St. Dorothy Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCCDDEECCFFE EGGEEHHIJEEKILLIIEEE E IIEEEEMMIINNEEH HOPQQRREESSTTUUIIEEV VEEEEEEVVEEVVIIC CEEEEVVEEVVWWXXVVVVE EVVVVEE EEEEEENNE EEEIIEEEEYYIIZZEEEEE EV VEEIIVVE EA2A2IIVVEEEEVVCCZZN NB2C2YYVVVVEEXXVVYYE EEIT HATH been seen and yet it shall be seen | A |
That out of tender mouths God s praise hath been | B |
Made perfect and with wood and simple string | C |
He hath played music sweet as shawm playing | C |
To please himself with softness of all sound | D |
And no small thing but hath been sometime found | D |
Full sweet of use and no such humbleness | E |
But God hath bruised withal the sentences | E |
And evidence of wise men witnessing | C |
No leaf that is so soft a hidden thing | C |
It never shall get sight of the great sun | F |
The strength of ten has been the strength of one | F |
And lowliness has waxed imperious | E |
- | |
There was in Rome a man Theophilus | E |
Of right great blood and gracious ways that had | G |
All noble fashions to make people glad | G |
And a soft life of pleasurable days | E |
He was a goodly man for one to praise | E |
Flawless and whole upward from foot to head | H |
His arms were a red hawk that alway fed | H |
On a small bird with feathers gnawed upon | I |
Beaten and plucked about the bosom bone | J |
Whereby a small round fleck like fire there was | E |
They called it in their tongue lampadias | E |
This was the banner of the lordly man | K |
In many straits of sea and reaches wan | I |
Full of quick wind and many a shaken firth | L |
It had seen fighting days of either earth | L |
Westward or east of waters Gaditane | I |
This was the place of sea rocks under Spain | I |
Called after the great praise of Hercules | E |
And north beyond the washing Pontic seas | E |
Far windy Russian places fabulous | E |
And salt fierce tides of storm swoln Bosphorus | E |
- | |
Now as this lord came straying in Rome town | I |
He saw a little lattice open down | I |
And after it a press of maidens heads | E |
That sat upon their cold small quiet beds | E |
Talking and played upon short string d lutes | E |
And other some ground perfume out of roots | E |
Gathered by marvellous moons in Asia | M |
Saffron and aloes and wild cassia | M |
Coloured all through and smelling of the sun | I |
And over all these was a certain one | I |
Clothed softly with sweet herbs about her hair | N |
And bosom flowerful her face more fair | N |
Than sudden singing April in soft lands | E |
Eyed like a gracious bird and in both hands | E |
She held a psalter painted green and red | H |
- | |
This Theophile laughed at the heart and said | H |
Now God so help me hither and St Paul | O |
As by the new time of their festival | P |
I have good will to take this maid to wife | Q |
And herewith fell to fancies of her life | Q |
And soft half thoughts that ended suddenly | R |
This is man s guise to please himself when he | R |
Shall not see one thing of his pleasant things | E |
Nor with outwatch of many travailings | E |
Come to be eased of the least pain he hath | S |
For all his love and all his foolish wrath | S |
And all the heavy manner of his mind | T |
Thus is he like a fisher fallen blind | T |
That casts his nets across the boat awry | U |
To strike the sea but lo he striketh dry | U |
And plucks them back all broken for his pain | I |
And bites his beard and casts across again | I |
And reaching wrong slips over in the sea | E |
So hath this man a strangled neck for fee | E |
For all his cost he chuckles in his throat | V |
- | |
This Theophile that little hereof wote | V |
Laid wait to hear of her what she might be | E |
Men told him she had name of Dorothy | E |
And was a lady of a worthy house | E |
Thereat this knight grew inly glorious | E |
That he should have a love so fair of place | E |
She was a maiden of most quiet face | E |
Tender of speech and had no hardihood | V |
But was nigh feeble of her fearful blood | V |
Her mercy in her was so marvellous | E |
From her least years that seeing her school fellows | E |
That read beside her stricken with a rod | V |
She would cry sore and say some word to God | V |
That he would ease her fellow of his pain | I |
There is no touch of sun or fallen rain | I |
That ever fell on a more gracious thing | C |
- | |
In middle Rome there was in stone working | C |
The church of Venus painted royally | E |
The chapels of it were some two or three | E |
In each of them her tabernacle was | E |
And a wide window of six feet in glass | E |
Coloured with all her works in red and gold | V |
The altars had bright cloths and cups to hold | V |
The wine of Venus for the services | E |
