Analysis of To The Painter Of An Ill-drawn Picture of Cleone
Anne Kingsmill Finch 1661 – 1720 (Westminster)
Sooner I'd praise a Cloud which Light beguiles,
Than thy rash Hand which robs this Face of Smiles;
And does that sweet and pleasing Air control,
Which to us paints the fair CLEONE's Soul.
'Tis vain to boast of Rules or labour'd Art;
I miss the Look that captivates my Heart,
Attracts my Love, and tender Thoughts inspires;
Nor can my Breast be warm'd by common Fires;
Nor can ARDELIA love but where she first admires.
Like Jupiter's, thy Head was sure in Pain
When this Virago struggl'd in thy Brain;
And strange it is, thou hast not made her wield
A mortal Dart, or penetrating Shield,
Giving that Hand of disproportion'd size
The Pow'r, of which thou hast disarm'd her Eyes:
As if, like Amazons, she must oppose,
And into Lovers force her vanquish'd Foes.
Had to THEANOR thus her Form been shown
To gain her Heart, he had not lost his own;
Nor, by the gentlest Bands of Human Life,
At once secur'd the Mistress and the Wife.
For still CLEONE's Beauties are the same,
And what first lighten'd, still upholds his Flame.
Fain his Compassion wou'd thy Works approve,
Were pitying thee consistent with his Love,
Or with the Taste which Italy has wrought
In his refin'd and daily heighten'd Thought,
Where Poetry, or Painting find no place,
Unless perform'd with a superior Grace.
Cou'd but my Wish some Influence infuse,
Ne'er shou'd the Pencil, or the Sister-Muse
Be try'd by those who easily excuse:
But strictest Censors shou'd of either judge,
Applaud the Artist, and despise the Drudge.
Then never wou'd thy Colours have debas'd
CLEONE's Features, and her Charms defac'd:
Nor had my Pen (more subject to their Laws)
Assay'd to vindicate her Beauty's Cause.
A rigid Fear had kept us both in Awe,
Nor I compos'd, nor thou presum'd to draw;
But in CLEONE viewing with Surprize
That Excellence, to which we ne'er cou'd rise,
By less Attempts we safely might have gain'd
That humble Praise which neither has obtain'd,
Since to thy Shadowings, or my ruder Verse,
It is not giv'n to shew, or to rehearse
What Nature in CLEONE's Face has writ,
A soft Endearment, and a chearful Wit,
That all-subduing, that enliv'ning Air
By which, a sympathizing Joy we share,
For who forbears to smile, when smil'd on by the Fair?
Scheme | AABBCCAAADDEEAAAAFFGGHHIJKKAAAAALLMMAANOAAPPAAQQRRR |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 101101111 1111111111 0111010101 11110111 111111111 110111011 0111010101 11111111010 1101001111101 1100111101 11010011 0111111101 010111001 1011111 01111110101 111101101 0011010101 11110111 1101111111 11010011101 1101010001 11110101 0111010111 1101011101 01001010111 1101110011 0101010101 1100110111 01011001001 1111110001 1101010101 1111110001 1101011101 0101000101 110111101 11000101 1111101111 11100011 0101111101 1101110111 1011011 1100111111 1101110111 1101110101 111111101 1111111101 11001111 010100011 11010111 110100111 11111111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,217 |
Words | 392 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 51 |
Lines Amount | 51 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,716 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 390 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:09 min read
- 37 Views
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"To The Painter Of An Ill-drawn Picture of Cleone" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 3 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/3324/to-the-painter-of-an-ill-drawn-picture-of-cleone>.
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