Analysis of Mark Antony

John Cleveland 1613 (Loughborough) – 1658



Whenas the nightingale chanted her vespers,
And the wild forester couched on the ground,
Venus invited me in th' evening whispers
Unto a fragrant field with roses crowned,
Where she before had sent
My wishes' complement;
Unto my heart's content
Played with me on the green.
Never Mark Antony
Dallied more wantonly
With the fair Egyptian Queen.

First on her cherry cheeks I mine eyes feasted,
Thence fear surfeiting made me retire;
Next on her warmer lips, which when I tasted
My duller spirits made active as fire.
Then we began to dart
Each at another's heart,
Arrows that knew no smart,
Sweet lips and smiles between.
Never Mark Antony
Dallied more wantonly
With the fair Egyptian Queen.

Wanting a glass to plait her amber tresses,
Which like a bracelet rich decked mine arm,
Gaudier than Juno wears whenas she graces
Jove with embraces more stately than warm;
Then did she peep in mine
Eyes' humor crystalline;
I in her eyes was seen,
As if we one had been.
Never Mark Antony
Dallied more wantonly
With the fair Egyptian Queen.

Mystical grammar of amorous glances;
Feeling of pulses, the physic of love;
Rhetorical courtings and musical dances;
Numb'ring of kisses arithmetic prove;
Eyes like astronomy;
Straight-limbed geometry;
In her art's ingeny
Our wits were sharp and keen.
Never Mark Antony
Dallied more wantonly
With the fair Egyptian Queen.


Scheme ababcxcdEED xxxxfffdEED axaxggdxEED axaxeeddEED
Poetic Form
Metre 101001001 0011001101 1001010111010 1001011101 110111 110100 101110 111101 101100 101100 1010101 11010111110 1111101 11010111110 11010110110 110111 110101 101111 110101 101100 101100 1010101 10011101010 110101111 111011110 1101011011 111101 11010 100111 111111 101100 101100 1010101 10010110010 101100111 01001010010 111100101 110100 110100 0011 1010101 101100 101100 1010101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,325
Words 230
Sentences 10
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 11, 11, 11, 11
Lines Amount 44
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 272
Words per stanza (avg) 57
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:10 min read
69

John Cleveland

John Cleveland was an English poet. more…

All John Cleveland poems | John Cleveland Books

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