Analysis of To Perilla
Robert Herrick 1591 (London) – 1674 (Dean Prior)
Ah, my Perilla, dost thou grieve to see
Me day by day to steal away from thee?
Age calls me hence, and my grey hairs bid come,
And haste away to mine eternal home.
'Twill not be long, Perilla, after this,
That I must give thee the supremest kiss.
Dead when I am, first cast in salt, and bring
Part of the cream from that religious spring,
With which, Perilla, wash my hands and feet.
That done, then wind me in that very sheet
Which wrapped thy smooth limbs when thou didst implore
The gods' protection but the night before.
Follow me weeping to my turf, and there
Let fall a primrose, and with it a tear;
Then, lastly, let some weekly-strewings be
Devoted to the memory of me:
Then shall my ghost not walk about, but keep
Still in the cool and silent shades of sleep.
Scheme | AABCDDEEFFGGHHAAII |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111111 1111110111 1111011111 0101110101 11111101 11111011 1111110101 1101110101 11111101 1111101101 1111111101 0101010101 1011011101 110101101 110111011 0101010011 1111110111 1001010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 759 |
Words | 149 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 18 |
Lines Amount | 18 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 593 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 147 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 44 sec read
- 74 Views
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"To Perilla" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/31471/to-perilla>.
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