
| But 'tis sure some power above, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Which controls our wills in love! | 8 | ·˘//˘··· |
| If not love, a strong desire | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| To create and spread that fire | 8 | ·˘/···/˘ |
| In my breast, solicits me, | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| Beauteous Amoret! for thee. | 8 | /˘˘/˘˘·· |
| 'Tis amazement more than love, | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| Which her radiant eyes do move; | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| If less splendour wait on thine, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Yet they so benignly shine, | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| I would turn my dazzled sight | 7 | ····/˘· |
| To behold their milder light; | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| But as hard 'tis to destroy | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| That high flame, as to enjoy; | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Which how eas'ly I may do, | 7 | ······· |
| Heaven (as eas'ly scaled) does know! | 9 | /˘····˘·· |
| Amoret! as sweet and good | 7 | /˘˘···· |
| As the most delicious food, | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| Which, but tested, does impart | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Life and gladness to the heart. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Saccharissa's beauty's wine, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Which to madness doth incline; | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Such a liquor as no brain | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| That is mortal can sustain. | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Scarce can I to heaven excuse | 8 | ····/˘˘/ |
| The devotion which I use | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| Unto that adorèd dame; | 6 | ······ |
| For 'tis not unlike the same | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| Which I thither ought to send; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| So that if it could take end, | 7 | ······· |
| 'Twould to heaven itself be due | 8 | ··/˘˘/·· |
| To succeed her, and not you, | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| Who already have of me | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| All that's not idolatry; | 7 | ···˘/˘˘ |
| Which, though not so fierce a flame, | 7 | ······· |
| Is longer like to be the same. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Then smile on me, and I will prove | 8 | ········ |
| Wonder is shorter-liv'd than love. | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
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