Analysis of Sonnet XIX: Farewell, Ye Coral Caves

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



Farewell, ye coral caves, ye pearly sands,
Ye waving woods that crown yon lofty steep;
Farewell, ye Nereides of the glitt'ring deep,
Ye mountain tribes, ye fawns, ye sylvan bands:
On the bleak rock your frantic minstrel stands,
Each task forgot, save that, to sigh and weep;
In vain the strings her burning fingers sweep,
No more her touch, the Grecian Lyre commands!
In Circe's cave my faithless Phaon's laid,
Her daemons dress his brow with opiate flow'rs;
Or, loit'ring in the brown pomgranate shade,
Beguile with am'rous strains the fateful hours;
While Sappho's lips, to paly ashes fade,
And sorrow's cank'ring worm her heart devours!


Scheme ABBAABBACACDCD
Poetic Form
Metre 111011101 1101111101 1111011 1101111101 1011110101 1101111101 0101010101 1101010101 0111111 0111111001 1100111 0111101010 11111101 011101010
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 634
Words 108
Sentences 3
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 36
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 501
Words per stanza (avg) 106
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 08, 2023

35 sec read
90

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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