Analysis of The Priest's Heart
Charles Kingsley 1819 – 1875
It was Sir John, the fair young Priest,
He strode up off the strand;
But seven fisher maidens he left behind
All dancing hand in hand.
He came unto the wise wife's house:
'Now, Mother, to prove your art;
To charm May Carleton's merry blue eyes
Out of a young man's heart.'
'My son, you went for a holy man,
Whose heart was set on high;
Go sing in your psalter, and read in your books;
Man's love fleets lightly by.'
'I had liever to talk with May Carleton,
Than with all the saints in Heaven;
I had liever to sit by May Carleton
Than climb the spheres seven.
'I have watched and fasted, early and late,
I have prayed to all above;
But I find no cure save churchyard mould
For the pain which men call love.'
'Now Heaven forefend that ill grow worse:
Enough that ill be ill.
I know of a spell to draw May Carleton,
And bend her to your will.'
'If thou didst that which thou canst not do,
Wise woman though thou be,
I would run and run till I buried myself
In the surge of yonder sea.
'Scathless for me are maid and wife,
And scathless shall they bide.
Yet charm me May Carleton's eyes from the heart
That aches in my left side.'
She charmed him with the white witchcraft,
She charmed him with the black,
But he turned his fair young face to the wall,
Till she heard his heart-strings crack.
Scheme | XAXA XBXB XCXC DDDD XEXE XFDF XGXG XHBH XIXI |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 11110111 111101 11010101101 110101 11100111 1101111 11111011 110111 111110101 111111 11011001011 111101 111111110 11101010 111111110 110110 1110101001 1111101 11111111 1011111 11011111 011111 1110111110 010111 111111111 110111 1110111101 0011101 1111101 01111 111111101 110111 1111011 111101 1111111101 1111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,265 |
Words | 258 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 36 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 109 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 28 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 1:17 min read
- 38 Views
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