Analysis of Songs Set To Music: 14. Set By Mr. Smith
Matthew Prior 1664 – 1721
Once I was unconfined and free,
Would I had been so still!
Enjoying sweetest liberty,
And roving at my will.
But now, not master of my heart,
Cupid does so decide,
That two she tyrants shall it part,
And so poor me divide.
Victoria's will I must obey,
She acts without control;
Phillis has such a taking way
She charms my very soul.
Deceived by Phillis' looks and smiles,
Into her snares I run;
Victoria shows me all her wiles,
Which yet I dare not shun.
From one I fancy every kiss
Has something in't divine,
And awful taste the balmy bliss
That joins her lips with mine.
But when with th' other I embrace,
Though she be not a queen,
Methinks 'tis sweet with such a lass
To tumble on the green.
Thus here you see a shared heart,
But I meanwhile the fool;
Each in it has an equal part,
But neither yet the whole.
Nor will it, if I right forecast,
To either wholly yield;
I find the time approaches fast
When both must quit the field.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IJIJ XKXK CXCF LMLM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (88%) |
Metre | 1110101 111111 01010100 010111 11110111 10111 11110111 011101 010011101 110101 10110101 111101 01110101 010111 010011101 111111 111101001 1100101 01010101 110111 1111110101 111101 1111101 110101 1111011 11101 10111101 110101 1111111 110101 11010101 111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 910 |
Words | 182 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 90 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 55 sec read
- 30 Views
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"Songs Set To Music: 14. Set By Mr. Smith" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/27406/songs-set-to-music%3A-14.-set-by-mr.-smith>.
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