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George Herbert was an inventive poet who used many forms.This blog contains thirty-one different examples and info upon these forms.
The poem titles include
ANTIPHON/BITTERSWEET/CHURCH-FLOORE/THE CONVERT/THE CALL/DISCIPLINE/DOOMSDAY/DENIALL/EASTER-WINGS/EMPLOYMENT II/THE FLOWER/GIDDINESSES/GRATEFULNESSE/GRACE/HEAVEN/HOPE/HOME/THE INVITATION/LONGING/MAN'S MEDLEY/AN OFFERING/PRAISE II/A PARODIE/PEACE/THE POSIE/PARADISE/REPENTANCE/SIGHS& GROANES/THE SEARCH/VERTUEYOUTH ALPHABET /
THE FLOWER
A heptad form 8/8/8/8/4/4/8 rhyme scheme ababccb
How Fresh, O Lord, how sweet and clean
Are thy returns! ev’n as the flowers in spring;
To which, besides their own demean,
The late-past frosts tributes of pleasure bring.
Grief melts away
Like snow in May,
As if there were no such cold thing.
Who would have thought my shrivel’d heart
Could have recover’d greennesse? It was gone
Quite under ground; as flowers depart
To see their mother-root, when they have blown;
Where they together
All the hard weather,
Dead to the world, keep house unknown.
These are thy wonders, Lord of power,
Killing and quickning, bringing down to hell
And up to heaven in an houre;
Making a chiming of a passing-bell,
We say amisse,
This or that is:
Thy word is all, if we could spell.
O that I once past changing were;
Fast in thy Paradise, where no flower can wither!
Many a spring I shoot up fair,
Offring at heav’n, growing and groning thither:
Nor doth my flower
Want a spring-showre,
My sinnes and I joining together;
But while I grow to a straight line;
Still upwards bent, as if heav’n were mine own,
Thy anger comes, and I decline:
What frost to that? what pole is not the zone,
Where all things burn,
When thou dost turn,
And the least frown of thine is shown?
And now in age I bud again,
After so many deaths I live and write;
I once more smell the dew and rain,
And relish versing: O my onely light,
It cannot be
That I am he
On whom thy tempests fell all night.
These are thy wonders, Lord of love,
To make us see we are but flowers that glide:
Which when we once can finde and prove,
Thou hast a garden for us, where to bide.
Who would be more,
Swelling through store,
Forfeit their Paradise by their pride.
DISCIPLINE
a quatrain 5/5/3/5 rhyme abab
Love is swift of foot ;
Love's a man of warre,
And can shoot,
And can hit from farre.
HEAVEN
couplet sequence 10 syllable line
kyrielle second line respone:rhyme aa
O who will show me those delights on high?
Echo. I.
Thou Echo, thou art mortall, all men know.
Echo. No.
Wert thou not born among the trees and leaves?
Echo. Leaves.
And are there any leaves, that still abide?
Echo. Bide.
What leaves are they? impart the matter wholly.
Echo. Holy.
Are holy leaves the Echo then of blisse?
Echo. Yes.
Then tell me, what is that supreme delight?
Echo. Light.
Light to the minde : what shall the will enjoy?
Echo. Joy.
But are there cares and businesse with the pleasure?
Echo. Leisure.
Light, joy, and leisure ; but shall they persever?
Echo. Ever.
ANTIPHON
quatrain verse of 6 syllables per line rhime scheme aabb
,couplet chorus 4 syllable rhymed aa kyrielle
Cho. Let all the world in ev'ry corner sing,
My God and King.
Vers. The heav'ns are not too high,
His praise may thither flie:
The earth is not too low,
His praises there may grow.
Cho. Let all the world in ev'ry corner sing,
My God and King.
Vers. The church with psalms must shout,
No doore can keep them out:
But above all, the heart
Must bear the longest part.
Cho. Let all the world in ev'ry corner sing,
My God and King.
THE CALL
7 syllable quatrain,rhyme abab
Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life :
Such a Way, as gives us breath :
Such a Truth, as ends all strife :
And such a Life, as killeth death.