Made out of honey and crushed wood berries | E |
That shed sweet yellow through the thick wet red | V |
That on high days was borne upon the head | V |
Of Venus priest for any man to drink | W |
So that in drinking he should fall to think | W |
On some fair face and in the thought thereof | X |
Worship and such should triumph in his love | X |
For this soft wine that did such grace and good | V |
Was new trans shaped and mixed with Love s own blood | V |
That in the fighting Trojan time was bled | V |
For which came such a woe to Diomed | V |
That he was stifled after in hard sea | E |
And some said that this wine shedding should be | E |
Made of the falling of Adonis blood | V |
That curled upon the thorns and broken wood | V |
And round the gold silk shoes on Venus feet | V |
The taste thereof was as hot honey sweet | V |
And in the mouth ran soft and riotous | E |
This was the holiness of Venus house | E |
- | |
It was their worship that in August days | E |
Twelve maidens should go through those Roman ways | E |
Naked and having gold across their brows | E |
And their hair twisted in short golden rows | E |
To minister to Venus in this wise | E |
And twelve men chosen in their companies | E |
To match these maidens by the altar stair | N |
All in one habit crowned upon the hair | N |
Among these men was chosen Theophile | E |
- | |
This knight went out and prayed a little while | E |
Holding queen Venus by her hands and knees | E |
I will give thee twelve royal images | E |
Cut in glad gold with marvels of wrought stone | I |
For thy sweet priests to lean and pray upon | I |
Jasper and hyacinth and chrysopras | E |
And the strange Asian thalamite that was | E |
Hidden twelve ages under heavy sea | E |
Among the little sleepy pearls to be | E |
A shrine lit over with soft candle flame | Y |
Burning all night red as hot brows of shame | Y |
So thou wilt be my lady without sin | I |
Goddess that art all gold outside and in | I |
Help me to serve thee in thy holy way | Z |
Thou knowest Love that in my bearing day | Z |
There shone a laughter in the singing stars | E |
Round the gold ceil d bride bed wherein Mars | E |
Touched thee and had thee in your kissing wise | E |
Now therefore sweet kiss thou my maiden s eyes | E |
That they may open graciously towards me | E |
And this new fashion of thy shrine shall be | E |
As soft with gold as thine own happy head | V |
- | |
The goddess that was painted with face red | V |
Between two long green tumbled sides of sea | E |
Stooped her neck sideways and spake pleasantly | E |
Thou shalt have grace as thou art thrall of mine | I |
And with this came a savour of shed wine | I |
And plucked out petals from a rose s head | V |
And softly with slow laughs of lip she said | V |
Thou shalt have favour all thy days of me | E |
- | |
Then came Theophilus to Dorothy | E |
Saying O sweet if one should strive or speak | A2 |
Against God s ways he gets a beaten cheek | A2 |
For all his wage and shame above all men | I |
Therefore I have no will to turn again | I |
When God saith go lest a worse thing fall out | V |
Then she misdoubting lest he went about | V |
To catch her wits made answer somewhat thus | E |
I have no will my lord Theophilus | E |
To speak against this worthy word of yours | E |
Knowing how God s will in all speech endures | E |
That save by grace there may no thing be said | V |
Then Theophile waxed light from foot to head | V |
And softly fell upon this answering | C |
It is well seen you are a chosen thing | C |
To do God service in his gracious way | Z |
I will that you make haste and holiday | Z |
To go next year upon the Venus stair | N |
Covered none else but crowned upon your hair | N |
And do the service that a maiden doth | B2 |
She said but I that am Christ s maid were loth | C2 |
To do this thing that hath such bitter name | Y |
Thereat his brows were beaten with sore shame | Y |
And he came off and said no other word | V |
Then his eyes chanced upon his banner bird | V |
And he fell fingering at the staff of it | V |
And laughed for wrath and stared between his feet | V |
And out of a chafed heart he spake as thus | E |
Lo how she japes at me Theophilus | E |
Feigning herself a fool and hard to love | X |
Yet in good time for all she boasteth of | X |
She shall be like a little beaten bird | V |
And while his mouth was open in that word | V |
He came upon the house Janiculum | Y |
Where some went busily and other some | Y |
Talked in the gate called the gate glorious | E |
The emperor which was one Gabalus | E |
Sat over all and drank chill | E |
Algernon Charles Swinburne
(1)
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