Analysis of To the maids, to walk abroad

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



Come, sit we under yonder tree,
Where merry as the maids we'll be;
And as on primroses we sit,
We'll venture, if we can, at wit;
If not, at draw-gloves we will play,
So spend some minutes of the day;
Or else spin out the thread of sands,
Playing at questions and commands:
Or tell what strange tricks Love can do,
By quickly making one of two.
Thus we will sit and talk, but tell
No cruel truths of Philomel,
Or Phillis, whom hard fate forced on
To kill herself for Demophon;
But fables we'll relate; how Jove
Put on all shapes to get a Love;
As now a satyr, then a swan,
A bull but then, and now a man.
Next, we will act how young men woo,
And sigh and kiss as lovers do;
And talk of brides; and who shall make
That wedding-smock, this bridal-cake,
That dress, this sprig, that leaf, this vine,
That smooth and silken columbine.
This done, we'll draw lots who shall buy
And gild the bays and rosemary;
What posies for our wedding rings;
What gloves we'll give, and ribbonings;
And smiling at our selves, decree
Who then the joining priest shall be;
What short sweet prayers shall be said,
And how the posset shall be made
With cream of lilies, not of kine,
And maiden's-blush for spiced wine.
Thus having talk'd, we'll next commend
A kiss to each, and so we'll end.


Scheme AABBCCDDEEFCGGHHGIEEJJKKLAMDAANOGKPP
Poetic Form
Metre 11110101 11010111 0111011 11011111 11111111 11110101 11110111 10110001 11111111 11010111 11110111 110111 11011111 110111 11010111 11111101 1101101 01110101 11111111 01011101 01110111 11011101 11111111 1101010 11111111 0101010 11110101 111101 010110101 11010111 1111111 0101111 11110111 011111 11011101 01110111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,239
Words 242
Sentences 6
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 36
Lines Amount 36
Letters per line (avg) 27
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 965
Words per stanza (avg) 240
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:15 min read
35

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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