Analysis of Oberon to the Queen of the Fairies

Mary Darby Robinson 1757 (England) – 1800 (England)



My OBERON, with ev'ry sprite
"That gilds the vapours of the night,
"Shall dance and weave the verdant ring
"With joy that mortals thus can sing;
"And when thou sigh'st MARIA'S name,
"And mourn'st to feel a hopeless flame,
"Eager they'll catch the tender note
"Just parting from thy tuneful throat,
"And bear it to the careless ear
"Of her who scorn'd a lover's tear. "

- QUEEN OF THE FARIES TO IL FERITO.

SWEET MAB! at thy command I flew
O'er glittering floods of midnight dew,
O'er many a silken violet's head,
Unpress'd by vulgar mortal tread;
Eager to execute thy will,
I mounted on the ZEPHYR'S wing,
And bid her whisp'ring tongue be still,
Nor thro' the air its murmurs fling.

Cold CYNTHIA hid her silver bow
Beneath her azure spangled vest;
No gentle ray my wand'rings blest,
Save the small night-worm's twinkling glow.
Upon the budding thorn I found
A veil of gossamer, which bound
My tiny head;­about my waist
A scarf of magic pow'r I threw,
With many a crystal dew-drop grac'd,
And deck'd with leaves of various hue.

Thus, gaily dress'd, I reach'd the grove,
Where, like the Paphian Queen of Love
Upon a bank of lillies fair
MARIA slept; the am'rous air
Snatch'd nectar from her balmy lips,
Sweeter than haughty JUNO sips,
When GANYMEDE her goblet fills
With juice, the citron bud distills.

Her breast was whiter than the down
That on the RING-DOVE'S bosom grows;
Her cheek, more blushing than the rose
That blooms on FLORA'S May-day crown!
Beneath her dark and "fringed lid,"
I spy'd LOVE'S glittering arrows hid;
I listen'd to the dulcet song
That trembled on her tuneful tongue;
And, "IL FERITO i;" was the sound
The babbling echo whisper'd round:
The blissful moment swift I caught,
And to the maiden's slumb'ring thought
Pictur'd the graces of his mind,
His taste, his eloquence refin'd!

His polish'd manners sweetly mild!
His soft poetic warblings wild !
His warm impassion'd verse, that fills
The soul with Love's extatic thrills.
I mark'd the blush upon her cheek,
Her spotless bosom's language speak;
I mark'd the tear of pity roll,
Sweet emblem of her feeling soul:
I heard the sympathetic sigh
Upon her lips vermilion die.
When busy LOVE too eager sped
His light steps near the charmer's bed;
His pinions rustling thro' the air
Awoke the trembling spotless fair;
Swiftly her radiant eyes unclose,
When, on my filmy wing I rose
Sweet MAB the rapt'rous tale to bear,
TO "IL FERITO'S" GRATEFUL EAR.


Scheme AABBCCDDEF A GGHHIBIB XJJXKKLGLG XXFFMMNN OPPOQQXXKKXXRR SSNNTTUUVVHHFFMPFE
Poetic Form
Metre 110111 1101101 11010101 11110111 011110101 011110101 10110101 11011101 01110101 10110101 11001111 11110111 101001111 101001011 1110101 1011011 1101011 0101111 11011101 110010101 01010101 11011111 101111001 01010111 01110011 11010111 011101111 110010111 011111001 11011101 1101111 0101111 0101011 11010101 10110101 1100101 11010101 01110101 11011101 01110101 1111111 0101011 111100101 11010101 11010101 0111101 010010101 01010111 010111 10010111 11110001 11010101 1101011 11010111 011111 11010101 0101101 11011101 11010101 1100101 01010101 11011101 1111011 1110101 010100101 10010011 1111111 1101111 111101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 2,410
Words 425
Sentences 15
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 10, 1, 8, 10, 8, 14, 18
Lines Amount 69
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 267
Words per stanza (avg) 60
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

2:19 min read
106

Mary Darby Robinson

Mary Robinson was an English actress, poet, dramatist, novelist, and celebrity figure. more…

All Mary Darby Robinson poems | Mary Darby Robinson Books

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