On the Following Work and Its Author
A verse may find him who a sermon flies,Saith Herbert well. Great truths to dress in Meter,Becomes a Preacher, who men's Souls doth prize,That Truth in Sugar roll'd may taste the sweeter.No cost too great, no care too curious isTo set forth Truth and win men's Souls to bliss.
In costly Verse, and most laborious Rhymes,Are dish'd up here Truths worthy most regard:No Toys, nor Fables (Poets' wonted crimes)Here be, but things of worth, with wit prepar'd.Reader, fall to, and if thy taste be good,Thou'lt praise the Cook, and say, 'Tis choicest Food.
David's affliction bred us many a Psalm,From Caves, from mouth of Graves that Singer sweetOft tun'd his Soul-felt notes: for not in 's calm,But storms, to write most Psalms God made him meet.Affliction turn'd his Pen to Poetry,Whose serious strains do here before thee lie.
This man with many griefs afflicted sore,Shut up from speaking much in sickly Cave,Thence painful seizure hath to write the more,And send thee Counsels from the mouth o' th' Grave.One foot i' th' other world long time hath been,Read, and thou'lt say, His heart is all therein.
Oh, happy Cave, that's to mount Nebo turn'd!Oh, happy prisoner that's at libertyTo walk through th' other World! the Bonds are burn'd,(But nothing else) in Furnace fiéry.Such fires unfetter Saints, and set more freeTheir unscorch'd Souls for Christ's sweet company.
Cheer on, sweet Soul, although in briny tearsSteept is thy seed; though dying every day;Thy sheaves shall joyful be when Christ appears,To change our death and pain to life for aye.The weepers now shall laugh; the jovial laughterOf vain ones here shall turn to tears hereafter.
Judge right, and his restraint is our Reproof.The Sins of Hearers Preachers' Lips do close,And make their Tongue to cleave unto its roof,Which else would check and cheer full freely thoseThat need. But from this Eater comes some Meat.And sweetness good from this affliction great.
In those vast Woods a Christian Poet sings(Where whilom Heathen wild were only found)Of things to come, the last and greatest thingsWhich in our Ears aloud should ever sound.Of Judgment dread, Hell, Heaven, Eternity,Reader, think oft, and help thy thoughts thereby.
Words in this poem
- sermon n.
- A discourse or address; a talk; a writing; as, the sermens of Chaucer. [OE. sermoun, sermun, F. sermon, fr. L. sermo, - onis, a speaking, discourse, probably fr. serer, sertum, to join, connect; hence, a connected speech. See Series]
- saith
- 3d pers. sing. pres. of Say.
- 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.]
- wonted a.
- Accustomed; customary; usual.
- unfetter v. t.
- To loose from fetters or from restraint; to unchain; to unshackle; to liberate; as, to unfetter the mind. [1st pref. un- + fetter.]
- briny a.
- Of or pertaining to brine, or to the sea; partaking of the nature of brine; salt; as, a briny taste; the briny flood. [From Brine.]
- 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,]
- jovial a.
- Of or pertaining to the god, or the planet, Jupiter. [F., fr. L. Jovialis pertaining to Jove. The planet Jupiter was thought to make those born under it joyful or jovial. See Jove.]
- hereafter adv.
- In time to come; in some future time or state. [AS. hræfter.]
- reproof n.
- Refutation; confutation; contradiction. [OE. reproef. See Proof, Reprove.]
- whilom adv.
- Formerly; once; of old; erewhile; at times. [AS. hwilum, properly, at times, dative pl. of hwil; akin to G. weiland formerly, OHG. hwilm, See While, n.]
- aloud adv.
- With a loud voice, or great noise; loudly; audibly. [Pref. a- + loud.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On the Following Work and Its Author is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Day of Doom; Or, A Poetical Description of the Great and Last Judgment With Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #58716; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Michael Wigglesworth, On the Following Work and Its Author, in The Day of Doom (1662), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #58716, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wigglesworth-doom/on-the-following-work-and-its-author.html, id L09212.
