Analysis of Sonnet XLVIII: Cupid, I Hate Thee

Michael Drayton 1563 (Hartshill) – 1631 (London)



Cupid, I hate thee, which I'd have thee know;
A naked starveling ever may'st thou be.
Poor rogue, go pawn thy fascia and thy bow
For some few rags wherewith to cover thee.
Or, if thou'lt not, thy archery forbear,
To some base rustic do thyself prefer,
And when corn's sown or grown into the ear,
Practise thy quiver and turn crow-keeper.
Or, being blind, as fittest for the trade,
Go hire thyself some bungling harper's boy;
They that are blind are often minstrels made;
So may'st thou live, to thy fair mother's joy,
That whilst with Mars she holdeth her old way,
Thou, her blind son, may'st sit by them and play.


Scheme ABCBDDDDEFEFGG
Poetic Form
Metre 1011111111 0101101111 111111011 111111101 111111001 111101101 0111110101 111001110 1101110101 11011100101 1111110101 11111111101 111111011 10111111101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 621
Words 115
Sentences 5
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 34
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 470
Words per stanza (avg) 113
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

36 sec read
124

Michael Drayton

Michael Drayton was an English poet who came to prominence in the Elizabethan era. more…

All Michael Drayton poems | Michael Drayton Books

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    A poem consisting of 14 lines, typically with a specific rhyme scheme, is called a _______.
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