Analysis of Modern Love XXVIII: I Must Be Flattered
George Meredith 1828 (Portsmouth, Hampshire) – 1909 (Box Hill, Surrey)
I must be flattered. The imperious
Desire speaks out. Lady, I am content
To play with you the game of Sentiment,
And with you enter on paths perilous;
But if across your beauty I throw light,
To make it threefold, it must be all mine.
First secret; then avowed. For I must shine
Envied,--I, lessened in my proper sight!
Be watchful of your beauty, Lady dear!
How much hangs on that lamp you cannot tell.
Most earnestly I pray you, tend it well:
And men shall see me as a burning sphere;
And men shall mark you eyeing me, and groan
To be the God of such a grand sunflower!
I feel the promptings of Satanic power,
While you do homage unto me alone.
Scheme | ABCADEEDFGGFHIIH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111000100 01011101110 1111011100 0111011100 1101110111 111111111 1101011111 1011001101 1101110101 1111111101 1100111111 0111110101 0111110101 1101110110 1101101010 1111010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 654 |
Words | 127 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 16 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 31 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 498 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 124 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 38 sec read
- 116 Views
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"Modern Love XXVIII: I Must Be Flattered" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 6 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/15542/modern-love-xxviii%3A-i-must-be-flattered>.
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