Analysis of To his mistress, objecting to him neither toying or talking

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



You say I love not, 'cause I do not play
Still with your curls, and kiss the time away.
You blame me, too, because I can't devise
Some sport, to please those babies in your eyes; -
By Love's religion, I must here confess it,
The most I love, when I the least express it.
Small griefs find tongues; full casks are ever found
To give, if any, yet but little sound.
Deep waters noisless are; and this we know,
That chiding streams betray small depth below.
So when love speechless is, she doth express
A depth in love, and that depth bottomless.
Now, since my love is tongueless, know me such,
Who speak but little, 'cause I love so much.


Scheme AABBCCDDEEFGHH
Poetic Form
Metre 1111111111 1111010101 1111011101 1111110011 11010111011 01111101011 1111111101 1111011101 110110111 1101011101 1111011101 0101011100 111111111 1111011111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 631
Words 123
Sentences 7
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 35
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 484
Words per stanza (avg) 121
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

37 sec read
72

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…

All Robert Herrick poems | Robert Herrick Books

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