To My Lord of Falkland
Brave Holland leads, and with him Falkland goes:Who hears this told, and does not straight supposeWe send the Graces and the Muses forthTo civilise and to instruct the north?Not that these ornaments make swords less sharp;Apollo bears as well his bow as harp;And though he be the patron of that spring,Where, in calm peace, the sacred virgins sing,He courage had to guard th'invaded throneOf Jove, and cast th'ambitious giants down.
Ah, noble friend! with what impatience allThat know thy worth, and know how prodigalOf thy great soul thou art (longing to twistBays with that ivy which so early kiss'dThy youthful temples), with what horror weThink on the blind events of war and thee!To fate exposing that all-knowing breastAmong the throng, as cheaply as the rest;Where oaks and brambles (if the copse be burn'd)Confounded lie, to the same ashes turn'd.
Some happy wind over the ocean blowThis tempest yet, which frights our island so!Guarded with ships, and all the sea our own,From heaven this mischief on our heads is thrown.
In a late dream, the genius of this land,Amazed, I saw, like the fair Hebrew, stand,When first she felt the twins begin to jar,And found her womb the seat of civil war.Inclined to whose relief, and with presageOf better fortune for the present age,Heaven sends, quoth I, this discord for our good,To warm, perhaps, but not to waste our blood;To raise our drooping spirits, grown the scornOf our proud neighbours, who ere long shall mourn(Though now they joy in our expected harms)We had occasion to resume our arms.
A lion so with self-provoking smart(His rebel tail scourging his nobler part)Calls up his courage; then begins to roar,And charge his foes, who thought him mad before.
'Lord of Falkland': referring to the unsuccessful expedition ofCharles I. against Scotland in 1639, frustrated by the cowardice ortreachery of Lord Holland.'Bow as harp': Horace, Ode iv., lib. 3.'Twins begin to jar': Gen. xxv. 22.
Words in this poem
- civilise v. t.
- To reclaim from a savage state; to instruct in the rules and customs of civilization; to educate; to refine. [Cf. F. civilizer, fr.L. civilis civil. See Civil.]
- instruct a.
- Arranged; furnished; provided. [L. instructus, p. p. of instruere to furnish, provide, construct, instruct; pref. in- in, struere. See Structure.]
- 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.]
- cheaply adv.
- At a small price; at a low value; in a common or inferior manner.
- copse n.
- A wood of small growth; a thicket of brushwood. See Coppice. [Contr. from coppice.]
- womb n.
- The belly; the abdomen. [OE. wombe, wambe, AS. wamb, womb; akin to D. wam belly, OS. & OHG. wamba, G. wamme, wampe, Icel. vömb, Sw. v&mb, Dan. vom, Goth. wamba.]
- quoth v. t.
- Said; spoke; uttered; -- used only in the first and third persons in the past tenses, and always followed by its nominative, the word or words said being the object; as, quoth I. quoth he. [AS.cweedhan, imp cwæedh, pl. cwædon; akin to OS. queedhan, OHG. quethan, quedan, Icel. kveedha, Goth. qiþan. sq. root22. Cf. Bequeath.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- resume n.
- A summing up; a condensed statement; an abridgment or brief recapitulation. [F. See Resume.]
- rebel a.
- Pertaining to rebels or rebellion; acting in revolt; rebellious; as, rebel troops. [F. rebelle, fr. L. rebellis. See Rebel, v. t.]
- unsuccessful a.
- Not successful; not producing the desired event; not fortunate; meeting with, or resulting in, failure; unlucky; unhappy.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To My Lord of Falkland 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 My Lord of Falkland, in Poetical Works (1645–1668), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/waller-denham/to-my-lord-of-falkland.html, id L09083.
Form and metre
To My Lord of Falkland is 45 lines in 6 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 84% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.2 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 36% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 AABBCCDD-- goesA · supposeA · forthB · northB · sharpC · harpC · springD · singD · throne · down
- 2 AABBCCDDEE allA · prodigalA · twistB · kiss'dB · weC · theeC · breastD · restD · burn'dE · turn'dE
- 3 AABB blowA · soA · ownB · thrownB
- 4 AA--BBCCDDEE landA · standA · jar · war · presageB · ageB · goodC · bloodC · scornD · mournD · harmsE · armsE
- 5 AABB smartA · partA · roarB · beforeB
- 6 ---AA of · or · holland · — · —
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Brave Holland leads, and with him Falkland goes: | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Who hears this told, and does not straight suppose | 10 | ········˘/ |
| We send the Graces and the Muses forth | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| To civilise and to instruct the north? | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| Not that these ornaments make swords less sharp; | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Apollo bears as well his bow as harp; | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| And though he be the patron of that spring, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Where, in calm peace, the sacred virgins sing, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| He courage had to guard th'invaded throne | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Of Jove, and cast th'ambitious giants down. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Ah, noble friend! with what impatience all | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| That know thy worth, and know how prodigal | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Of thy great soul thou art (longing to twist | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| Bays with that ivy which so early kiss'd | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Thy youthful temples), with what horror we | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Think on the blind events of war and thee! | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| To fate exposing that all-knowing breast | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Among the throng, as cheaply as the rest; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Where oaks and brambles (if the copse be burn'd) | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Confounded lie, to the same ashes turn'd. | 10 | ˘/˘····/˘· |
| Some happy wind over the ocean blow | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| This tempest yet, which frights our island so! | 10 | ·/˘···//˘· |
| Guarded with ships, and all the sea our own, | 10 | /˘······/· |
| From heaven this mischief on our heads is thrown. | 10 | ·/·/˘·/··· |
| In a late dream, the genius of this land, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Amazed, I saw, like the fair Hebrew, stand, | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| When first she felt the twins begin to jar, | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| And found her womb the seat of civil war. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Inclined to whose relief, and with presage | 10 | ˘/··˘/··/˘ |
| Of better fortune for the present age, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Heaven sends, quoth I, this discord for our good, | 10 | /····/˘·/· |
| To warm, perhaps, but not to waste our blood; | 10 | ··˘/····/· |
| To raise our drooping spirits, grown the scorn | 10 | ··//˘/˘··· |
| Of our proud neighbours, who ere long shall mourn | 10 | ·/·/˘····· |
| (Though now they joy in our expected harms) | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| We had occasion to resume our arms. | 10 | ··˘/˘·˘//· |
| A lion so with self-provoking smart | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| (His rebel tail scourging his nobler part) | 10 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘· |
| Calls up his courage; then begins to roar, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| And charge his foes, who thought him mad before. | 10 | ·········· |
| 'Lord of Falkland': referring to the unsuccessful expedition of | 18 | ··/˘˘/˘···˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| Charles I. against Scotland in 1639, frustrated by the cowardice or | 15 | ····/˘·/·˘··/˘· |
| treachery of Lord Holland. | 7 | /˘˘··/˘ |
| 'Bow as harp': Horace, Ode iv., lib. 3. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| 'Twins begin to jar': Gen. xxv. 22. | 9 | ·˘/··/˘˘· |
Notes from the edition 2
George Gilfillan's notes to the Poetical Works of Edmund Waller and Sir John Denham (1857; Project Gutenberg #12322).
- Stanza 1, line 6 'Bow as harp': Horace, Ode iv., lib. 3.
- Stanza 4, line 3 'Twins begin to jar': Gen. xxv. 22.
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