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
- 122 Views
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"Strive Not, Vain Lover" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/30219/strive-not%2C-vain-lover>.
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