Analysis of To primroses filled with morning dew
Robert Herrick 1591 (London) – 1674 (Dean Prior)
Why do ye weep, sweet babes? can tears
Speak grief in you,
Who were but born
just as the modest morn
Teem'd her refreshing dew?
Alas, you have not known that shower
That mars a flower,
Nor felt th' unkind
Breath of a blasting wind,
Nor are ye worn with years;
Or warp'd as we,
Who think it strange to see,
Such pretty flowers, like to orphans young,
To speak by tears, before ye have a tongue.
Speak, whimp'ring younglings, and make known
The reason why
Ye droop and weep;
Is it for want of sleep,
Or childish lullaby?
Or that ye have not seen as yet
The violet?
Or brought a kiss
From that Sweet-heart, to this?
--No, no, this sorrow shown
By your tears shed,
Would have this lecture read,
That things of greatest, so of meanest worth,
Conceived with grief are, and with tears brought forth.
Scheme | XABBACCDDXEEFF GHIIHXXJJGKKXX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111111 1101 1011 110101 100101 011111110 11010 111101 110101 111111 1111 111111 1101011101 1111011101 111011 0101 1101 111111 11010 11111111 0100 1101 111111 111101 1111 111101 1111011101 0111101111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 774 |
Words | 151 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 14, 14 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 304 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 75 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 46 sec read
- 93 Views
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"To primroses filled with morning dew" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/31474/to-primroses-filled-with-morning-dew>.
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