Analysis of I would and I would not

Sir Edward Dyer 1543 ( Sharpham Park, Glastonbury) – 1607 ( chancel, St Saviour's)



I woulde it were not as it is
Or that I cared not yea or no;
I woulde I thoughte it not amiss,
Or that amiss mighte blamles goo;
 I woulde I were, yet woulde I not,
 I mighte be gladd yet coulde I not.

I coulde desire to know the meane
Or that the meane desyre soughte;
I woulde I coulde my fancye weane
From suche sweet joyes as Love hathe wroughte;
 Onlye my wishe is leaste of all
 A badge whereby to know a thrall.

O happy man whiche doste aspire
To that whiche semeleye thou dost crave!
Thrise happy man, if thy desyre
Maye winn with hope good happ to have;
 But woe to me unhappy man
 Whom hope nor happ acquiet cann.

The budds of hope are starvde with feare
And still his foe presents his face;
My state, if hope the palme shoulde beare
Unto my happ woulde be disgrace.
 As diamond in woode were set
 Or Irus raggs in goulde I frett.

For loe my tyrèd shoulders beare
Desyre's weery beatinge winges;
And at my feet a clogg I weare
Tyde one wth selfe disdayning stringes.
 My wings to mounte aloft make hast.
 My clog doth sinke me downe as faste.

This is our state, loe thus we stande
They ryse to fall that climbe to hye;
The boye that fled kynge Minos lande
Maye learne the wise more love to flye.
 What gaynde his poynte agaynste the sonne
 He drownde in seas himself, that wonne.

Yet Icarus more happy was,
By present deathe his cares to ende
Than I, pore mann, on whom alas
Tenn thousande deathes theire paynes do sende.
 Now greife, now hope, now loue, now spyghte
 Longe sorrows mixte withe shorte delyghte.

The pheere and fellowe of thy smarte
Prometheus I am indeede;
Upon whose ever livinge harte
The greedy gryphes do daylye feede;
 But he that lyfts his harte so hye
 Muste be contente to pine and dye.


Scheme ABXXCC BCBCDD EXEXFF EGHGII HAEAXC CJXJXB XXXCCC CCXCJJ
Poetic Form
Metre 11101111 11111111 11111101 1101111 11101111 11111111 110101101 110111 1111111 11111111 1111111 01011101 11011101 1111111 1101111 11111111 11110101 111111 01111111 01111011 11110111 10111101 1100101 1110111 11111101 1111 01110111 111111 11110111 11111111 111011111 11111110 0111111 11011111 1111101 11010111 1101101 11011111 11111101 1111111 11111111 1101111 0101111 1111 0111011 0101111 11111110 1111101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,688
Words 332
Sentences 16
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 48
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 167
Words per stanza (avg) 41
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 21, 2023

1:40 min read
123

Sir Edward Dyer

Sir Edward Dyer was an English courtier and poet. more…

All Sir Edward Dyer poems | Sir Edward Dyer Books

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    The repetition of similar sounds at the ends of words or within words is known as _______.
    A rhythm
    B stanza
    C rhyme
    D imagery