Analysis of To his muse

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



Whither, mad maiden, wilt thou roam?
Far safer 'twere to stay at home;
Where thou mayst sit, and piping, please
The poor and private cottages.
Since cotes and hamlets best agree
With this thy meaner minstrelsy.
There with the reed thou mayst express
The shepherd's fleecy happiness;
And with thy Eclogues intermix:
Some smooth and harmless Bucolics.
There, on a hillock, thou mayst sing
Unto a handsome shepherdling;
Or to a girl, that keeps the neat,
With breath more sweet than violet.
There, there, perhaps such lines as these
May take the simple villages;
But for the court, the country wit
Is despicable unto it.
Stay then at home, and do not go
Or fly abroad to seek for woe;
Contempts in courts and cities dwell
No critic haunts the poor man's cell,
Where thou mayst hear thine own lines read
By no one tongue there censured.
That man's unwise will search for ill,
And may prevent it, sitting still.


Scheme AABCDBEFGBHHIJBKJJLLMMNOPP
Poetic Form
Metre 10110111 11011111 11110101 01010100 11010101 111101 11011101 01010100 011101 110101 11010111 100101 11011101 11111100 11011111 11010100 11010101 10100101 11110111 11011111 1010101 11010111 11111111 1111110 11011111 01011101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 889
Words 162
Sentences 9
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 26
Lines Amount 26
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 714
Words per stanza (avg) 160
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

49 sec read
93

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

5 fans

Discuss this Robert Herrick poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "To his muse" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/31449/to-his-muse>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    1
    day
    9
    hours
    5
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    The Baltimore Ravens’ team name was inspired by which American poet?
    A Langston Hughes
    B Walt Whitman
    C Edgar Allan Poe
    D Emily Dickinson