Analysis of A Song : On The Green Margin
William Cowper 1731 (Berkhamsted) – 1800 (Dereham)
On the green margin of the brook,
Despairing Phyllida reclined,
Whilst every sigh, and every look,
Declared the anguish of her mind.
Am I less lovely then? (she cries,
And in the waves her form surveyed);
Oh yes, I see my languid eyes,
My faded cheek, my colour fled:
These eyes no more like lightning pierced,
These cheeks grew pale, when Damon first
His Phyllida betrayed.
The rose he in his bosom wore,
How oft upon my breast was seen!
And when I kissed the drooping flower,
Behold, he cried, it blooms again!
The wreaths that bound my braided hair,
Himself next day was proud to wear
At church, or on the green.
While thus sad Phyllida lamented,
Chance brought unlucky Thyrsis on;
Unwillingly the nymph consented,
But Damon first the cheat begun.
She wiped the fallen tears away,
Then sighed and blushed, as who would say
Ah! Thyrsis, I am won.
Scheme | ABAB CDCXXXD XEXXFFE GXGHIIH |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10110101 010101 1100101001 01010101 11110111 00010101 11111101 1101111 11111101 11111101 1101 01101101 11011111 011101010 01111101 01111101 01111111 111101 1111010 1101011 010001010 11010101 11010101 11011111 11111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 833 |
Words | 154 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 7, 7, 7 |
Lines Amount | 25 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 166 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 38 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 46 sec read
- 83 Views
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"A Song : On The Green Margin" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/39792/a-song-%3A-on-the-green-margin>.
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