Analysis of When, Dearest, I But Think On Thee
Owen Felltham 1602 – 1668
When, dearest, I but think on thee,
Methinks all things that lovely be
Are present, and my soul delighted:
For beauties that from worth arise
Are like the grace of deities,
Still present with us, though unsighted.
Thus while I sit and sigh the day
With all his spreading lights away,
Till night's black wings do overtake me:
Thinking on thee, thy beauties then,
As sudden lights do sleeping men,
So they by their bright rays awake me.
Thus absence dies, and dying proves
No absence can consist with loves
That do partake of fair perfection:
Since in the darkest night they may
By their quick motion find a way
To see each other by reflection.
The waving sea can with such flood
Bathe some high palace that hath stood
Far from the main up in the river:
Oh think not then but love can do
As much, for that's an ocean too,
That flows not every day, but ever.
Scheme | AABXXB CCADDA XXECCE BXFGGF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11011111 1111101 110011010 11011101 11011100 1101111 11110101 11110101 11111101 10111101 11011101 111111011 11010101 11010111 110111010 10010111 11110101 111101010 01011111 11110111 110110010 11111111 11111101 1111001110 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 913 |
Words | 162 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 168 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 40 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 49 sec read
- 108 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"When, Dearest, I But Think On Thee" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/28409/when%2C-dearest%2C-i-but-think-on-thee>.
Discuss this Owen Felltham poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In