Analysis of The Judgement Of Venus
Matthew Prior 1664 – 1721
When Kneller's works, of various grace,
Were to fair Venus shown,
The Goddess spied in every face
Some features of her own.
Just so, (and pointing with her hand)
So shone, says she, my eyes,
When from two goddesses I gain'd
An apple for a prize.
When in the glass and river too
My face I lately view'd,
Such was I, if the glass be true,
If true the crystal flood.
In colours of this glorious kind
Apelles painted me;
My hair, thus flowing with the wind
Sprung from my native sea.
Like this disorder'd, wild, forlorn,
Big with ten thousand fears,
Thee, my Adonis, did I mourn
E'en beautiful in tears.
But viewing Myra placed apart,
I fear, says she, I fear,
Appelles, that Sir Godfrey's art
Has far surpass'd thine here:
Or I, a goddess of the skies,
By Mary am undone,
And must resign to her the prize,
The apple, which I won.
But soon as she had Myra seen,
Majestically fair,
The sparkling eye, the look serene,
The gay and easy air.
With fiery emulation fill'd
The wondering goddess cried,
Apelles must to Kneller yield,
Or Venus must to Hyde.
Scheme | ABAB XCXC DXDX EFEF GXGX HXHX CICI JKJK XLXL |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (67%) |
Metre | 11111001 011101 010101001 110101 11010101 111111 11110011 110101 10010101 111101 11110111 110101 01111001 1101 11110101 111101 11010101 111101 11010111 1110001 11010101 111111 111101 110111 11010101 110101 01011001 010111 11111101 010001 01010101 010101 11000101 0100101 111101 110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,019 |
Words | 196 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 89 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 22 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:01 min read
- 105 Views
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"The Judgement Of Venus" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/27440/the-judgement-of-venus>.
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