Form and metre
On the Following Work and Its Author is 48 lines in 8 stanzas of 6 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 19% 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 ABAB-- fliesA · meterB · prizeA · sweeterB · is · bliss
- 2 A-A--- rhymesA · regard · crimesA · prepar'd · good · food
- 3 ABAB-- psalmA · sweetB · calmA · meetB · poetry · lie
- 4 ABABCC soreA · caveB · moreA · graveB · beenC · thereinC
- 5 A-A--- turn'dA · liberty · burn'dA · fiéry · free · company
- 6 A-A-BB tearsA · day · appearsA · aye · laughterB · hereafterB
- 7 ABAB-- reproofA · closeB · roofA · thoseB · meat · great
- 8 ABAB-- singsA · foundB · thingsA · soundB · eternity · thereby
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A verse may find him who a sermon flies, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Saith Herbert well. Great truths to dress in Meter, | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| Becomes a Preacher, who men's Souls doth prize, | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| That Truth in Sugar roll'd may taste the sweeter. | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| No cost too great, no care too curious is | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| To set forth Truth and win men's Souls to bliss. | 10 | ·········· |
| In costly Verse, and most laborious Rhymes, | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| Are dish'd up here Truths worthy most regard: | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| No Toys, nor Fables (Poets' wonted crimes) | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| Here be, but things of worth, with wit prepar'd. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Reader, fall to, and if thy taste be good, | 10 | /˘········ |
| Thou'lt praise the Cook, and say, 'Tis choicest Food. | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| David's affliction bred us many a Psalm, | 10 | /˘˘/˘··/·· |
| From Caves, from mouth of Graves that Singer sweet | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Oft tun'd his Soul-felt notes: for not in 's calm, | 11 | ··········· |
| But storms, to write most Psalms God made him meet. | 10 | ·········· |
| Affliction turn'd his Pen to Poetry, | 10 | ˘/˘····/˘˘ |
| Whose serious strains do here before thee lie. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| This man with many griefs afflicted sore, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Shut up from speaking much in sickly Cave, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Thence painful seizure hath to write the more, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| And send thee Counsels from the mouth o' th' Grave. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| One foot i' th' other world long time hath been, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Read, and thou'lt say, His heart is all therein. | 10 | ·········· |
| Oh, happy Cave, that's to mount Nebo turn'd! | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Oh, happy prisoner that's at liberty | 11 | ·/˘/˘˘··/˘˘ |
| To walk through th' other World! the Bonds are burn'd, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| (But nothing else) in Furnace fiéry. | 9 | ·/˘··/˘·· |
| Such fires unfetter Saints, and set more free | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Their unscorch'd Souls for Christ's sweet company. | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Cheer on, sweet Soul, although in briny tears | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Steept is thy seed; though dying every day; | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Thy sheaves shall joyful be when Christ appears, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| To change our death and pain to life for aye. | 10 | ··/······· |
| The weepers now shall laugh; the jovial laughter | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| Of vain ones here shall turn to tears hereafter. | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| Judge right, and his restraint is our Reproof. | 10 | ····˘/·/˘/ |
| The Sins of Hearers Preachers' Lips do close, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| And make their Tongue to cleave unto its roof, | 10 | ·········· |
| Which else would check and cheer full freely those | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| That need. But from this Eater comes some Meat. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| And sweetness good from this affliction great. | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| In those vast Woods a Christian Poet sings | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| (Where whilom Heathen wild were only found) | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Of things to come, the last and greatest things | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Which in our Ears aloud should ever sound. | 10 | ··/·˘/·/˘· |
| Of Judgment dread, Hell, Heaven, Eternity, | 11 | ·/˘··/˘˘/˘˘ |
| Reader, think oft, and help thy thoughts thereby. | 10 | /˘········ |
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.