Analysis of The Wish
Abraham Cowley 1618 (London) – 1667 (London)
WELL then! I now do plainly see
This busy world and I shall ne'er agree.
The very honey of all earthly joy
Does of all meats the soonest cloy;
And they, methinks, deserve my pity
Who for it can endure the stings,
The crowd and buzz and murmurings,
Of this great hive, the city.
Ah, yet, ere I descend to the grave
May I a small house and large garden have;
And a few friends, and many books, both true,
Both wise, and both delightful too!
And since love ne'er will from me flee,
A Mistress moderately fair,
And good as guardian angels are,
Only beloved and loving me.
O fountains! when in you shall I
Myself eased of unpeaceful thoughts espy?
O fields! O woods! when, when shall I be made
Thy happy tenant of your shade?
Here 's the spring-head of Pleasure's flood:
Here 's wealthy Nature's treasury,
Where all the riches lie that she
Has coin'd and stamp'd for good.
Pride and ambition here
Only in far-fetch'd metaphors appear;
Here nought but winds can hurtful murmurs scatter,
And nought but Echo flatter.
The gods, when they descended, hither
From heaven did always choose their way:
And therefore we may boldly say
That 'tis the way too thither.
Hoe happy here should I
And one dear She live, and embracing die!
She who is all the world, and can exclude
In deserts solitude.
I should have then this only fear:
Lest men, when they my pleasures see,
Should hither throng to live like me,
And so make a city here.
Scheme | AABBAXAA XXCCAXXA DAEEXAAX FGHHHIIC DDJJGAAF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (33%) |
Metre | 11111101 1101011101 0101011101 11110101 01101110 11110101 010101 1111010 111101101 1101101101 0011010111 11010101 01111111 01010001 011100101 10010101 11010111 1111110 1111111111 11010111 11011111 111010100 11010111 110111 100101 1001110001 11111101010 0111010 011101010 11011111 0111101 110111 110111 0111100101 1111010101 01010 11111101 11111101 11011111 0110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,457 |
Words | 264 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 219 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 52 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 25, 2023
- 1:21 min read
- 286 Views
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"The Wish" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/20/the-wish>.
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