Analysis of May Janet
Algernon Charles Swinburne 1837 (London) – 1909 (London)
“STAND UP, stand up, thou May Janet,
And go to the wars with me.”
He’s drawn her by both hands
With her face against the sea.
“He that strews red shall gather white,
He that sows white reap red,
Before your face and my daughter’s
Meet in a marriage-bed.
“Gold coin shall grow in the yellow field,
Green corn in the green sea-water,
And red fruit grow of the rose’s red,
Ere your fruit grow in her.”
“But I shall have her by land,” he said,
“Or I shall have her by sea,
Or I shall have her by strong treason
And no grace go with me.”
Her father’s drawn her by both hands,
He’s rent her gown from her,
He’s ta’en the smock round her body,
Cast in the sea-water.
The captain’s drawn her by both sides
Out of the fair green sea;
“Stand up, stand up, thou May Janet,
And come to the war with me.”
The first town they came to
There was a blue bride-chamber;
He clothed her on with silk
And belted her with amber.
The second town they came to
The bridesmen feasted knee to knee;
He clothed her on with silver,
A stately thing to see.
The third town they came to
The bridesmaids all had gowns of gold;
He clothed her on with purple,
A rich thing to behold.
The last town they came to
He clothed her white and red,
With a green flag either side of her
And a gold flag overhead.
Scheme | Abcb xdxd xede dbxb cebe xbAb fexe fbeb fgxg fded |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 11111110 0110111 110111 1010101 11111101 111111 01110110 100101 111100101 11001110 011110101 111100 111101111 1111011 111101110 011111 01010111 110110 11011010 100110 01010111 110111 11111110 0110111 011111 1101110 110111 0100110 0101111 0110111 1101110 010111 011111 0111111 1101110 011101 011111 110101 101110110 0011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,275 |
Words | 259 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 96 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 25 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 04, 2023
- 1:17 min read
- 116 Views
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"May Janet" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/1361/may-janet>.
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