Analysis of Cupid Mistaken
Matthew Prior 1664 – 1721
As after noon, one summer's day,
Venus stood bathing in a river;
Cupid a-shooting went that way,
New strung his bow, new fill'd his quiver.
With skill he chose his sharpest dart:
With all his might his bow he drew:
Swift to his beauteous parent's heart
The too well-guided arrow flew.
I faint! I die! the Goddess cry'd:
O cruel, could'st thou find none other,
To wreck thy spleen on? Parricide!
Like Nero, thou hast slain thy mother.
Poor Cupid sobbing scarce could speak;
Indeed, Mamma, I did not know ye:
Alas! how easy my mistake?
I took you for your likeness, Cloe.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD ABAB XXXX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (75%) |
Metre | 11011101 101100010 10010111 111111110 11111101 11111111 1111101 01110101 11110101 1101111110 111111 110111110 11010111 011011111 01110101 11111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 577 |
Words | 105 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 109 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 26 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 33 sec read
- 87 Views
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"Cupid Mistaken" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/27351/cupid-mistaken>.
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