Analysis of The Shepherd And The Calm
Anne Kingsmill Finch 1661 – 1720 (Westminster)
Soothing his Passions with a warb'ling Sound,
A Shepherd-Swain lay stretch'd upon the Ground;
Whilst all were mov'd, who their Attention lent,
Or with the Harmony in Chorus went,
To something less than Joy, yet more than dull Content.
(Between which two Extreams true Pleasure lies,
O'er-run by Fools, unreach'd-at by the Wise )
But yet, a fatal Prospect to the Sea
Wou'd often draw his greedy Sight away.
He saw the Barques unlading on the Shore,
And guess'd their Wealth, then scorn'd his little Store.
Then wou'd that Little lose, or else wou'd make it more.
To Merchandize converted is the Fold,
The Bag, the Bottle, and the Hurdles sold;
The Dog was chang'd away, the pretty Skell
Whom he had fed, and taught, and lov'd so well.
In vain the Phillis wept, which heretofore
Receiv'd his Presents, and his Garlands wore.
False and upbraided, he forsakes the Downs,
Nor courts her Smiles, nor fears the Ocean's Frowns.
For smooth it lay, as if one single Wave
Made all the Sea, nor Winds that Sea cou'd heave;
Which blew no more than might his Sails supply:
Clear was the Air below, and Phoebus laugh'd on high.
With this Advent'rer ev'ry thing combines,
And Gold to Gold his happy Voyage joins;
But not so prosp'rous was the next Essay,
For rugged Blasts encounter'd on the way,
Scarce cou'd the Men escape, the Deep had all their Prey.
Our broken Merchant in the Wreck was thrown
Upon those Lands, which once had been his own;
Where other Flocks now pastur'd on the Grass,
And other Corydons had woo'd his Lass.
A Servant, for small Profits, there he turns,
Yet thrives again, and less and less he mourns;
Re-purchases in time th'abandon'd Sheep,
Which sad Experience taught him now to keep.
When from that very Bank, one Halcyon Day,
On which he lean'd, when tempted to the Sea,
He notes a Calm; the Winds and Waves were still,
And promis'd what the Winds nor Waves fulfill,
A settl'd Quiet, and Conveyance sure,
To him that Wealth, by Traffick, wou'd procure.
But the rough part the Shepherd now performs,
Reviles the Cheat, and at the Flatt'ry storms.
Ev'n thus (quoth he) you seem'd all Rest and Ease,
You sleeping Tempests, you untroubl'd Seas,
That ne'er to be forgot, that luckless Hour,
In which I put my Fortunes in your Pow'r;
Quitting my slender, but secure Estate,
My undisturb'd Repose, my sweet Retreat,
For Treasures which you ravish'd in a Day,
But swept my Folly, with my Goods, away.
Then smile no more, nor these false Shews employ,
Thou momentary Calm, thou fleeting Joy;
No more on me shall these fair Signs prevail,
Some other Novice may be won to Sail,
Give me a certain Fate in the obscurest Vale.
Scheme | AABBBCCDEFFFGGHH FFIIXXHXXXEEEJJKKXXLLEDHHMM NNOOXXXXEEHXHHH |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 101101011 0101110101 1101110101 1101000101 110111111110 011111101 1011111101 1101010101 1101110101 11011101 0111111101 111101111111 11010101 0101000101 0111010101 1111010111 010101101 011100111 100101101 1101110101 1111111101 1101111111 1111111101 110101010111 1111101 0111110101 111110101 1101010101 110101011111 10101000111 0111111111 110111101 01011111 0101110111 1101010111 110001110101 11010011111 11110111001 1111110101 1101010101 0101011101 0101000101 111111101 1011010101 10101011 11111111101 110110101 11110111010 01111100111 1011010101 101011101 110111001 1111011101 1111111101 110011101 1111111101 1101011111 1101010011 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,612 |
Words | 468 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 16, 27, 15 |
Lines Amount | 58 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 675 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 155 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:31 min read
- 85 Views
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