Analysis of The British Church
George Herbert 1593 (Montgomery) – 1633 (Bemerton)
I joy, dear mother, when I view
Thy perfect lineaments, and hue
Both sweet and bright.
Beauty in thee takes up her place,
And dates her letters from thy face,
When she doth write.
A fine aspect in fit array,
Neither too mean nor yet too gay,
Shows who is best.
Outlandish looks may not compare,
For all they either painted are,
Or else undress'd.
She on the hills which wantonly
Allureth all, in hope to be
By her preferr'd,
Hath kiss'd so long her painted shrines,
That ev'n her face by kissing shines,
For her reward.
She in the valley is so shy
Of dressing, that her hair doth lie
About her ears;
While she avoids her neighbour's pride,
She wholly goes on th' other side,
And nothing wears.
But, dearest mother, what those miss,
The mean, thy praise and glory is
And long may be.
Blessed be God, whose love it was
To double-moat thee with his grace,
And none but thee.
Scheme | AABCCB DDEXXE FFXGGX HHXIIX XXFXCF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (33%) Etheree (23%) |
Metre | 11110111 101101 1101 10011101 01010111 1111 0110101 10111111 1111 01011101 11110101 1101 11011100 110111 1001 11110101 111011101 1001 10010111 11010111 0101 1101011 1101111101 0101 11010111 01110101 0111 1111111 11011111 0111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 950 |
Words | 166 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 134 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 33 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 51 sec read
- 89 Views
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"The British Church" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/15387/the-british-church>.
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