Come, my Light, my Feast, my Strength :
Such a Light, as shows a feast :
Such a Feast, as mends in length :
Such a Strength, as makes his guest.
Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart :
Such a Joy, as none can move :
Such a Love, as none can part :
Such a Heart, as joyes in love.
PRAISE II
quatrain 7/4/7/4 rhyme abab
KIng of Glorie, King of Peace,
I will love thee:
And that love may never cease,
I will move thee.
Thou hast granted my request,
Thou hast heard me:
Thou didst note my working breast,
Thou hast spar’d me.
Wherefore with my utmost art
I will sing thee,
And the cream of all my heart
I will bring thee.
Though my sinnes against me cried,
Thou didst cleare me;
And alone, when they replied,
Thou didst heare me.
Sev’n whole dayes, not one in seven,
I will praise thee.
In my heart, though not in heaven,
I can raise thee.
Thou grew’st soft and moist with tears,
Thou relentedst:
And when Justice call’d for fears,
Thou disentedst.
Small it is, in this poore sort
To enroll thee:
Ev’n eternitie is to short
To extoll thee.
HOPE
a double quatrain 10/6/10/6/10/6/10/6 rhyme aabbccdd
I Gave to Hope a watch of mine: but he
An anchor gave to me.
Then an old prayer-book I did present:
And he an optick sent.
With that I have a viall full of tears:
But he a few green eares.
Ah Loyterer! I’le no more, no more I’le bring:
I did expect a ring.
GRACE
a quatrain kyrielle 8/8/8/4 rhyme abab
MY stock lies dead, and no increase
Doth my dull husbandrie improve:
O let thy graces without cease
Drop from above!
If still the sunne should hide his face,
Thy house would but a dungeon prove,
Thy works nights captives: O let grace
Drop from above!
The dew doth ev’ry morning fall;
And shall the dew out-strip thy Dove?
The dew, for which grasse cannot call,
Drop from above.
Death is still working like a mole,
And digs my grave at each remove:
Let grace work too, and on my soul
Drop from above.
Sinne is still hammering my heart
Unto a hardnesse, void of love:
Let suppling grace, to crosse his art,
Drop from above.
O come! for thou dost know the way:
Or if to me thou wilt not move,
Remove me, where I need not say,
Drop from above.
THE SEARCH
A quatrain 10/6/10/6 rhyme scheme abab
O whither art Thou fled,
My Lord, my Love ?
My searches are my daily bread,
Yet never prove.
My knees pierce the earth, mine eyes the sky ;
And yet the sphere
And centre both to me deny
That Thou art there.
Yet can I mark how herbs below
Grow green and gay,
As if to meet Thee they did know,
While I decay.
Yet can I mark how stars above
Simper and shine,
As having keys unto Thy love,
While poor I pine.
I sent a sigh to seek Thee out,
Deep drawn in pain,
Winged like an arrow ; but my scout
Returns in vain.
I turned another—having store—
Into a groan,
Because the search was dumb before ;
But all was one.
Lord, dost Thou some new fabric mould
Which favour wins,
And keeps Thee present ; leaving the old
Unto their sins ?
Where is my God ? what hidden place
Conceals Thee still ?
What covert dare eclipse Thy face ?
Is it Thy will ?
O let not that of anything ;
Let rather brass,
Or steel, or mountains be Thy ring,
And I will pass.
Thy will such an entrenching is,
As passeth thought :
To it all strength, all subtilties
Are things of nought.
Thy will such a strange distance is,
As that to it
East and West touch, the poles do kiss,
And parallels meet.
Since then my grief must be as large
As is Thy space,
Thy distance from me ; see my charge,
Lord, see my case.
O take these bars, these lengths, away ;
Turn, and restore me :
“Be not Almighty,” let me say,
“Against, but for me.”
When Thou dost turn, and wilt be near,
What edge so keen,
What point so piercing can appear
To come between ?
For as Thy absence doth excel
All distance known,
EASTER-WINGS.
shape form 10,8,6,3,2,2,3,6,8,10 rhyme ababacdadc
LORD, who createdst man in wealth and store,
Though foolishly he lost the same,
Decaying more and more,
Till he became
Most poor :
With thee
O let me rise
As larks, harmoniously,
And sing this day thy victories :
Then shall the fall further the flight in me.
