Analysis of An Ode to Master Anthony Stafford to hasten Him into the Country
Thomas Randolph 1605 (Newnham) – 1635
COME, spur away,
I have no patience for a longer stay,
But must go down
And leave the chargeable noise of this great town:
I will the country see,
Where old simplicity,
Though hid in gray,
Doth look more gay
Than foppery in plush and scarlet clad.
Farewell, you city wits, that are
Almost at civil war--
'Tis time that I grow wise, when all the world grows mad.
More of my days
I will not spend to gain an idiot's praise;
Or to make sport
For some slight Puisne of the Inns of Court.
Then, worthy Stafford, say,
How shall we spend the day?
With what delights
Shorten the nights?
When from this tumult we are got secure,
Where mirth with all her freedom goes,
Yet shall no finger lose;
Where every word is thought, and every thought is pure?
There from the tree
We'll cherries pluck, and pick the strawberry;
And every day
Go see the wholesome country girls make hay,
Whose brown hath lovelier grace
Than any painted face
That I do know
Hyde Park can show:
Where I had rather gain a kiss than meet
(Though some of them in greater state
Might court my love with plate)
The beauties of the Cheap, and wives of Lombard Street.
But think upon
Some other pleasures: these to me are none.
Why do I prate
Of women, that are things against my fate!
I never mean to wed
That torture to my bed:
My Muse is she
My love shall be.
Let clowns get wealth and heirs: when I am gone
And that great bugbear, grisly Death,
Shall take this idle breath,
If I a poem leave, that poem is my son.
Of this no more!
We'll rather taste the bright Pomona's store.
No fruit shall 'scape
Our palates, from the damson to the grape.
Then, full, we'll seek a shade,
And hear what music 's made;
How Philomel
Her tale doth tell,
And how the other birds do fill the quire;
The thrush and blackbird lend their throats,
Warbling melodious notes;
We will all sports enjoy which others but desire.
Ours is the sky,
Where at what fowl we please our hawk shall fly:
Nor will we spare
To hunt the crafty fox or timorous hare;
But let our hounds run loose
In any ground they'll choose;
The buck shall fall,
The stag, and all.
Our pleasures must from their own warrants be,
For to my Muse, if not to me,
I'm sure all game is free:
Heaven, earth, are all but parts of her great royalty.
And when we mean
To taste of Bacchus' blessings now and then,
And drink by stealth
A cup or two to noble Barkley's health,
I'll take my pipe and try
The Phrygian melody;
Which he that hears,
Lets through his ears
A madness to distemper all the brain:
Then I another pipe will take
And Doric music make,
To civilize with graver notes our wits again.
Scheme | AABBCCAADXED FFGGAAHHIXJI CCAAKKLLMNNM XODNPPCCXQQO EERRSSTTXUUX VTWWXJTTCCCC XXYYVCXXXZZX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101 1111010101 1111 01010011111 110101 110100 1101 1111 11010101 1110111 11101 111111110111 1111 111111111 1111 111110111 110101 111101 1101 1001 1111011101 11110101 111101 11001110100111 1101 110101010 01001 1101010111 11111 110101 1111 1111 1111010111 11110101 111111 010101011101 1101 1101011111 1111 1101110111 110111 110111 1111 1111 1111011111 0111101 111101 110101110111 1111 11010111 1111 10101010101 111101 0111011 11 0111 0101011101 01010111 10001001 1111011101010 10101 11111110111 1111 11010111001 1110111 010111 0111 0101 10101111101 11111111 111111 1011111101100 0111 1111010101 0111 011111011 111101 0100100 1111 1111 0101010101 11010111 010101 110110110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,825 |
Words | 498 |
Sentences | 19 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12 |
Lines Amount | 84 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 286 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 71 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:32 min read
- 77 Views
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"An Ode to Master Anthony Stafford to hasten Him into the Country" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/37124/an-ode-to-master-anthony-stafford-to-hasten-him-into-the-country>.
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