Analysis of Sonnet 13

John Milton 1608 (Cheapside) – 1674 (Chalfont St Giles)



To Mr. H. Lawes, on his Aires.

Harry whose tuneful and well measur'd Song
First taught our English Musick how to span
Words with just note and accent, not to scan
With Midas Ears, committing short and long;
Thy worth and skill exempts thee from the throng,
With praise enough for Envy to look wan;
To after age thou shalt be writ the man,
That with smooth aire couldst humor best our tongue
Thou honour'st Verse, and Verse must send her wing
To honour thee, the Priest of Phoebus Quire                          
That tun'st their happiest lines in Hymn or Story
Dante shall give Fame leave to set thee higher
Then his Casella, whom he woo'd to sing
Met in the milder shades of Purgatory.

Note: 9 send] lend  Cambridge Autograph MS.


Scheme X ABBAAXBXCXDXCD X
Poetic Form
Metre 110111110 1011001101 11101010111 1111001111 1101010101 1101011101 1101110111 1101111101 11111101101 111011101 111011101 111100101110 10111111110 1101011111 1001011100 11110101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 728
Words 133
Sentences 6
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 1, 14, 1
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 35
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 185
Words per stanza (avg) 44
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

41 sec read
132

John Milton

John Milton was the Secretary of State of Georgia from 1777 to 1799. more…

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