My tender age in sorrow did beginne :
And still with sicknesses and shame
Thou didst so punish sinne,
That I became
Most thinne.
With thee
Let me combine,
And feel this day thy victorie,
For, if I imp my wing on thine,
Affliction shall advance the flight in me.
BITTER SWEET
quatrain 6 syllable lines rhyme abababab
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Ah, my dear angry Lord,
Since thou dost love, yet strike;
Cast down, yet help afford;
Sure I will do the like.
I will complain, yet praise;
I will bewail, approve;
And all my sour-sweet days
I will lament and love.
VERTUE.
quatrain 8,8,8,4 rhyme abab
Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright,
The bridall of the earth and skie :
The dew shall weep thy fall to-night ;
For thou must die.
Sweet rose, whose hue angrie and brave
Bids the rash gazer wipe his eye,
Thy root is ever in its grave,
And thou must die.
Sweet spring, full of sweet dayes and roses,
A box where sweets compacted lie,
My musick shows ye have your closes,
And all must die.
Onely a sweet and vertuous soul,
Like season'd timber, never gives ;
But though the whole world turn to coal,
Then chiefly lives.
PEACE.
sixain 10,4,8,6.10,4 rhymes scheme abacbc
Sweet PEACE, where dost thou dwell ? I humbly crave,
Let me once know.
I sought thee in a secret cave,
And ask’d, if Peace were there.
A hollow winde did seem to answer, No :
Go seek elsewhere.
I did ; and going did a rainbow note :
Surely, thought I,
This is the lace of Peaces coat :
I will search out the matter.
But while I lookt, the clouds immediately
Did break and scatter.
Then went I to a garden, and did spy
A gallant flower,
The crown Imperiall : Sure, said I,
Peace at the root must dwell.
But when I digg’d, I saw a worm devoure
What show’d so well.
At length I met a rev’rend good old man :
Whom when of Peace
I did demand, he thus began ;
There was a Prince of old
At Salem dwelt, who liv’d with good increase
Of flock and fold.
He sweetly liv’d ; yet sweetnesse did not save
His life from foes.
But after death out of his grave
There sprang twelve stalks of wheat :
Which many wondring at, got some of those
To plant and set.
It prosper’d strangely, and did soon disperse
Through all the earth :
For they that taste it do rehearse,
That vertue lies therein ;
A secret vertue bringing peace and mirth
By flight of sinne.
Take of this grain, which in my garden grows,
And grows for you ;
Make bread of it : and that repose
And peace, which ev’ry where
With so much earnestnesse you do pursue
Is onely there.
SIGHS AND GROANESs
sixain 4,10,10,10,10,4 krielle rhyme -abab-
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O do not use me
After my sins! look not on my dessert,
But on your glory! Then you will reform
And not refuse me: for you only art
The mighty God, but I a silly worm;
O do not bruise me!
O do not urge me!
For what account can your ill steward make?
I have abused your stock, destroyed your woods,
Sucked all your storehouses: my head did ache,
Till it found out how to consume your goods:
O do not scourge me!
O do not blind me!
I have deserved that an Egyptian night
Should thicken all my powers; because my lust
Has still sewed fig-leaves to exclude your light:
But I am frailty, and already dust;
O do not grind me!
O do not fill me
With the turned vial of your bitter wrath!
For you have other vessels full of blood,
A part whereof my Savior emptied hath,
Even unto death: since he died for my good,
O do not kill me!
But O reprieve me!
For you have life and death at your command;
You are both Judge and Savior, feast and rod,
Cordial and Corrosive: put not your hand
Into the bitter box; but O my God,
My God, relieve me!
THE POSIE
quatrain 4,10,4,10 rhyme abab
Let wits contest,
And with their words and posies1 windows fill:
Lesse then2 the least
Of all thy mercies, is my posie still.
This on my ring,
This by my picture, in my book I write:
Whether I sing,
Or say, or dictate, this is my delight.
