Analysis of A meditation for his mistress

Robert Herrick 1591 (London) – 1674 (Dean Prior)



You are a Tulip seen to-day,
But, Dearest, of so short a stay,
That where you grew, scarce man can say.

You are a lovely July-flower;
Yet one rude wind, or ruffling shower,
Will force you hence, and in an hour.

You are a sparkling Rose i'th' bud,
Yet lost, ere that chaste flesh and blood
Can show where you or grew or stood.

You are a full-spread fair-set Vine,
And can with tendrils love entwine;
Yet dried, ere you distil your wine.

You are like Balm, enclosed well
In amber, or some crystal shell;
Yet lost ere you transfuse your smell.

You are a dainty Violet;
Yet wither'd, ere you can be set
Within the virgins coronet.

You are the Queen all flowers among;
But die you must, fair maid, ere long,
As he, the maker of this song.


Scheme AAA BBB CCX DDD EEE XFF XGG
Poetic Form
Metre 11010111 11011101 11111111 11010110 1111110010 111100110 1101011111 11111101 11111111 11011111 0111101 11110111 1111011 01011101 11110111 11010100 11011111 01010101 110111001 11111111 11010111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 721
Words 142
Sentences 8
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
Lines Amount 21
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 79
Words per stanza (avg) 20
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 20, 2023

43 sec read
136

Robert Herrick

Robert Herrick was born in London, England, in 1591. He was apprenticed to a goldsmith (his uncle, Sir William), but went to Cambridge, at St John's, in 1613. He was ordained at Peterborough in 1623 and became chaplain to the Duke of Buckingham a few years later. "Hesperides" - a collection of 1200 lyrical poems - was published in 1648 and it remained his magnum opus. Herrick died in 1674, aged 83. more…

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