The Toad And Spyder. A Duell Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCDEEFG HHIJKKLLEEMMNNOMPPMM QOLLCCLLQQRRSSLLTTUV LLWWXXYYZZA2A2B2C2LL D2D2LLIE2A2A2A2A2LLA 2A2 A2A2WWA2A2A2A2F2F2A2 A2ME2G2G2LLA2A2LLMMA 2A2B2H2I2E2MMJ2J2LL E2E2LLLLK2K2A2A2E2E2 E2E2L2L2MMOMA2OLLM2M 2MMA2A2A2A2A2A2MMA2A 2LLLLH2H2 N2N2MMLLA2A2 LA2MMO2O2 LLN2A2E2E2J2J2LLA2A2 LLJ2J2 A2A2J2J2A2A2| Upon a day when the Dog star | A |
| Unto the world proclaim'd a war | B |
| And poyson bark'd from black throat | C |
| And from his jaws infection shot | D |
| Under a deadly hen bane shade | E |
| With slime infernal mists are made | E |
| Met the two dreaded enemies | F |
| Having their weapons in their eyes | G |
| - | |
| First from his den rolls forth that load | H |
| Of spite and hate the speckl'd toad | H |
| And from his chaps a foam doth spawn | I |
| Such as the loathed three heads yawn | J |
| Defies his foe with a fell spit | K |
| To wade through death to meet with it | K |
| Then in his self the lymbeck turns | L |
| And his elixir'd poyson urns | L |
| Arachne once the fear oth' maid | E |
| Coelestial thus unto her pray'd | E |
| Heaven's blew ey'd daughter thine own mother | M |
| The Python killing Sun's thy brother | M |
| Oh thou from gods that didst descend | N |
| With a poor virgin to contend | N |
| Shall seed of earth and hell ere be | O |
| A rival in thy victorie | M |
| Pallas assents for now long time | P |
| And pity had clean rins'd her crime | P |
| When straight she doth with active fire | M |
| Her many legged foe inspire | M |
| Have you not seen a charact lie | Q |
| A great cathedral in the sea | O |
| Under whose Babylonian walls | L |
| A small thin frigot almshouse stalls | L |
| So in his slime the toad doth float | C |
| And th' spyder by but seems his boat | C |
| And now the naumachie begins | L |
| Close to the surface her self spins | L |
| Arachne when her foe lets flye | Q |
| A broad side of his breath too high | Q |
| That's over shot the wisely stout | R |
| Advised maid doth tack about | R |
| And now her pitchy barque doth sweat | S |
| Chaf'd in her own black fury wet | S |
| Lasie and cold before she brings | L |
| New fires to her contracted stings | L |
| And with discolour'd spumes doth blast | T |
| The herbs that to their center hast | T |
| Now to the neighb'ring henbane top | U |
| Arachne hath her self wound up | V |
| And thence from its dilated leaves | L |
| By her own cordage downwards weaves | L |
| And doth her town of foe attack | W |
| And storms the rampiers of his back | W |
| Which taken in her colours spread | X |
| March to th' citadel of's head | X |
| Now as in witty torturing Spain | Y |
| The brain is vext to vex the brain | Y |
| Where hereticks bare heads are arm'd | Z |
| In a close helm and in it charm'd | Z |
| An overgrown and meagre rat | A2 |
| That peece meal nibbles himself fat | A2 |
| So on the toads blew checquer'd scull | B2 |
| The spider gluttons her self full | C2 |
| And vomiting her Stygian seeds | L |
| Her poyson on his poyson feeds | L |
| Thus the invenom'd toad now grown | D2 |
| Big with more poyson than his own | D2 |
| Doth gather all his pow'rs and shakes | L |
| His stormer in's disgorged lakes | L |
| And wounded now apace crawls on | I |
| To his next plantane surgeon | E2 |
| With whose rich balm no sooner drest | A2 |
| But purged is his sick swoln breast | A2 |
| And as a glorious combatant | A2 |
| That only rests awhile to pant | A2 |
| Then with repeated strength and scars | L |
| That smarting fire him new to wars | L |
| Deals blows that thick themselves prevent | A2 |
| As they would gain the time he spent | A2 |
| - | |
| So the disdaining angry toad | A2 |
| That calls but a thin useless load | A2 |
| His fatal feared self comes back | W |
| With unknown venome fill'd to crack | W |
| Th' amased spider now untwin'd | A2 |
| Hath crept up and her self new lin'd | A2 |
| With fresh salt foams and mists that blast | A2 |
| The ambient air as they past | A2 |
| And now me thinks a Sphynx's wing | F2 |
| I pluck and do not write but sting | F2 |
| With their black blood my pale inks blent | A2 |
| Gall's but a faint ingredient | A2 |
| The pol'tick toad doth now withdraw | M |
| Warn'd higher in CAMPANIA | E2 |
| There wisely doth intrenched deep | G2 |
| His body in a body keep | G2 |
| And leaves a wide and open pass | L |