Invention rest,
Comparisons go play, wit use thy will:
Lesse then the least
Of all Gods mercies, is my posie still
GRATEFULNESSE (extract)
Quatrain 8/8/8/2 rhyme abab
Thou that has given so much to me
Give one thing more,a gratefyl heart
See how thy beggar works on thee
By art.
The METHOD (Ist Verse).
quatrain 4/8/8/4 rhyme ab ab
Poor heart,cement
For since thy God refuseth will
There is some rub,some discontent
Which cools his will.
THE CHURCH-FLOORE (extract)
4 Triplets 10/6/4 emblem poem rhyme on 3rd line aaaa
Mark you the floore?that square and speckled stone,
Which looks so firm and strong
Is Patience:
And th'other black and grave,wherewith each one
Is checker'd all along
Humilitie:
The gentle rising,which on either hand
Leads to the Quire above
In Confidence:
Byt the sweet cement,which is one sure band
Ties the whole frame,is love
and Charitie.
EMPLOYMENT II (last verse)
quintain 8/4/8/4/8 rhyme ababa
But we are still too young or old;
The man is gone,
Before we do our wares unfold:
So we freeze on,
Until the grave increase our cold.
DENIALL ( Ist & last verse)
quintain 8/4/8/6/4 rhymr abab-I
When my devotions could not pierce
The silent eares:
Then was my heart broken,as was my verse:
My breast was full of fears
and disorder
O cheer and tune my heartbreak breast,
Deferre no time:
That so thy favours granting my request ,
They and my mind may chime,
And mend my rhyme.
HOME
sixain 10,8,10,8,6,6 rhyme ababcc
Come Lord,my head doth burn,my heart is sick,
While thou dost ever,ever stay:
The long deffrings wound me for the quick
.My spirit gaspeth night & day,
O show thy self to me,
Or take me up to thee!
GIDDINESSE (last verse)
quatrain 10,6,10,5 rhyme abba
Lord,mend or rather make us: one creation
Will not suffice our turn:
Except thou makes us dayly,we shall spurn
Our own salvation.
MAN'S MEDLEY
sixain 6/4/10/6/4/10 rhyme aabccb
Heark, how the birds do sing,
And woods do ring.
All creatures have their joy:and man hath his,
yet if we righly measure,
Man's joy and pleasure
Rather hereafter,than in the present is.
PARADISE
triplet 8syllable ,End line rhyme
I bless thee,Lord,because I GROW
Among thy trees,whic in a ROW
To thee both fruit and order OW
AN OFFERING
sixain 4/4/5/3/4/5 rhyme aabccb
Since my sadnesse
into gladnesse
Lord thou doth convert
O accept
What thou has kept
As thy desert.
LONGING
sixain 6/8/44/8/2 rhyme ababcc
My throat,my soul is hoarse;
My heart is wothered like a ground
Which thou dost curse.
My thoughts turn round
And make m giddie,Lord I fall
Yet call
THE INIVITATION (Ist Verse)
quatrain 7/3/7/7/3/7 rhyme aabccb
Come hither All,whose taste
is your waste:
Save your cost,and mend your fare.
God is here prepar'd and drest
nd the feast
God,in whom all dainties are
A PARODIE (3rd verse)
quintain 6/4/4/8/6 rhyme aabbb
O what a damp and shade
Doth me invade!
No stormie night
Can afflict or so affright
As thy eclipsed light
DOOMS-DAY
sixain 3/4/7/7/7/7 rhyme aa bb cc
Come away,
Make no delay
Summon all the dust to rise
Till it stirre,and rubbe the eyes;
While this member jogs the other
Each one whispering,Live you brother ?
THE CONVERT
quintain ode 8/8/8/8/6 rhyme aaabb
if ever tears did flow from EYES
if ever VOICE was hoarse with cries
if ever HEART was sore with sighs;
Let now my EYES,my VOICE,my HEART
Strive to play their part.
YOUTH ALPHABET (Heroic couplet)
Extract
B
Be well advised,and wary counsel make
E're thou dost any action undertake
C
Children that make their Parents heart bleed
May live t'have Children to revng that deed
