Analysis of A Farewell to False Love
Sir Walter Raleigh 1552 (Hayes Barton, East Budleigh, Devon) – 1618 (London)
Farewell, false love, the oracle of lies,
A mortal foe and enemy to rest,
An envious boy, from whom all cares arise,
A bastard vile, a beast with rage possessed,
A way of error, a temple full of treason,
In all effects contrary unto reason.
A poisoned serpent covered all with flowers,
Mother of sighs, and murderer of repose,
A sea of sorrows whence are drawn such showers
As moisture lend to every grief that grows;
A school of guile, a net of deep deceit,
A gilded hook that holds a poisoned bait.
A fortress foiled, which reason did defend,
A siren song, a fever of the mind,
A maze wherein affection finds no end,
A raging cloud that runs before the wind,
A substance like the shadow of the sun,
A goal of grief for which the wisest run.
A quenchless fire, a nurse of trembling fear,
A path that leads to peril and mishap,
A true retreat of sorrow and despair,
An idle boy that sleeps in pleasure's lap,
A deep mistrust of that which certain seems,
A hope of that which reason doubtful deems.
Sith then thy trains my younger years betrayed,
And for my faith ingratitude I find;
And sith repentance hath my wrongs bewrayed,
Whose course was ever contrary to kind:
False love, desire, and beauty frail, adieu.
Dead is the root whence all these fancies grew.
Scheme | ABABCC DEDEXX FGFGCC XHXHII XGBGJJ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 111010011 0101010011 11001111101 0101011101 011100101110 01011001010 01010101110 10110100101 01110111110 11011100111 0111011101 0101110101 0101110101 0101010101 0101010111 0101110101 010101101 0111110101 01100111001 011111001 0101110001 110111011 0101111101 0111110101 1111110101 0111111 010101111 1111010011 11010010101 1101111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,265 |
Words | 234 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 197 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 46 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:10 min read
- 70 Views
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