Analysis of To the genius of his house

Robert Herrick 1591 (London) – 1674 (Dean Prior)



Command the roof, great Genius, and from thence
Into this house pour down thy influence,
That through each room a golden pipe may run
Of living water by thy benizon;
Fulfil the larders, and with strength'ning bread
Be ever-more these bins replenished.
Next, like a bishop consecrate my ground,
That lucky fairies here may dance their round;
And, after that, lay down some silver pence,
The master's charge and care to recompence.
Charm then the chambers; make the beds for ease,
More than for peevish pining sicknesses;
Fix the foundation fast, and let the roof
Grow old with time, but yet keep weather-proof.


Scheme ABCCDEFFAAGAHH
Poetic Form
Metre 0101110011 0111111100 1111010111 11010111 10101111 110111010 110101011 1101011111 0101111101 01010111 1101010111 11110101 1001010101 1111111101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 604
Words 105
Sentences 4
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 35
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 484
Words per stanza (avg) 103
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

32 sec read
82

Robert Herrick

Robert Herrick was born in London, England, in 1591. He was apprenticed to a goldsmith (his uncle, Sir William), but went to Cambridge, at St John's, in 1613. He was ordained at Peterborough in 1623 and became chaplain to the Duke of Buckingham a few years later. "Hesperides" - a collection of 1200 lyrical poems - was published in 1648 and it remained his magnum opus. Herrick died in 1674, aged 83. more…

All Robert Herrick poems | Robert Herrick Books

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