Analysis of To Lovers
Ellis Parker Butler 1869 (Muscatine) – 1937 (Williamsville)
Ho, ye lovers, list to me;
Warning words have I for thee:
Give ye heed, hefore ye wed,
To this thing Sir Chaucer said:
"Love wol not be constrained by maistrie,
When maistrie cometh, the god of love anon
Beteth his winges, and farewel, he is gon."
Other poets knew as well,
And the same sad story tell,
Hark ye, heed ye, while ye may,
What the worldly Pope doth say:
"Love, free as air, at sight of human ties
Spreads his light wings and in a moment flies."
This, Sir Hudibras, brave knight,
Faithful lover, constant wight,
From his lady's lips did hear;
Mark ye, eke, the warning clear:
"Love is too generous t'abide
To be against its nature ty'd,
For where 'tis of itself inclin'd,
It breaks loose when it is confin'd."
Ho, ye lovers, shall I tell
How through life with Love to dwell,
Spite of all the poets say?
Harken to the easy way:--
Strive to bind him not, but see
That the little god binds thee.
Scheme | AABB CDD EEFF GG HHCC XBII EEFF AA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1110111 1011111 111111 1111101 11110111 111001111 11101111 1010111 0011101 1111111 1010111 1111111101 1111000101 11111 1010101 1110111 1110101 111100101 11011101 11110101 11111101 1110111 1111111 1110101 1010101 1111111 1010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 912 |
Words | 177 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 3, 4, 2, 4, 4, 4, 2 |
Lines Amount | 27 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 85 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 21 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 53 sec read
- 56 Views
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"To Lovers" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 16 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/11085/to-lovers>.
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