Analysis of To A Person Who Wrote Ill, And Spake Worse, Against Me

Matthew Prior 1664 – 1721



Lie Philo untouch'd, on my peaceable shelf,
Nor take it amiss that so little I heed thee;
I've no envy to thee, and some love to myself:
Then why should I answer since first I must read thee?
Drunk with Helicon's waters, and double-brew'd bub,
Be a linguist, a poet, a critic, a wag;
To the solid delight of thy well-judging club,
To the damage alone of thy bookseller Brag.
Pursue me with satire; what harm is there in't?
But from all viva voce reflection forbear;
There can be no danger from what thou shalt print,
There may be a little from what thou may'st swear.


Scheme ABABCDCDBEFE
Poetic Form
Metre 11001111001 111011110111 11101101111 111110111111 1111001011 101001001001 101001111101 10100111101 011110111101 1111010101 11111011111 111010111111
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 564
Words 108
Sentences 5
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 12
Lines Amount 12
Letters per line (avg) 36
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 435
Words per stanza (avg) 106
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

34 sec read
104

Matthew Prior

Matthew Prior was an English poet and diplomat. more…

All Matthew Prior poems | Matthew Prior Books

0 fans

Discuss this Matthew Prior poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "To A Person Who Wrote Ill, And Spake Worse, Against Me" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 6 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/27463/to-a-person-who-wrote-ill%2C-and-spake-worse%2C-against-me>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    May 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    25
    days
    0
    hours
    26
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Published in 1954, "Fighting Terms" was the first collection of poems by which poet?
    A Sylvia Plath
    B Philip Larkin
    C Thom Gunn
    D Ted Hughes