| T' invite the foe up to his jaws | L |
| Which there within a foggy blind | A2 |
| With fourscore fire arms were lin'd | A2 |
| The gen'rous active spider doubts | L |
| More ambuscadoes than redoubts | L |
| So within shot she doth pickear | M |
| Now gall's the flank and now the rear | M |
| As that the toad in's own dispite | A2 |
| Must change the manner of his fight | A2 |
| Who like a glorious general | B2 |
| With one home charge lets fly at all | H2 |
| Chaf'd with a fourfold ven'mous foam | I2 |
| Of scorn revenge his foes and 's own | E2 |
| He seats him in his loathed chair | M |
| New made him by each mornings air | M |
| With glowing eyes he doth survey | J2 |
| Th' undaunted hoast he calls his prey | J2 |
| Then his dark spume he gred'ly laps | L |
| And shows the foe his grave his chaps | L |
| - | |
| Whilst the quick wary Amazon | E2 |
| Of 'vantage takes occasion | E2 |
| And with her troop of leggs carreers | L |
| In a full speed with all her speers | L |
| Down as some mountain on a mouse | L |
| On her small cot he flings his house | L |
| Without the poyson of the elf | K2 |
| The toad had like t' have burst himself | K2 |
| For sage Arachne with good heed | A2 |
| Had stopt herself upon full speed | A2 |
| And 's body now disorder'd on | E2 |
| She falls to execution | E2 |
| The passive toad now only can | E2 |
| Contemn and suffer Here began | E2 |
| The wronged maids ingenious rage | L2 |
| Which his heart venome must asswage | L2 |
| One eye she hath spet out strange smother | M |
| When one flame doth put out another | M |
| And one eye wittily spar'd that he | O |
| Might but behold his miserie | M |
| She on each spot a wound doth print | A2 |
| And each speck hath a sting within't | O |
| Till he but one new blister is | L |
| And swells his own periphrasis | L |
| Then fainting sick and yellow pale | M2 |
| She baths him with her sulph'rous stale | M2 |
| Thus slacked is her Stygian fire | M |
| And she vouchsafes now to retire | M |
| Anon the toad begins to pant | A2 |
| Bethinks him of th' almighty plant | A2 |
| And lest he peece meal should be sped | A2 |
| Wisely doth finish himself dead | A2 |
| Whilst the gay girl as was her fate | A2 |
| Doth wanton and luxuriate | A2 |
| And crowns her conqu'ring head all or | M |
| With fatal leaves of hellebore | M |
| Not guessing at the pretious aid | A2 |
| Was lent her by the heavenly maid | A2 |
| The neer expiring toad now rowls | L |
| Himself in lazy bloody scrowls | L |
| To th' sov'raign salve of all his ills | L |
| That only life and health distills | L |
| But loe a terror above all | H2 |
| That ever yet did him befall | H2 |
| - | |
| Pallas still mindful of her foe | N2 |
| Whilst they did with each fires glow | N2 |
| Had to the place the spiders lar | M |
| Dispath'd before the ev'nings star | M |
| He learned was in Natures laws | L |
| Of all her foliage knew the cause | L |
| And 'mongst the rest in his choice want | A2 |
| Unplanted had this plantane plant | A2 |
| - | |
| The all confounded toad doth see | L |
| His life fled with his remedie | A2 |
| And in a glorious despair | M |
| First burst himself and next the air | M |
| Then with a dismal horred yell | O2 |
| Beats down his loathsome breath to hell | O2 |
| - | |
| But what inestimable bliss | L |
| This to the sated virgin is | L |
| Who as before of her fiend foe | N2 |
| Now full is of her goddess too | A2 |
| She from her fertile womb hath spun | E2 |
| Her stateliest pavillion | E2 |
| Whilst all her silken flags display | J2 |
| And her triumphant banners play | J2 |
| Where Pallas she ith' midst doth praise | L |
| And counterfeits her brothers rayes | L |
| Nor will she her dear lar forget | A2 |
| Victorious by his benefit | A2 |
| Whose roof inchanted she doth free | L |
| From haunting gnat and goblin bee | L |
| Who trapp'd in her prepared toyle | J2 |
| To their destruction keep a coyle | J2 |
| - | |
| Then she unlocks the toad's dire head | A2 |
| Within whose cell is treasured | A2 |
| That pretious stone which she doth call | J2 |
| A noble recompence for all | J2 |
| And to her lar doth it present | A2 |
| Of his fair aid a monument | A2 |
Richard Lovelace
(1)
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About The Toad And Spyder. A Duell
The Toad And Spyder. A Duell is a poem by Richard Lovelace. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.
