Analysis of Though I Thy Mithridates Were

James Joyce 1882 (Rathgar) – 1941 (Zürich)



Though I thy Mithridates were,
Framed to defy the poison-dart,
Yet must thou fold me unaware
To know the rapture of thy heart,
And I but render and confess
The malice of thy tenderness.

For elegant and antique phrase,
Dearest, my lips wax all too wise;
Nor have I known a love whose praise
Our piping poets solemnize,
Neither a love where may not be
Ever so little falsity.


Scheme XAXABX CXCBDD
Poetic Form
Metre 111100 11010101 1111101 11010111 01110001 01011100 11000011 10111111 11110111 1010101 10011111 10110100
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 381
Words 71
Sentences 3
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 6, 6
Lines Amount 12
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 148
Words per stanza (avg) 35
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 23, 2023

21 sec read
355

James Joyce

ames Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century.  more…

All James Joyce poems | James Joyce Books

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