Analysis of To The Lady Magdalen Herbert, Of St. Mary Magdalen

John Donne 1572 (London) – 1631 (London)



HER of your name, whose fair inheritance
Bethina was, and jointure Magdalo,
An active faith so highly did advance,
That she once knew, more than the Church did know,
The Resurrection ; so much good there is
Deliver'd of her, that some Fathers be
Loth to believe one woman could do this ;
But think these Magdalens were two or three.
Increase their number, Lady, and their fame ;
To their devotion add your innocence ;
Take so much of th' example as of the name,
The latter half ; and in some recompense,
That they did harbour Christ Himself, a guest,
Harbour these hymns, to His dear Name address'd.


Scheme ABCDEFGFHAHIJJ
Poetic Form
Metre 0111110100 11011 1101110101 1111110111 001011111 0101011101 1101110111 11110111 0111010011 1101011100 1111110101101 010100110 1111010101 1011111101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 606
Words 107
Sentences 3
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 466
Words per stanza (avg) 110
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

32 sec read
106

John Donne

John Donne was an English poet, satirist, lawyer and a cleric in the Church of England. more…

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