Analysis of A Poem For The Birth-Day Of The Right Honble The Lady Catharine Tufton
Anne Kingsmill Finch 1661 – 1720 (Westminster)
'Tis fit SERENA shou'd be sung.
High-born SERENA, Fair and Young,
Shou'd be of ev'ry Muse and Voice
The pleasing, and applauded Choice.
But as the Meanest of the Show
Do First in all Processions go:
So, let my Steps pursue that Swain
The humblest of th' inspired Train;
Whose well-meant Verse did just appear,
To lead on the preceding Year:
So let my Pen, the next in Fame,
Now wait on fair SERENA's Name;
The second Tribute gladly pay,
And hail this blest returning Day.
But let it not attempt to raise
Or rightly speak SERENA's Praise:
Since with more ease we might declare
How Great her Predecessors were;
How Great that more distinguish'd Peer,
To whom she owes her Being here;
In whom our Britain lets us see
What once they were, and still shou'd be;
As, when the earliest Race was drown'd,
Some Patterns, from amongst them found,
Were kept to shew succeeding Times
Their Excellence without their Crimes:
More easily we might express
What Vertues do her Mother dress;
What does her Form and Mind adorn,
Of whom th' engaging Nymph was born;
What Piety, what generous Love,
Does the enlarged Bosom move
Of Her, whose Fav'rite she appears,
Who more than as a Niece endears.
Such full Perfections obvious lie,
And strike, at first, a Poet's Eye.
Deep Lines of Honour all can hit,
Or mark out a superior Wit;
Consummate Goodness all can show,
And where such Graces shine below:
But the more tender Strokes to trace,
T' express the Promise of a Face,
When but the Dawnings of the Mind
We from the Air unripen'd find;
Which alt'ring, as new Moments rise,
The Pen or Pencil's Art defies;
When Flesh and Blood in Youth appears,
Polish'd like what our Marble wears;
Fresh as that Shade of op'ning Green,
Which first upon our Groves is seen;
Enliven'd by a harmless Fire,
And brighten'd by each gay Desire;
These nicer Touches wou'd demand
A Cowley's or a Waller's Hand,
T'explain, with undisputed Art,
What 'tis affects th'enlighten'd Heart,
When ev'ry darker Thought gives way,
Whilst blooming Beauty we survey;
To shew how All, that's soft and sweet,
Does in the fair SERENA meet;
To tell us, with a sure Presage,
The Charms of her maturer Age.
When Hothfeild shall (as heretofore {4}
From its far-sought and virtuous Store
It Families of great Renown
Did with illustrious Hymens crown)
When Hothfeild shall such Treasure know,
As fair SERENA to bestow:
Then shou'd some Muse of loftier Wing
The Triumphs of that Season sing;
Describe the Pains, the Hopes, the Fears
Of noble Youths, th'ambitious Cares
Of Fathers, the long-fram'd Design,
To add such Splendour to their Line,
Whilst all shall strive for such a Bride
So Educated, and Ally'd.
Scheme | AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIJEKLLMMNNOOPPQRSBTTUUCCVVWWXXSYZZJJ1 1 2 2 GG3 3 4 5 6 6 7 7 CC8 8 SY9 9 0 M |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11010111 11010101 1111101 01000101 11010101 11010101 11110111 01001110101 11111101 11100101 11110101 111111 01010101 01110101 11110111 110111 11111101 1101000 11110101 11110101 011010111 11100111 110100111 11010111 01110101 11000111 11001101 1110101 11010101 1111010111 110011001 1001101 1011101 1111011 1111001 01110101 1111111 111001001 10010111 01110101 10110111 101010101 1101101 110111 11111101 0111101 11010101 101110101 11111111 110110111 010101010 010111010 11010101 011011 10110101 1101110101 1110111 11010101 11111101 10010101 11110110 011011 111101 111101001 11001101 11010011 1111101 11010101 111111001 01011101 01010101 1101110101 11001101 1111111 11111101 110001 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,644 |
Words | 465 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 76 |
Lines Amount | 76 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 2,057 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 463 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:28 min read
- 41 Views
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"A Poem For The Birth-Day Of The Right Honble The Lady Catharine Tufton" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/3238/a-poem-for-the-birth-day-of-the-right-honble-the-lady-catharine-tufton>.
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