Analysis of By Moschus

William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)



I slept when Venus enter'd: to my bed
A Cupid in her beauteous hand she led,
A bashful seeming boy, and thus she said:
'Shepherd, receive my little one! I bring
An untaught love, whom thou must teach to sing.'
She said, and left him. I, suspecting nought,
Many a sweet strain my subtle pupil taught,
How reed to reed Pan first with osier bound,
How Pallas form'd the pipe of softest sound,
How Hermes gave the lute, and how the quire
Of Phoebus owe to Phoebus' self the lyre.
Such were my themes; my themes nought heeded he
But ditties sang of amorous sort to me.
The pangs that mortals and immortals prove
From Venus' influence and the darts of love.
Thus was the teacher by the pupil taught;
His lessons I retain'd, he mine forgot.


Scheme AAABBACDDEEFFGHCI
Poetic Form
Metre 1111010111 010001111 0101010111 1001110111 111111111 1101110101 10011110101 111111111 1101011101 1101010101 1101110101 1011111101 11011100111 0111000101 11010000111 1101010101 1101011101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 725
Words 140
Sentences 8
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 17
Lines Amount 17
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 567
Words per stanza (avg) 137
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

42 sec read
52

William Cowper

William Macquarie Cowper was an Australian Anglican archdeacon and Dean of Sydney. more…

All William Cowper poems | William Cowper Books

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