Analysis of A Fragment

Thomas Love Peacock 1785 (Weymouth, Dorset) – 1866



Nay, deem me not insensible, Cesario,
To female charms; nor think this heart of mine
Is cas'd in adamant; because, forsooth,
I cannot ogle, and hyperbolize,
And whisper tender nothings in the ear
Of ev'ry would-be beauty, holding out
The bright but treacherous flame of flattery,
To watch the she-moths of a drawing room
Sport round the beam, and burn their pretty wings,
Ere conscious of their danger: yet, believe me,
I love a maid whose untranscended form
Is yet less lovely than her spotless mind.
With modest frankness, unaffected genius,
Unchang'd good humour, beauty void of art,
And polish'd wit that seeks not to offend,
And winning smiles that seek not to betray,
She charms the sight, and fascinates the soul.
Where dwells this matchless nymph? alas, Cesario,
'Tis but a sickly creature of my fancy,
Unparallel'd in nature.


Scheme ABCDEFGHDGIJDKLMNADO
Poetic Form Tetractys  (20%)
Metre 111101000100 111111111 110100011 1101001 0101010001 111110101 01110011100 1101110101 1101011101 11011101011 1101111 1111010101 1101001010 011110111 0101111101 0101111101 110101001 11111010100 11010101110 010010
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 823
Words 142
Sentences 5
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 20
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 657
Words per stanza (avg) 140
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

44 sec read
122

Thomas Love Peacock

Thomas Love Peacock was an English novelist, poet, and official of the East India Company. more…

All Thomas Love Peacock poems | Thomas Love Peacock Books

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