Analysis of Strive Not, Vain Lover

Richard Lovelace 1618 – 1657



Strive not, vain lover, to be fine;
Thy silk's the silk-worm's, and not thine:
You lessen to a fly your mistriss' thought,
To think it may be in a cobweb caught.
What, though her thin transparent lawn
Thy heart in a strong net hath drawn:
Not all the arms the god of fire ere made
Can the soft bulwarks of nak'd love invade.

Be truly fine, then, and yourself dress
In her fair soul's immac'late glass.
Then by reflection you may have the bliss
Perhaps to see what a true fineness is;
When all your gawderies will fit
Those only that are poor in wit.
She that a clinquant outside doth adore,
Dotes on a gilded statue and no more.


Scheme AAXXBBCC XXXXDDEE
Poetic Form
Metre 11110111 11011011 110101111 111110011 11010101 11001111 11010111011 1011110101 110110011 001111 1101011101 011110111 111111 11011101 110111101 110101011
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 640
Words 124
Sentences 8
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 8
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 30
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 243
Words per stanza (avg) 60
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

38 sec read
121

Richard Lovelace

Richard Lovelace was an English poet more…

All Richard Lovelace poems | Richard Lovelace Books

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