Analysis of Virtue
George Herbert 1593 (Montgomery) – 1633 (Bemerton)
Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright
The bridal of the earth and sky:
The dew shall weep thy fall tonight,
For thou must die.
Sweet rose, whose hue, angry and brave,
Bids the rash gazer wipe his eyes:
Thy root is ever in its grave,
And thou must die.
Sweet spring, full of sweet days and roses,
A box where sweets compacted lie:
My music shows ye have your closes,
And all must die.
Only a sweet and virtuous soul,
LIke seasoned timber, never gives;
But though the whole world turn to coal.
Then chiefly lives.
Scheme | ABAB CXCB DBDB EFEF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (75%) |
Metre | 11111111 01010101 01111101 1111 11111001 1011111 11110011 0111 111111010 01110101 110111110 0111 100101001 11010101 11011111 1101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 505 |
Words | 100 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 98 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 25 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 20, 2023
- 30 sec read
- 225 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Virtue" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/15410/virtue>.
Discuss this George Herbert poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In